LABOR DAY WEEKEND
by- Kathy Summers
As I write this we have just finished up Labor Day weekend 2016 – can you believe it. Although it sort of signals the official end to Summer you can’t tell that around here. We’ve had 90+° days all week. It’s supposed to let up a little bit this weekend which will be nice.
Kim and I had a great Labor Day weekend. We took the Friday and Tuesday off on either end so we had five days off. Mostly we stayed around home trying to catch up on all of the projects that we get so behind on. You can see from the photos I think we accomplished a lot.
We did take Friday afternoon off and went to see the new Ben Hur movie – just not the same as Charlton Heston. It wasn’t bad though – great chariot races. And it was nice and cool in the movie theater – probably the bigger motivation for going.
We spent a good bit of time outside getting a handle on the garden and processing 
all of the vegetables that needed attention. And of course pulling weeds, although that cardboard and straw thing really cut down on that activity. Our young guys were out mulching and trimming and picking up sticks. It was good just being outside, all of us working together.
I did get to mow over the weekend too – a task I actually enjoy. I haven’t had to mow much at all, mostly because it’s been so dry. Then I popped a tire – on an Osage Orange stick, I’m sure. So we got that fixed and then the mower wouldn’t run. So we finally got it back from the shop – tires fixed, blades sharpened and running good.
You’ve heard about our tomatoes – each year we go a little crazy. And this year they all did really well. So over the weekend I also spent time making lots of salsa in varying degrees of ‘hotness’ – some not hot at all for Kim, some with a little heat for the guys and a little hotter for me and a batch of ‘super hot’ for my son Grant.
We love to grow peppers of all kinds. We grow sweet and hot and really, really hot. They’re just fun to grow – the plants are nice and the peppers are pretty and colorful. The peppers did really well this year also. So we had lots to share and lots to make salsa with. If you know Kim at all you’ve probably heard him say that ‘food shouldn’t hurt’. He obviously doesn’t care for the really hot peppers.
Basil is a favorite at our house also. We grow all the different varieties we can find and have fresh basil all Summer long. When it’s time to be done we chop up what’s left in the food processor, mix in some garlic and a little bit of olive oil to hold it together. Then I freeze it in ice cube trays and when it’s frozen put it in ziploc bags and pop it in the freezer. This Winter we’ll have wonderful tomato/basil soup – lots of tomatoe juice went in the freezer also – and chili.
We did tackle a couple of inside projects too. We bought a kitchen island that of course you have to put together. Fortunately, Kim and I work really well together and didn’t hurt each other at all while working on the island. It’s quite a project and we’ll finish it up this weekend because Wednesday arrived and it was time to get back to work and make sure we got your October issue to the printer on time.
And our friend Jim is coming right along with the addition to the chicken coop. 
We’ll be all ready for more chicks and ducks next Spring. This coop will have two sections where I can keep babies or sick ones isolated easily or open up to one big coop. I’m looking forward to that. We’re holding steady at 17 hens right now.
I hope you’ve had a good Summer and that your bees are doing well and that you got a lot of honey this year. We’ve been smelling the goldenrod that our bees are processing, so that’s a good sign. Maybe they’ll make enough for us and them.
