Fall Projects

Last night we got our first good hard frost. I don’t know how low the temperature got but everything was drooping a bit. Luckily I have closed up all the beds in the garden except for the carrots. Today I will empty all the flower boxes when the sun comes out a bit more. If I can get just one project done at a time, pretty soon we are buttoned up for the winter.

Another project has been to use up all my zucchinis. We are eating them as fast a possible but it still seems like an endless supply. I have made enough zucchini relish to last the next ten years. Bruce wanted me to make zucchini bread so I did. It turned out well and we have both been enjoying it. When he commented on how I should make it more often, my reply was that the two loaves (standard size) the recipe made contained three cups of sugar. We will wait a bit before making them again.

The other thing we have just finished using is green beans. After trying several different varieties of beans, the Blue Lake seem to be our favorite. Of course, once they start to come, you are eating beans every other day. I talked with a neighbor who is a great gardener to ask if she knew how to successfully freeze green beans. She says the frozen ones in the store taste better than what she can do. So the Kerfoot family will make pigs of themselves when the fresh beans are in season and buy the rest of the year.

Partridge season opened last Saturday. We have six in the freezer and one meal in our stomachs. We have also been driving over lots of roads we only see while hunting. A couple of them are really growing in. They look like no one but us has been through. You wonder how long it will be before those roads are lost.

The fall color is really starting to arrive. The next ten days to two weeks will probably be the best time for color. Every time I get in the car it seems that a new spot has colored leaves. Driving down the Tucker Lake Road has shown me different spots for beautiful color. The ash trees have just about completely turned. Poplar, birch and maple are starting to show up. The tamarack have not yet started to turn yellow at all but they are always last.

Bruce has got a new building project for this fall. Up on top of the hill and across the road, we are putting up a new staff housing building. It will have 16 double occupancy rooms. Each room will have its own kitchen and bathroom. The entire building will be winterized. In addition to providing more housing, this will let us tear down a couple worn out buildings.

Plans have not yet been completed for services for Dennis Todd. It appears at this time that there will be a spring/early summer memorial service up here. I will let you know through this column when something definite is set up.