September on the Mountain

Fall Fairs, Friends and Family

Fall is a crazy-busy time on a farm. All at once, your hard work finally comes to fruition. After working hard to keep things fed, watered, pest free, and happy all summer - the time has finally come. The crops have ripened and the animals have all grown up. With mixed emotions, it’s time to reap the rewards.
The piglets reached weaning age and went to another farm - the one that Luci the kitten came from! Some good friends gave us crabapples from their tree, which made for a nice meal for the little piglets before departing. I also made some whiskey-infused crabapples to enjoy this winter.

Princess and Piglet

I’ve learned that rabbits really do ‘breed like rabbits’. Now to determine if my many rabbits will make a worthwhile food source. The hard part. Time to butcher bunnies. Though it’s sad, I’ve been looking forward to thinning the herd. With the population topping 50, it’s less a want and more a need.
’Finishing Weight’ is generally the take-home weight of an animal after processing. I’ve found that most of the rabbits finish at about 50-60% of what they weighed live. So, when I process 8 rabbits weighing 5 lbs each - I’ll get 20 lbs of food. Not bad considering the cost of meat. Hopefully I can either tan the fur myself or find someone who wants to use it and help recoup some of my costs.

Headless bunny.

I love fall fairs. Love them. Growing up in Ontario I always looked forward to the carnival, exhibits, and motorsports. I even worked at fairs and festivals in the summer - but that’s a story for another time. The local fair did not disappoint! I had a blast - With a motocross show, crazy lawnmower races, people competing in 4H and an excellent carnival. I think that I’ll have to enter some bunnies next year.

The 75 foot jump

A cold snap at the beginning of the month had me nervous. Was this going to be the beginning of winter, already? This summer has been so amazing - and I still have so much to do! A few nights nearly hit freezing prompting me to clean the wood stove in preparation.

The cleanest that glass has been in a LONG time

This spring we tried to start seeds in the house and failed. After that, we brought supplies up by snowmobile and built the greenhouse on the roof. We promptly seeded it with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, dill, basil and many more. So far, things like cucumbers and gourds did not grow at all. Tomatoes, peppers, and basil, however - have flourished. After lots of failed attempts, the tomatoes are SO CLOSE to ripening! I’ll probably shed a tear when I get to eat one.

SO CLOSE!

As summer comes to a close and fall begins, I’m already feeling a bit sentimental. It was an amazing summer, full of successes. I’m including some outright failures in my list of successes, due to the learning that resulted. There have been so many great times with friends and family. I’d like to thank my friends and family that made the trek and have been there for moral support. You are outstanding people and I appreciate every one of you.

Going into fall will bring new challenges and bigger goals, and I can hardly wait.

Some flowers that I planted actually grew!