It's Been HOT This Week

We've had temperatures near and exceeding 80 degrees.  Pretty amazing for this time of year.  Sam and I have been able to eat dinner on the deck, as long as it isn't dark yet.  We had a very light frost last week, but not enough to kill anything.  As a matter of fact, I have still been harvesting tomatoes and basil and peppers from the garden.

Tuesday I picked all the banana peppers there were and pickled them for Sam.   The peppers did not do well in the heat we had in August, so they have come on rather late.  There are now a lot of green peppers, but I don't think they will ripen to the red peppers which I prefer.

I cleaned out the corn stalks and gathered up all the butternut squash into one place to let them harden off.  I still have some arugula growing and swiss chard. 



 

 I wish we liked the swiss chard more.  It seems to have a long growing season.  But while we can eat it, we're not crazy about it.  I probably won't plant it next year.  

I have a new crop of arugula, lettuce mix and romaine coming up in the cold frame.  We have only covered it one night so far.  


Despite the warm temperatures, it is time to think about the coming cold weather.  So Saturday morning Sam and I cleaned the wood stove and the chimney in preparation.  This is a pretty involved process as the stove insert needs to be pulled out from the fireplace  to clean out the chimney pipe.  

It is big and heavy and awkward and it is difficult to get the pipe put back together when we are done.  But it had been put off long enough.  It's nice to know that now when it gets cold we can go ahead and light the woodburner.

This week my studio got steps up onto the deck.  Sam closed off the back, so this is now the only entry to the building.



Sam has also been pulling logs out of the woods to cut for the siding.  On our walks lately he has been sizing up trees that are already down in the woods for their potential as siding boards.  He thinks he may still have to cut a tree or two, but has has pulled a lot of logs over to the sawmill.

 I have not done any knitting I can post on here as it has all been gift knitting.  Both my looms are about ready to weave on, but I really don't have any progress to show.  It has been so nice outside that I have not wanted to be inside when I've been at home, which leaves little time for weaving.  But the weather will be changing soon, as will the clocks and it will be getting dark much earlier.  



Grover and I are off to an agility trial tomorrow in Zanesville.  It will be our first one since August and I hope we do well.  We are about due for some clean runs.  I know we can do it.  


We have found several of these large puffballs in the woods lately.  They are so odd looking.


And the colors are at about their peak right now.  I know by next week all the leaves will be gone and everything will be shades of grey and brown again.  So I will enjoy it while I may.