Change in the air

There is a noticeable change in the air these days, and the leaves have started falling in little bursts. I don't think summer is completely over itself, but this is a nice respite. I haven't really had anything much to say these days (have you noticed?) But I have been working outside a bit. So, let's clear away a few of the cobwebs, shall we?

A couple of days ago, I took the tractor down to Stud Muffin's favorite field to clear some undergrowth out and enlarge the field a bit.



The first time I ever mowed down here, and was carving a perimeter around the field, I drove right into a dirt hill hidden under the shrubs. I decided that the dirt would be better used to fill in some of the lower spots in the field and save my aching back as I lurch around mowing!



I cleared a bit of hillside while I was here too.



This field has the prettiest view, with gentle breezes and would be a perfect homestead for a daughter, if they wanted it! I'm just saying, is all!



This morning, I continued the annual "tossing of the compost." I moved semi-composted material from one bin to the other,




and screened some of the finished back gold into the cart to add to the raised beds I am clearing out. It is a physical job, so it takes me a number of days to finish!



As I looked around, I realized that the wind was up and some of the pears were dropping off the trees.

Think there are enough pears on this one tree?




Time to harvest, me thinks! So, I stopped playing with the compost, got the baskets, and with the help of my fruit eating dogs, picked all the fruit!

Almost all of the fruit has "Spotty Blotch" which is a fungal discoloration of the skin, but doesn't affect the quality of the fruit itself. We had such hard rains this spring and summer, that the soil-borne spores got kicked up into the trees and landed on the growing fruit. Not a problem for me, but I couldn't sell the fruit if I wanted to, looking like this! It reminds me of the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi, when she sang,

"Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don't care about spots on my apples,
Leave me the birds and the bees - please"

So now, I am trying to figure out what to do with all these pears!



I only got a few apples this year, but the one I ate was sweet and crisp. I forced Studly top take a small bite, and even he liked it. I doubt he will eat a whole apple by himself, though. Kind of like my bread baking, he's not too interested in eating what I grow! More for me!!



Okay, not much more in the apple department! Definitely eating these fresh. Not enough to fill a canning jar!

So there you have it! School has now started... well, at least half of the classes have. One of my classes hasn't been updated since last semester, so there is no content listed and all of the due dates have long since past! Hope they figure it out soon, otherwise my first contact with the professor will be to complain! Not a good start!