The blackberries are ripening up little by little each day, so every couple of days we got out and pick some. We freeze them (well, Cole mostly just eats them) and will make a couple of pies when we get enough.
If they'd ripen all at once, we'd have more than we could handle.
Last spring Linda and Evan P. gave us 3 leghorn (yes, as in Foghorn) chicks that they didn't want. It turns out that Leghorns are a nervous, skittish, and flighty lot. Quite a change from our docile Rhode Island Reds and Heather's puppy-like bantam. No matter what kind of net we come up with to keep the Leghorns from flying out of their pen, they somehow find a way to escape. (chickens are smarter than we give them credit for)
Then they teach the reds how to escape and they all lay their eggs, hidden in tall grass. I found this clutch of 14 the other day. I didn't know how long they'd been there, so we just got rid of them.
Our garden has been disappointing this year, but we have had some nice broccoli, and our potatoes are pretty good.
This is swiss chard. It grows in a rainbow of colors. The yellow veins are so vibrant backlit by the sun. I also have some with red veins. Really pretty in a salad.
Peas are still growing strong and very tall.
Those darn chickens have been pecking at my tomatoes after they escape from their pen, and something went wrong with our corn - it only grew to be a couple of feet tall. Looks like we'll only have one pumpkin for Halloween this year. Overall, a disappointing gardening season. Maybe I'll try replanting some spinach and radishes for the fall and end the season on a better note.
