Melon Collie Baby

Of course, the title implies two things.
First - the author of this post has a thing for bad puns.
Second - there are either melons, or collies or babies somewhere in this post.
And, we just uploaded a batch of pictures off of the camera, so we thought we'd weave it all into a blog post for you!

With that out of the way, let us begin our journey.

Clyde turns 200,000 miles
We purchased Clyde (as in Clyde be Clean - impossible for a white Honda on a gravel road) in 2006 (or thereabout) as a new vehicle.  He recently surpassed the 200,000 mile mark.

This milestone is all about miles.

Of course, a car this age requires that we pay attention to any mechanical issues.  But, frankly, it is really nice not to have car payments.  And, it is going to be really difficult to find any newer car that is as good as this one has been.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm melons!
While this has not been a bumper crop year for melons, we have had a decent number of them.  Melons like warmer weather and we haven't gotten a whole lot of it this season.  Nonetheless, our shorter season melons have done well.  Even some of the longer season melons and watermelons have represented themselves reasonably well.

Eden's Gem is a great short season melon for us

We've doubled last year's melon production.  Granted, the production levels are still modest.  But, we think this bodes well as we still had an increase despite some adverse conditions.  In all likelihood, we will drop a couple of melons from the production list and hone in on a smaller set of varieties for next year.  This is hard for us to do because Tammy and I like our melons.  And, there are so many good sounding melons out there.  If we had more space and desire to do this, I wouldn't be surprised if we got as much into heirloom melons as we are into the tomatoes.

Then, Rob tripped over this in the field

It wasn't a surprise to find a batch of Sweet Siberian watermelons in the field.  After all, they are a short season (and smallish) watermelon.  But, when Rob stumbled over this beautiful Orangeglow watermelon just prior to the GF7 festival, there was much rejoicing.  You see, Rob and Tammy KNEW how good Orangeglow tastes.

Mmmmmm Orangeglow!

We also know how good Sweet Siberian is.  In fact, we have grown Mountain Yellow Sweet, Orangeglow and Sweet Siberian for some time.  The memory of how good they taste is enough to get us to try them every year.  Mountain Yellow and Orangeglow are longer season, so they don't always work for us.  But, when they do....

They put smiles on our faces

 The Sweet Siberian, on the other hand, is short season, so we see some of them most years.  They have more texture, are less 'watery' and have a little bit of a hint of honey to their taste.

Get used to the seeds and be prepared for a GREAT taste!

 Even better, we spent some time this past weekend checking the watermelons in the field and came up with a reasonable crop.

It's nice to fill the hayrack up with watermelon

GF7 on a Near Perfect Afternoon/Evening
The GF7 (Genuine Faux Farm Fall Festival and Fetid Fruit Fling) was well attended and included some pre-party painting.  Three members of the Bridge Program came and finished the mural they began this Summer.

Some serious painting going on here!

We even had special help from Oscar.  Thank you Oscar!

He's a natural!

Then, the Wartburg contingent had to put Orangeglow smiles on their faces...

Nice job, ladies!

A Kitten Looking for a Home

We recently discovered a small, boney and sickly kitten on the farm.  It is clear to us that she was dumped in the country by someone who decided they didn't want her anymore.  The veterinarian estimates her age at four months.  It is also clear to us that she was initially raised indoors.  She's pretty mellow and friendly.  We do not think she is cut out to be a farm cat, but she might make someone an excellent house pet.  If you know someone who is interested, point them to us.  She has been to the vet once and got her first round of shots.  We will pay for a second vet visit and her next round of shots for whomever takes her.

She is a sweety, that much is certain.

Apples of Our Eye or... I Have Apples!

Last year was our first serious harvest off of our young apple trees.  We weren't sure what the follow up might be like.  But, we were sure at least one of the trees wasn't going to survive the Winter after it was girdled by rabbits (they ate around the trunk).

We say good-bye to the apple tree that didn't know it was dead for half a season.

We thought perhaps we'd get about the same amount if we were lucky.  But, we are also aware that apple trees can alternate years.  Who knows?

Ok, that apple tree is loaded.  I like it!

We spent time this weekend picking the apples off of a couple of trees.  Sadly, we have misplaced where we wrote down the varieties.  So, we simply taste them until we find the apples to be ready.  Then, we pick.  Scientific approach.  Right.

That's about 180 apples for those counting at home.

We may even have enough this year to sell a few.  If you are interested in a few no-spray, certified organic apples, you know who to contact.