SFH Journal: 2019-09-23 through 29

Dear Children, Children-in-law, and Grandchildren,

This wonderfully beautiful and ever so sweet woman you see before you, your Mother, Mother-in-law, and Grandmother, is in desperate need of your help. This week, two cords of firewood were delivered to Serendipity Farmhouse. It represents the warmth that will be needed to sustain this loving caretaker of SFH during the cold, harsh, and long Winter to come. She is willing to carry every log herself to the dry safety of the woodshed you see behind her.

If you can find it in your hearts to spare this dear lady from this drudgery and back-breaking task, please send an email or call us directly to offer your assistance. I’m certain that your work of charity will not go unrewarded here at SFH or in Heaven.

Highlights of the Week:

09-24 Tuesday: Without a doubt, the highlight for this week was the birthday of Serendipity Farmhouse’s Chief Security Agent and Master Chef – Mr. Monte. You can view his remarks about the festive anniversary here: My Birthday – 2019!

09-25 Wednesday: Our local tree and yard maintenance service delivered two cords of firewood. Compared to last year’s waterlogged stack of mushroom-filled bottom wood, this year’s wood is dry, well-seasoned and ready to go. – Count this as a blessing. (See: SFH Journal: 2019-01-26 through 31 – Gourmet Recipes for the Wood Stove)

09-26 Thursday: Perhaps prematurely, we called an end to the growing season for our tomato garden. Sustained dry weather and infestations of bugs were causing unacceptable losses to our late-season tomatoes. So, Yours Truly harvested the last few ripening tomatoes and a relatively large number of green tomatoes and then pulled out the plants.

Final tally on full-sized, usable tomatoes this season:

Golden Jubilee x 1 plant = 20
Mr. Stripey x 4 plants = 113, average of 28 per plant
Big Beef x 1 plant = 131

Despite the losses to weather and pests, 164 tomatoes is a lot of tomatoes. So, I can say unreservedly, this was the best year for tomatoes ever here at SFH. – Count this as a blessing.

Of course there was another highlight this day – Mr. Monte finally has found a feline-loving veterinarian to call his own. You can read about it here: Blondie Comes Through – Guilt Assuaged

09-27 Friday: Meanwhile, back at our second main vegetable garden there are other reflections of the change in seasons. Although still producing, the yellow squash have not been growing as large as a few weeks ago. They also were beginning to be more fragile while on the vine. For that reason, I had to end the season and remove the squash plant. That single plant produced a total of 43 yellow squash for our dinner table. – Count this as a blessing.

As of today, the garden now looks like this:

The arugula is prospering. The new asparagus plants have taken hold. The jalapeno and Cow Horn peppers continue to produce in abundance. And, as you can see below there is the prospect of many more servings of okra at our dinner table. – Count this as a blessing.

Oh, and you might be wondering about the cherry tomato plant. So far this season, it has given us 609 little red tomatoes filled with garden fresh taste. And there are more coming.