Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

October Chores


It's time to save everything you can
and pull up the garden and get it cleaned
up for winter.


It's a very busy time of the year.
So between harvesting, cleaning the garden
and washing all the outside windows 
on the house . . .
This is going to be a post full of 
photos and very little words. 


Pumpkins

 



 Onions


I'm gathering flower seed for next year.




We have been drying our hot peppers.






This is how they look after drying.
Next we put them in the food processor
and grind them into chili spices :)
WARNING: :if you try this Wear A Dust Mask,
I learned this the hard way :(




I'm saving this hand full for 
next year's seed.


We have already cleaned out
two pick-up beds full of garden
waste and taken them to our 
neighbors . . .


Their goats love the variety of 
greens that are in the garden waste.


How cute is that face . . .


Oh, this one, too :)

Hope you enjoyed my little post
for the day . . .
please leave a comment so I know
you visited.

🍁🌽🌻🍅🍂🍃🍂🍅🌻🌽🍁
Have A Sweet Week 
&
Keep Smiling!

🍁🌽🌻🍅🍂🍃🍂🍅🌻🌽🍁

Your blogging sister,
Connie :)

67 comments:

  1. Mmmmm, I do love me a beautiful orange pumpkin.
    I say, that is a lot of garden waste. Hurray for the cute little goats with their big brown eyes!
    This year, our garden waste is going beyond the back fence, along the creek, for the deer and other critters displaced by the big wildfires further north. Some of those poor deer are looking very thin and bony. We are not to feed the wildlife, but surely the garden refuse is ok. Don't work too hard, now!
    Blessings.

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    1. I am sure that they will appreciate your garden waste . . . like manna from heaven.
      Those poor animals.

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  2. Hello Connie! It's been a while since I've stopped by but I see you are still enjoying life to the fullest. Those are some very handsome pumpkins you've got, and what sweet faces on those goats! I enjoyed all your photos in this post, and always appreciate your positive outlook on life. It helps me remember just how many blessings there are to be counted and given thanks for! Enjoy your Autumn!

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    1. It is lovely having you stop by . . . They is so much to do before the snow flies and we have been having some very chilly days . . . Jack Frost has visited us a couple of times so far and that garden is calling our name . . . clean me up . . . before I'm a frost bitten mess. Busy, busy, busy . . . I feel like Cinderella :)

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank you . . . we enjoy cooking with them and using them in our dry rub for barbecue. You're a new face on my blog, thanks so much for stopping by and saying hello :)

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  4. Those little goats do have adorable faces!! I've always heard that goats can eat anything but can they eat the pepper plants and any hot peppers that might have stayed on the plants?
    I hope you didn't suffer any lasting effects of the pepper dust before you realized you would need a dust mask!

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    1. I do believe that most animals have a very good built in knowledge of what they can and cannot eat, but I'll be putting those pepper plants in the compost and not the garden waste for the goats . . . just in case :) As for me . . . I'm just as fat and sassy as ever . . . if anything it probably made me stronger . . . that is after coughing and choking from the dust for a good period of time :) I'll never do it again without a dust mask on. Better yet, I'll let Steve do it, LOL

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  5. You have been a busy lady! I’m not a fan of spicyness but my husband would love those peppers. I never would have thought of grinding them up.
    The goats are so sweet. I love their faces. I’m sure they are saying thank you for the delicious food. :-)
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. I have fallen head over heels for those goats they are such sweet animals. I would love to get one of our own, but Steve says that the first time it got out and ate my garden I wouldn't think it was sweet anymore . . . he is probably right about that, I do love my garden :)

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  6. Hi Connie- you've been very much on the go getting ready for the Winter with lots to do and looking after your neighbors too. We are having steady rain today this early Spring - and it is falling inland where the Farms really need it. Great to see the rain. I have finished re-furbishing my Shed- will post some photos soon. All the best to you and Steve. Regards. KEV.

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    1. Hi Kev, We have some wood that we pulled off a fence that we took out. I have been thinking about building a small outhouse with a moon on the door to set out in the meadow behind one of my vegetable garden to hold garden tools. If there is wood setting around, I'm always thinking about what I can do with it, LOL. Enjoy your shed build . . . I'll be checking to see your progress and pick up a few new ideas.

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    2. Connie- Building a Garden Tool Shed from old fence wood sounds like a good tonic with a Moon on the door- sounds very interesting- guess you'd be up against it for time to do it with Winter on the way. Regards. KEV.

