Hops, harvests, and happy boys

   The hops are in.  We are new to this, so we think we did well - but who knows.  We got several ounces (when dried) of the Casceade, and the Nugget is still downstairs in a room with the dehumidifier, drying on a screen.

The hops, close up and personal

hubby and his hops

      I must say, as a non-beer drinker, I think they smell disgusting - a cross between marijuana and cat pee - but my husband assures me they smell citrus-y and piney - just as they should.

    After the drying the next step is brewing - I will let him do that project.  I'll stick to making wine!

    One of the nice things about living near Cooperstown, NY - aside from the baseball Hall of Fame - is the Farmer's Museum.  Every year they offer classes - my beekeeping classes were taken there, have fun family events like the Sugaring Off Sundays in March celebrating the maple harvest, and we have the Fall Harvest Festival.  This year I worked at the Harvest Festival as a volunteer.  What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  My assignment was to be traffic control inside the grounds.  Basically, I kept folks from walking in front of the horse drawn hay wagons.  I was amazed at how many people were willing to risk their safety by crossing in front of a pair of Percherons!  These are BIG horses, no Shetland ponies, yet people would race across the lane, rather than wait 30 seconds for the wagons to pass.  Hmm...

      I had lost the chord to my camera so forgot to download shots of the last day before school.  My youngest had a friend over and the highlight of the morning was wrapping themselves in a cocoon of hammock and swinging each other the extreme angles.  Even my daughter got into the fun!

getting ready

extreme hammock swinging!

big sister's turn!

   

Weekend

  Another dear friend passed away this week.  I am really quite ready for 2010 to be over, thank you. The weekend plans changed as hubby went down to be with the family and help in whatever way he can.  So I will be on deck as the parental taxi - getting son #1 to a cross country meet and then throwing clothes at him so he can change in the back of the car as we drive an hour to a new horse back riding stable. The directions given by the lady in charge do not sync with anything I map quested or mapped on Google.  I just hope my dying cell phone has enough juice to save me if I get lost and need new directions!  I think tomorrow night will be a movie night with pizza and sundaes on tray tables in the living room! It has been a long week.
   Nice news for winter is our pellet stove arrived and was installed today.  Nice to know we will be able to sit in the living room this winter without getting chill blains!

School Days

   Wow! This year each of our children is in a different school!  Everyone began class today - the eldest in high school (gulp!), the next in middle school, and the last in kindergarten (double gulp!).
     What is it about the first day of school excitement that gets them up and ready at least ten minutes BEFORE the bus arrives, and the rest of the year we are shoving them out the door, jacket in one hand and a piece of toast in the other??  I wish we could bottle some of the energy from the first day and  sprinkle it on them throughout the year!
    Our youngest was ready for school - washed, dressed, fed and brushed - at 7:40 a.m.   His bus arrived at 8:25!  He jumped onto the bus and raced to the back looking for a seat - even though the bus driver reserves the front two for the little ones.  He finally got turned around and seated, and I managed to get a photo - not of him, but of the bus driver!!

my baby, heading out to join the world

waiting for the school bus

   Getting through this week with sanity intact is our goal.   A sample day.

Yesterday:
8:30 am - husband drives eldest to HS to get his locker and lock
9:00 - I drive daughter to swim team  (at the HS) meet hubby and eldest and go to store  as hubby heads to work.
10:30 - pick up daughter from swim practice.
11:00 - head to work, teach three classes between noon and 5:15
2 pm - hubby cancels office hours and head home to children
3:30 - hubby takes eldest to Cross country practice
5 pm - hubby picks up eldest child from practice and races home telling son to shower quickly.
5:30 - I return home
5:45 - husband and eldest son (who somehow never made it to the shower) go to doctor for the school physical
6:30 - start fire in backyard fire pit for a last night of vacation hotdog roast and s'mores dinner (fight mosquitoes most of the event)
7:30 extinguish fire, start supervising bathing/showering all three children
9:00 finish filling out all forms and emergency contact sheet for school, try to find lunch boxes and beverage bottles - get them set for morning.
10:30 - collapse in a heap knowing that 5:50 am will come all too soon!

