We have been thoroughly enjoying the last two days here.  A cold front has apparently pushed through because it’s been in the lower 80’s with low humidity.  Just gorgeous!  If this was what summer was like here I’d have no cause for complaint.  It does make me wish we lived back up in New England but then we’d be complaining about the bitter cold all winter, so yeah.

We have had some sad moments – two of our new chickens, Squeak and Arwen (both gotten this past spring as babies) were taken by a fox two days ago.  I saw the fox from inside the house and ran outside screaming and clapping my hands and managed to scare it off, but it (or an accomplice) had already gotten two of our girls.  There was a trail of Arwen’s feathers off into the woods and no sign of Squeak.  It’s very sad and frustrating, but we are determined to build them a Fort Knox style enclosure soon – one that they can’t fly (or climb, as those dummies have been doing) out of, because there will be a roof.  If we had 4 or 5 dozen chickens then missing a few here and there wouldn’t be so bad.  But we have just about 2 dozen.  Enough that it’s noticeable.

However, at least one industrious hen is looking to help out in that regard.

Our Blue Copper Marans Hen, Amelie, has gone broody.

She’s sitting on a small cache of 7 eggs, hopefully all of which are fertilized.  I’m still counting down the weeks (maybe months) until our 3 remaining Ameraucanas (Arwen was the 4th)  start laying their blue eggs.  It will be nice to have those again.

I am also counting down until I can harvest the butternut squash, which is going gangbusters right now.  I spied a few squash beetles that I am going to have to deal with and I hope all the squash can mature before the bugs get the better of them.

The Jack Be Little pumpkins are starting to deepen in hue and I am seeing the beginnings of my Acorn squash, yellow crookneck and sugar pie pumpkins.  There’s also the start of some Blue of Hungaria pumpkins.

My Sugar Baby watermelon vines are looking fantastic but so far there’s been no flowering.  Hopefully it will happen soon!

All of the seeds I planted this year came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

I’m excited to be growing these rare-ish old – fashioned, non GMO seeds.  The selections were beautiful and interesting to look at.  I’m looking forward to when I can have a much larger garden and grow more than enough for us.  My summers will undoubtedly be slammed with canning at that point, but come January, it will be worth it.  Hopefully this winter we’ll still be enjoying the slow roasted tomatoes from this summer.  If they ever ripen.

No, I’m not impatient.  Not one bit.

Nope, not at all.