CANADIAN REGION: What are you doing in September 2016

Kelejan, congratulations! I'm happy for you!!

And it sounds like a perfectly lovely day...

Thanks, Marie, it is day to remember when I get really old.

After a good night's sleep I am up early and working on rendering my tomato slices to powder.

I finished processing the apples yesterday evening, so the only things I need to do indoors are sorting out the tomatoes that are in various stages of ripeness from to blush to pink to red and then over the edge to, let's say, ripe enough to take seeds from.

If the weather holds, I need to clear the tomato plants and plant the garlic etc.

I daren't make a list of THINGS TO DO. it would be too daunting.  But I have the consolation that when the snow comes there's nothing I can do about it.

The dreaded FROST has arrived.

The white patches on my backdoor neighbour's roof are frost. I don't think it affected the garden.

Warning signs that summer really is over, TD.  We had the threat of frost last week but it never happened.  But it warns me to get moving if I need to get things done.

I feel dead beat today due to foolishly deciding to catch the free bus to the Fall Fair and make my way up the road to the Robson Hall Flea Market that does a good breakfast, and to see people I have not seen for a few months. That part worked well as the bus driver took me right up to the Hall.  (It helps when people know you. )

Then coming back I was not able to get a ride so I walked back to the Fall Fair.  What I had not taken into consideration was that when I lived in Robson, the street was much nearer to the Park than the Hall, and also that was years and years ago.  So, I decided to walk to the Fall Fair and that took me twenty minutes and when I arrived I found that the only bus  had broken down and the owner was in Kelowna and could not be contacted.  I do not know how long it would be, and as everyone was arriving and no on was leaving I decided to walk home. All told the walk took me an hour and a half.  In addition to that I was a little stressed as I could not find my tickets for my entries and I did not know how they would handle that. I had been searching everywhere except where I found them. In the end I found them about half an hour before my friend arrived so everything tuned out well in the end.

One upside was that I contacted some one I know who is giving me four buckets of well-aged chicken manure.  They will deliver tomorrow as they pass by on their way to Trail.

All in all, a very interesting weekend and I look forward to doing it next year.

What a wonderful weekend you had!

sanderson wrote:What a wonderful weekend you had!  

Yes, I did indeed, and I am still tired today which is not surprising.  I did spend a little just now pulling all the tomato plants and chopping them up for the compost heap. I could not resist the sunshine that was fast leaving my garden.

Today I realized it is getting towards wellie wearing weather.  My stout shoes have sprung a leak so now I have a soggy sock.  All good shoes come to an end.  I will be able to wear it when the grass is dry, but the grass did not even dry today as I do need to make a last mow of the lawn.

A sad day for me.

While I was working outside I dropped my Canon A620 camera which I have had for many years and which has been a wonderful camera. It landed on a concrete patio stone. It no longer works properly. Goodbye old friend. 

But never fear photo lovers. I can still use my smartphone or my wife's camera to take photos of the SFG and other gardens.

I know how you feel, TD.  Many years ago I had a small Texas Instruments calculator. very basic, which is all I need. It cost me $10 in 1980 when I came to Canada and I used it up until about 2005 when I dropped in something hard and it never worked again.  I could  use that little calculator adding up without ever looking at it and I was so quick on it.  I was always looking for a basic calculator like but I have never found one that had the right feel.

It no longer matters as now I have no need of it.

Back to my dehydrating and canning.  I have finally finished all the canning and dehydrating I am going to do until next year, probably. Only left are green tomatoes that I will use as they ripen, potatoes and peppers will be be stored as I use them. 

So tomorrow I will be putting away all my utensils and canning equipment etc. and clear some space in my kitchen.  Clear out the chest freezer and put the contents in order and make an inventory of them so that I can plan my meals better and us up the older stuff first.  Then get into the garden and get those garlic planted and start winterizing in good time this year.

Then it will be leaf gathering time and compost making and, and, . . .the snow will put an end to all that.

We often get snow here on the last day of October.

It is good for me to read all of your posts about how you are preparing for winter. It reminds me about what I should be doing too. Unfortunately I am a little behind as my husband went to see an out of town football game- and I was busy with the kids all weekend. I need to bring in all my unripened tomatoes, transplant the herbs, etc. Hope I don't miss the time window .

Kelejan- congratulations on your victory at the fair! What great results you achieved! You must have delicious beets indeed!

Mimi2 wrote:... transplant the herbs, etc. Hope I don't miss the time window .

Mimi ... what do you do when you transplant the herbs. Do you bring them indoors?

trolleydriver wrote:...
While I was working outside I dropped my Canon A620 camera which I have had for many years and which has been a wonderful camera. It landed on a concrete patio stone. It no longer works properly. Goodbye old friend. 
...

I may have found the problem with my dropped camera. I discovered that as long as it was not upright and horizontal it would turn on and stay on. As soon as I turned it to the normal photo taking position it turned off and sometime the lens would get stuck partway rather than retracting. I found a little plastic switch in the battery compartment (this camera takes AA size batteries which I like). The switch gets closed when the battery door is closed. When I dropped the camera the switch must have been damaged. I rolled up a small piece of paper, put it on top of the switch actuator, closed the battery door and bingo ... the camera works in all positions. 

trolleydriver wrote:

trolleydriver wrote:...
While I was working outside I dropped my Canon A620 camera which I have had for many years and which has been a wonderful camera. It landed on a concrete patio stone. It no longer works properly. Goodbye old friend. 
...