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    3. True, I don't know whether I'll get it done or not . . . but I just want something simple and that looks like it's been there a long time. :)

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  7. Replies
    1. Me too . . . aren't they gorgeous little animals :)

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  8. Aww, the goats are adorable and I bet they loved the treat you took to them. You sure are busy

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    1. This little farm (we call in that) has become a great source of outdoor exercise and I love it. There is always something that needs to be done . . . and never a dull moment :)

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  9. Sometime I'd like to try drying our peppers. We don't have a commercial dryer, but would have to dry them in the sun or in a hot dry garage/barn. It's been too humid this year to dry anything though! Those sweet little goat faces just melt your heart!

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    Replies
    1. If your oven has a warmer bin, that would work well, too :)

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  10. I can imagine you have plenty to do Connie. Nice of you to share with your hungry neighbors. Their faces are too cute.
    xx Beca

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  11. Connie, I loved seeing the pretty produce from your gardens. I also love that you have goats nearby to eat the left off vines , stems, and leaves. Nothing goes to waste with goats. No year I fed my mums, pumpkins and all the apples(Under the neighbors tree) to the same neighbor's sister's goat that wintered over at his mothers. They ate good all winter. I just could not waste all that when they could eat it. I never gave them meat or dairy. :) You certainly are one hard working girl. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Goats are so sweet and I enjoy it each time we go over there with garden waste . . . I'm like a kid in a petty zoo. I let Steve unload the truck while I play with the goats and take picturs, LOL.

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  12. Love your pumpkins! Your yard still looks quite nice. So good of you to share your garden goodies with your four legged friends! Its nice to see you make good use of all your gardens bounty.

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    1. I really don't like wasting anything . . . so canning, drying and freezing are wonderful ways to keep the garden feeding us all year long. I love having our shelves stocked for winter.

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  13. What a great way to utilize your hot peppers!
    We too have been getting things prepped for winter. We live so close to the mountains, on the foothills really, and our elevation is 5600, so we always get snow, and lots of it.
    It's nice to have the borders, veg beds, and flower beds all cleaned out and put to sleep for the long winter.

    Smiles :)
    ~K.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a very busy time of the year . . . and you never know how much time you have before the weather changes . if it doesn't get done it's there in the Spring . . . but I really don't like doing it in the Spring. Spring brings enough chores of it's own, LOL

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  14. I remember those gardening task at the end of the season. We hope to put out a garden next spring.
    I love reading your blog and seeing all the photo's. Cute goats! Happy Fall sweet friend.

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    1. I do hope that you put in a garden . . . mine brings me such pleasure. Watching everything sprout, and grow and then harvesting it is so delicious. There is no fresher food than food picked minutes before preparing. Yum! Aren't those little goats adorable . . . they are so sweet tempered too.

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  15. beautiful photos. They are quite the models.

    Lia

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    1. Yes they are . . . and they have such sweet personalities :)

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  16. Loved your photos! I like to save flower seeds. Packets of seeds one buys have so few seeds; I always shake the packet and wonder, just how many are in there, and will they germinate? The little goats are so cute.

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    1. I know what you are talking about . . . when you paid $2 or more for a package of seed you expect more seed that what they give you.

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  17. Oh my Connie, those goats are just ADORABLE!!! Though I still never get used to their pupils. One day I would love to have some :) And your garden harvest...the pumpkins!!! And the onions!!! Yes! It's time to clean up isn't it? I'm just waiting for a few sunny days to dry up the garden a little bit to harvest the last of the tire potatoes!

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    1. I'm a little bit surprised that you don't have goats . . . I thought you did because of all the homemade cheese that you make. I had a friend that used to live here in town; she had goats and made cheesecake from the cheese she made from their milk. Yum!!! I am a nut for cheesecake :) They are such sweet tempered animals.

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  18. Connie, those little faces were a delight. What wonderful neighbours you have.

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    1. Aren't they just the sweetest little things, especially the babies . . . so cute :)

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  19. I love that your waste weeds go to the goats, they certainly seem happy with that arrangement. Such cute faces too.

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    1. They are adorable . . . I would love to have one of my own, but Steve warns me that the first time it escaped and ate my garden, I wouldn't think they were so sweet, LOL. He is probably right, I do love my garden and wouldn't want it destroyed :) Thanks for leaving a comment . . . I love sitting here reading and enjoying them . . . I've met so many lovely people through blogging. You're a sweetie pie :)

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  20. I've worked with hot peppers before and know how strong they can be. One of our family stories is when one of my sons jumped into the compost pile to play and got into dried pepper plants. It set him on fire....eyes watering, skin burning. It was awful! I always made lots of salsa at the end of summer though and it sure was good!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Homemade salsa is wonderful. We put up 42 pints this year :) We did 27 last year and we ran out, so that's not going to happen this year, LOL. I always have to remember to not touch my eyes on days when I work with hot peppers . . . it is amazing how many times you can wash your hands in a day and still get pepper juice in them.

