Meanwhile, back at the ranch

 

I’ll get back to vacation blogging soon. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the last of the harvest is coming in. Kudos to me for picking the carrots before they split this year! I was pretty excited.

Perfect, not overgrown carrots, for once.

I only had one weird composite carrot this year, but it was a good one. Is Mr. Carrot walking to the right or the left? You decide.

Mr. Carrot hits his stride

I had to pull the beets too. They were not doing well in the heat. Their leaves were yellow and droopy. I thought it was only a matter of time before the roots started getting soft, so in they came. I made a big batch of borscht, one of Terry’s favorites. I didn’t meet to make such a large quantity, but it grew as I added more and more vegetables. It was enough for three meals, two of which are now in the freezer. The rest I canned as pickled beets.

Beet harvest

Goldenrod are blooming everywhere. Since I took these pictures, the New England asters have also flowered. These two are the last gasp of summer.

So much goldenrod!

The ironweed and great blue lobelia that I grew from seed finally bloomed! I’ve seen hummingbirds at the lobelia.

Ironweed

Ironweed, close up

Great Blue Lobelia

The partridge pea and wild senna seedlings also bloomed.

Partridge Pea

Wild senna, first year

The senna seedling is puny in comparison to the second year senna, which is over my head.

Wild Senna, second year

Last year’s cup plant also got very tall this year. I can hardly believe my efforts have been so successful. Now we wait to see if they start spreading.

Cup plant, second year

I found this awesome spider nearby, large and beautifully colored.

Big, beautiful spide

I was surprised to see boneset growing next to one of the plantings I did last year. I didn’t put it there. Build it, and they will come! I wonder what else will pop up unexpectedly as the ground recovers from years of corn and soy.

Boneset