I may have found the problem with my dropped camera. I discovered that as long as it was not upright and horizontal it would turn on and stay on. As soon as I turned it to the normal photo taking position it turned off and sometime the lens would get stuck partway rather than retracting. I found a little plastic switch in the battery compartment (this camera takes AA size batteries which I like). The switch gets closed when the battery door is closed. When I dropped the camera the switch must have been damaged. I rolled up a small piece of paper, put it on top of the switch actuator, closed the battery door and bingo ... the camera works in all positions. 

Aww, I'm really happy for you, TD. I know the feeling of losing your friend. I broke my little camera a few months ago and it's just not the same taking photos with my tablet. Good for you for persevering and figuring it out!

trolleydriver wrote:

Mimi2 wrote:... transplant the herbs, etc. Hope I don't miss the time window . 

Yes, I am bringing my herbs indoors. Today I put them all in pots with Mel's mix-and watered them well. Once they're over the shock of translating- I'll gradually move them into the house. I have great big windows that get a lot of sun in my living room (close enough to the kitchen. This is an experiment in reverse hardening off. I left the perennials outside (they'll come back next year). I am hoping to keep the annuals and bi-annuals (like parsley) alive inside.

Mimi, that sounds logical and  interesting; Reverse Hardening. Keep us posted.

TD. Good for you.  We mostly get so used to not repairing things that we forget that it can often be done. If I find my old calculator, can I send it to you for repair?

BEARS:  After a rather exhausting weekend I decided to stay in today and take it really easy so I did not go outside until I remembered I had to get some TP as I was half-way through my last roll.  Looking out the side kitchen window in the early morning I noted what looked like an empty grocery bag and thought I would clear it up later.  Then I forgot about it until it was  time to take a walk down to the grocery store.

As I stepped out the door on to the deck I found what seemed like devastation. The whole car port was a shambles with the old garbage can used to store sifted peat overturned, the lid down the driveway, and peat scattered all over the place. What I thought was a bear-proof garbage can, was not. The funny thing is that the post-lady delivered the mail and had to walk through it all. I bet the local post office know all about me now.

The bear had left peat footprints all over the place and had actually come up the steps to my door and  was prevented by the barrier I put in place to keep things like bears coming in and my Jazz from going out.  There were two bags of peat in that can, and it seemed to me he had taken out the upper one and strewn that all over the place, then he had taken the lower one, (the garbage can was on its side) and dragged it up to the rear of my garden then gave up when he only found more peat. While there I noticed that a bear had slid down the back slope and flattened all my Autumn Crocus.

I think I may have bear-proofed it now with a length of macrame cord secured across the top to the two flip-up handles.  If he can undo the special knots I put in place, then I will have to bring the can indoors to my annexe. I saw a bear this afternoon crossing my garden so I warned my neighbour that he was visiting them and he said "We see the bear, Janice, thanks".  We look out for each other here, as do most good neighbourhoods.

Wow!  Bears!  Yeah, Kelejan,you need good neighbors, sounds like you have them!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Wow!  Bears!  Yeah, Kelejan,you need good neighbors, sounds like you have them!

Agreed.  I would be too scared to go outside to my garden. For sure I would be making lots of noise. 

I must admit I would prefer to bears to stay away. but I was sad to read in the local paper that six have been shot in the last couple of weeks.

We must be on guard at least until the snow comes and they start to hibernate.  If they do not get enough food I think they will starve in their sleep.

Wow- bears, eh? That's so scary. The biggest thing I have to contend with here in Ottawa are raccoons. Stay safe, but also courageous... Kelejan. You're my hero!

Mimi2 wrote:Wow- bears, eh? That's so scary. The biggest thing I have to contend with here in Ottawa are raccoons. Stay safe, but also courageous... Kelejan. You're my hero!

No hero, Mimi.  I stay well out of their way behind my windows, or a door that is ready to be slammed shut.

I have raccoons also, as well as a coyote that made its appearance the other day.

This is a picture of my herbs, now in pots with MM. Tomorrow I think I'll take them in when I get home from work, and it is nice and warm weather outside.

That is a very nice display, Mimi. A good idea to take them indoors.

I finally managed to get my grass mowed. Being busy doing other things the weeks just slipped by.  Then it got too high and damp which made it almost impossible to mow.

Today, however, the wind blew it dry, so although it was not pleasant and I had to de-grass the machine every two sweeps of the lawn, I got the job done and it all looks quite nice.

After that I needed a sit down job so I took all my garlic bulbs and split into seperate cloves ready to plant tomorrow.  the bed has been prepared for some while so it is just a question of taking off the landscape fabric, planting the cloves the cover it all wit wood chips that have been aging this summer.

Altogether a satisfying day.

The post-lady delivered to day and I asked her if she noticed the mess in the car port. she smiled and said yes, she noticed all the peat spread around and agreed when I suggested  that her post office knew all about it.

Kelejan wrote:That is a very nice display, Mimi. A good idea to take them indoors.

+1

sanderson wrote:

Kelejan wrote:That is a very nice display, Mimi. A good idea to take them indoors.

+1

Thank you friends. I'll share the final pic of when they're in the house. I bought and made a special plant stand from IKEA that I will put them in. It holds 13 of those pots at different levels.