Garden cleanup, visitors, progress

As soon as I got home yesterday evening I got the weed eater and cleaned up the garden for Mama. I am not sure how the garden gets away from us every year but it does. I take heart in the fact that most gardens look like ours by the end of the summer. It was to the point that the pastures looked better than the garden and it was starting to frustrate Mama. Weed eating the garden never takes very long to do, but that activity is one of the most painful ones I attempt in keeping up with the farm. I should have worn a dust mask because this morning my nose is plugged up. Hopefully that will clear up by Monday morning when I start my week of teaching. This morning I am drinking hot liquids and sometime this weekend I will make a fresh batch of elderberry syrup. From the way the elderberries are producing this year, I have a hunch we will need a good supply of the natural cold remedy by the time Spring come next year. I am expecting a cold and wet winter in our area.

The garden looks better. Now we can see what is left and can tend to it properly until all growth has stopped and I till everything under in preparation for next year. Overall, the garden was a bit disappointing this year even though the raised bed I built worked out very well. I do not think there were many who had good tomato crops. We did not either. Peas produced nothing and the rabbits got all our sweet potato plants. The potatoes we planted looked good from the ground up but put out only a few little potatoes. Peppers, squash and pumpkins did the best. Fortunately, we did not the produce to survive. If we had, Mama and I would have gotten a lot thinner over the summer.

My brother Danny is supposed to come by the farm this evening for a visit. I am not sure what brings him into the area but I was pleasantly surprised that he wanted to stop by while he was in the area. We have never had a good relationship because we have divergent spiritual values but Mama and I have prayed for him for many years. Mama is going to a ladies meeting in Denton this evening and tomorrow morning. She will be riding up with the ladies from the church; leaving before school gets out this afternoon. So, I will get to host by brother and his girlfriend by myself. Not a problem. Just an interesting set of circumstances – which reflects our life in general.

I got to work a couple hours on the shop after I got through with the garden and was able to get the back of the building almost completed before I was called away to watch the FBI class videos we brought home to make up for not having class on Labor Day. We got through that by about 9 pm and will watch one more Saturday evening to make up for the class I will miss next week when I am in Alabama. Still, I was very pleased to get all the siding up that I did. Now I have five more cut pieces to attach and all the building will be fully covered – less doors. Since I already have most of the wiring run, it should only take me a few evenings to complete that. Sealing in the roof to the walls and covering the corners will complete the project – less the doors. I know what I want for the doors but I do not have the money to get them yet.

Patience.