Summer is drawing to an end...I will miss you my old friend.

So, summer is drawing to an end here. We are waking to temperatures in the low 40's...and highs in the 70's and a few days of high 60's! The woods are alive with the sounds of the critters mourning the loss of summer. Crickets sing louder....Squirrels chatter loudly as they hide their winter stashes. The birds are calling to mates and friends, talking about the long flight south. Very soon the woods will echo with the sounds of chain saws....cleaning up the downed trees for firewood. Cool weekend nights bring on bon fires and friends. I can vaguely smell the scents of fall. Wet leaves, cut grass. I look at a pantry just bulging at the seams with the produce we grew and preserved for our winter dinners. Now that the days are cool, it is time to start making large pots of soups, and canning them as well. Time to winterize the animals homes as well. The other day I worked on one of the goats cabins.....with the help of a neighbor....we were able to finish the inside.

I still need to add a front wall...leaving only a door way for them to enter. Seems everyone is talking about how hard this winter will be. I want to be prepared. Fall means cobblers and pies....more baking now that it is cooler. The other day I made a peach cobbler. It was delish! It was SO good, we had it gone in 2 days. So yesterday I made another cobbler, this time I made a strawberry cobbler! OH MY GOODNESS! YUM! Hubby was especially thankful. Strawberries are his favorite fruit. I am glad I put a lot of them in the freezer while I had them! So very soon the menu will include pumpkin. I can't wait for pumpkin bread, pie, and muffins! Today the work will continue in the new strawberry patch. We are moving them into a much larger area and putting them in rows. Picking next year will be a lot easier. Once the strawberry plants are moved I will be planting garlic in there. Hoping we will have fresh garlic next year. The sun is finally warming things up, so it is time to head out and get started.