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  21. Amazing, I see why there are so many chores to do.

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    1. I call my garden chores, my gym membership, LOL.

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  22. Great photos and loved the pictures of the cute goats. I had a couple of goats follow me on a walk one morning. : )

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    1. They are so friendly and lovable. Just don't let them get into your garden, LOL.

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  23. Lovely pictures, Connie. I think I need to get out and harvest more seeds for next year.

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    1. They say that if you harvest your own seed from plants grown in your own soil, that the plants actually get stronger and do better because they adapt to your soil, and weather conditions. I read that somewhere when I was learning about sustainable gardening. It sounds real good :)
      Happy gardening!

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  24. Pretty soon you'll be sitting in your art barn quilting and watching the snow fly! EEEEKKKK! Yes so much to do outside when you have such large gardens.... I don't do much here.. just let it all die down, and then in the spring I pull all out and it goes to the dump. Glad you have the sweet goats to give treats too... my horses always enjoyed leftovers from the garden, such as spuds and corn stalks,,, plus they loved berries! No horses now.. just a small city lot.. but my flowers are still blooming so prettily. Your bright orange pumpkins are so so pretty..... love that color this time of year! My quilt is done for my son... just sewing the label on... will post it soon on my blog! I'm one proud mama! Hugs.. Marilyn

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    1. It's a busy time of the year isn't it? I'm delighted to hear that you finished the quilt . . . I'll be over to see it.

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  25. Such a wonderful way to recycle your garden scraps and enjoy the goats at the same time :) It amazes me all that you do with your garden, your pumpkins look great!

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    1. The garden has become my summertime joy . . . I love everything about it from planting the seed through harvest and putting up the product for winter food :) It is just amazing to me how a tiny seed can grow that fast and bring about healthier eating habits. It's been good for both of us :)

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  26. Hi Connie, Beautiful pumpkin and onions and flowers too! Kind of sad to have the harvesting come to an end but I am always glad. Then in the spring I can't wait to get going again! I love little goats. Their playing and jumping is so cute. I grew up on a farm and we had sheep and lamps but never goats. Smart of you to harvest your seeds to save money next year! Nancy

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    1. I do try and harvest what I can . . . seeds are very expensive and they only send a few in each package. I do think that they could do better than that. I'm with you . . . about the seasons. I love all the things about each of them, well maybe not so much about winter, but now that it is my quilting season I even look forward to it. In fact I cannot wait for all the fall chores to be done . . . I have a sewing machine that thinks I've forgot it. If machine could cry, I'm sure that I would have some apologizing to do. It's been neglected so long :)

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  27. Oh my loved this post from the harvest to the goats and especially your pumpkins ! Wondering what you use for drying shopping for some type of drying thing mostly for mango and beef jerky. Well I can tell you need to settle in for a long winters nap where youll be surrounded by mounds of fabric and generating all those beautiful projects. Have fun! Lisa @ Sweet Tea N' Salty Air

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    1. Hi Lisa, We were blessed with a food dehydrator that didn't sell at a friend's yard sale many years ago. It was in there garage and instead of throwing it out they wanted to find it a home. They gave us that and about six boxes of canning jars. What a blessing! Do you believe, I still bought about 5 dozen more jars this summer. We have been canning like crazy . . . and it feels so good :) Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting. I always look forward to your posts and your comments. Have a sweet weekend.

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  28. Those peppers will warm you up this winter!

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  29. Oh Connie, it's a beautiful post! I enjoyed every picture! Those goats are adorable!! I've been gathering red peppers and stringing them up. Have four bunches hanging from the mantle...and our nice dehydrator sitting empty on top of the refrigerator.

    :)

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    1. Oh, I think red peppers look so pretty strung up . . . so festive and cheerful :)

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  30. What a wonderful post! I love your fall photos. There's lots of inspiration there to get busy and to get to cleaning. Well... The thing of it is, it has just been too darned hot here to do lots of outdoor work. We want fall. :~)

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    1. We have been having a lovely Fall around here. Crisp cool air and yesterday it started raining and rained all night. The air is so crispy and clean this morning and smells heavenly after the rain. We haven't had a rain in months, it's wonderful :) Here's wishing you some of the same.

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  31. What a wonderful end to your garden . I love how you save seeds for next year. I did that with some sunflowers this year. I really don't know all I should about drying them but I'm giving it a try.....

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    1. Thank you . . . I think it is going to be a cute addition, too. Saving seed is very easy . . . just dry in the open air and then envelope them up until next Spring :) Thanks for visiting.

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  32. Oh how I love to visit your place and be delighted with all the glorious colours of your produce. I feel as if I am turning the pages of a beautiful cook book! Aww......look at those sweet faces of the goats.....so adorable!

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