Saturday we finished scooping out the north side of the barn which belongs to the goats.  We put straw down, and the chickens spread it for us.  Much nicer!

That evening we got a nice and low flyover with these WWII planes.  We get a lot of vintage planes flying over and practicing their moves but usually just a single plane at a time.  Having three in formation was really fun.

Yesterday morning I noticed that the grapes are starting to get ripe.  I need to get netting on them before the birds eat them all.  I meant to do that today but ran out of time.  Tomorrow I should be able to accomplish this.

I did take a chance to admire Rory.  He keeps getting more impressive.

The flax is drying nicely on the windmill frame.

Our local Humane Society is asking for help.  It received 115 dogs Friday evening and needed volunteers, food and supplies. Our community came through amazingly well.  Tom had dropped off some supplies on Saturday, and he said there was a lot already there.  Yesterday we dropped off some more.  Now they are desperate for groomers.  It sounds like these poor dogs are in a bad way and need help.  So anyone who an experienced groomer please contact them.  We have adopted three great dogs from this shelter (Magi, Vanessa, and Steve) and owe them a lot.  I also made a donation to the 2022 Deputy Anne Jackson Memorial Walk/Doggone Walkathon fund.  It is just after the 14th anniversary of her murder so appropriate to give in her honor.

So today I tackled finishing up the south side of the barn.  I had to pitchfork the bedding from around the rabbit hutches.  You can see after I cleared some out how it had been holding moisture against the wood of our barn walls. Not good.

I know this doesn’t look like much, but it was a lot of work cleaning up around these hutches.  I think it looks beautiful!

It is hard to put a perspective on just how huge this pile of poop is.

I put out some straw, and the chickens are spreading it here as well.

This afternoon I picked blackberries while listening to Jim Ladd’s Monday show on Sirius XM.  Jim’s hours had suddenly been reduce from 5 days a week to one day per week.  He is not happy about this change but is making the best of it.  We listened to him every chance we got, and this has been a real blow.  So we have cancelled our subscription after we told them why.  If somehow they listen to the fans we will restart.  Jim has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the subject of Tom Petty’s song, the Last DJ.  Plus he is an amazing DJ and does not deserve to be treated like this.  But I will listen to him until our subscription runs out and hope he lands somewhere else that is less cruel.  It was good to pick blackberries to him though.

As I was doing this, I thought that these hands have been picking blackberries for more than 50 years.  I distinctly remember picking them at my stepfather’s house before he became my amazing stepfather.  Like a lot of child berry pickers, I probably ate more than I picked.  I must have picked them at my grandfather’s place but do not remember that as well.  I know he had a love/hate relationship with them as I do.  He tried to kill them with everything he had including DDT, but he made amazing jelly with them as well.   I choose to use a machete instead.

And to celebrate the ceremonial end of summer, we are smoking the last of George’s ribs.  Of course it is not really the end of summer, and the forecast calls for 87 degrees here next weekend.  But we can certainly hope.  I am ready for autumn.

While the rubs were smoking I worked on radish seeds while watching the Mariners.  Unfortunately they lost, but at least I have some radish seeds now.

Finally I wanted to mention that I just finished this amazing book.  I bought it on a whim at the Trail’s End bookstore in Winthrop (one of my favorites).  It is a collection of short essays related to pie and/or whiskey.  It is a lot of fun and surprisingly creative.  At the end of each chapter is a hilarious cocktail recipe and a real pie recipe.  I think I will try some of the pies.  Highly recommended book.

So those are my end of summer activities on the farm.