Last Weekend of Summer

   Just kicking back, enjoying the kids for this last weekend before school events take over our lives.  Cross country meets, rehearsals, Girl Scouts, and swim meets will fill the spare time left over after homework! So we relaxed yesterday. In the morning we watched a version of Peter Pan I had never seen with Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook. It was sweet and the kids loved it!
     The town had a balloon event in the park behind our house  this weekend - we saw a couple balloon ascents on Friday night, and Saturday evening was supposed to be a "balloon glow."  We went down to the park and watched the balloonists shoot flames into the sky from their gondolas - it was way too windy to put the balloons up.  However, seeing some friends and eating cotton candy (yuck!)  seemed to make it okay for the kids!

the balloon flames from across the pond

 

 We went on a ramble today in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary near us.  This is a taste of the walk.

Let's not get wet before the hike begins!

Dad and his boy

A feather found on the mountain

the spider was too quick for me to catch (on film!)

A caterpillar which will become a Monarch butterfly, hanging out on a milkweed pod

Hornets and their incredible nest

       It was a gorgeous day with a breeze and plenty of sunshine.  The kids and the dog all got some exercise and fresh air, and we all got to hang out together.  A good day.

Cotton Blossoms!

   My cotton has blossoms!  My cotton has blossoms!  Yeah, so far the great northern cotton experiment is sort of working!    Granted, the only plants with flowers are those in the pots on the patio - the ones in the ground are at least 6" shorter, with thinner stems.  Even so,  I am thrilled the experiment has succeeded as well as it has.

blossom from my largest plant

Hard to see, but the flower is edged in pink.

I  have such a mess in the tomato patch, but the cukes are thriving.  Beans have been turning out a wonderful crop this summer as well. Below is a shot of some of the green tomatoes I am trying to save, as well as a few other items.  I am thrilled with the pineapple tomatillos - they are really delicious!  

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   A week and the children are all back in school.  This week is the major juggling feat with classes (hubby and me) and practices - Kid 1 and Kid 2, and orientations - Kid 1 and Kid 3 and getting ready for the school year with shopping yet to be done!  Wish me luck!!

   

LATE BLIGHT - darn!

     Am I allowed to swear in a blog?  I have a few choice words rolling around in my brain to describe my feelings about the late blight that has struck nearly all my tomatoes.  I planted all my home grown (from seed) tomatoes in three different places in case there was a chance of blight coming back.  Ha!  In case - she says! Silly girl!
  The enormously prolific tomatoes in lower of the two raised beds are all dead - full to tipping with green tomatoes.  I took some and wrapped them in newspaper, put them in paper bags with a strip of apple peel in order to try to table ripen them.  It may be a lost cause.  The next few plants were in the lower bed - just rototilled from the lawn a couple years ago - this is the one that washed out three different times this summer due to thunder storms.  These are also full of fruit, and so far seemed okay, but upon inspection today do show a few spots - which means they are doomed.  My last chance for home grown tomatoes is the upside down planter hanging from the hops arbor.  I am not impressed with the size of the plant or the amount of fruit, but if it is the only one to survive the blight, I will suffer having silly green bags hanging on the arbor next year as well.   I took no photos since it is far too depressing to share...

 

Whew!

   Honey is all strained and jarred.  I have to get a bottle or two to the neighbors, who, despite a dangerous sting allergy, have not complained and are always kind and friendly.  I also have to find a place to store the jarred honey.  Maybe I will one day invest in "honey jars" with their peculiar shape, but for now I like the way it looks in the mason jars - very homey and reliable.

A nice amount for just 5 frames

Holding it up to the light, you can see how light and clear it is

   The first day of classes for me was today - three classes in a row, two of the same class just different sections. I think by the end of the semester I may feel like I have been stuttering  as I repeat the same material to a different section of students. Overall, I think the semester may be a good one.  First impressions can be deceiving, but I have found intro classes show their stripes early.  These seem like really nice kids.
   I am still a bit sad that summer is over, for the grown ups anyway!  The children do not go back to school until the 8th of Sept., so my husband and I have been juggling our schedules for "kids coverage" as well as dropping off and retrieving our student athletes from their practices.  Needless to say, my office hours are going to be quite spotty these next two weeks!