We have had rain, we have had more sun, and we have lots of leaves on the ground. The air is soft and rich. Fall is definitely here. We only have kale remaining in the garden along with some late robust peppers (and some overripe cherry tomatoes). The fall grasses are coming in and making the alpacas happy. The falling apples are making the chickens and the alpacas happy. And we continue to enjoy the apple crop still on the trees. Some of the Fuji apples in particular were just amazing this year.
The rest of the farm for the most part found the summer too hot and dry, especially the nobles. Even many of the mature trees are having a hard time with the long stretches of rainless days during the summer. There are brown branches among the green ones and many of the larger nobles have started producing cones. If this pattern of sustained hot and dry summers continues, it might not make sense to be replanting nobles in a few years. But for now, pretty much all of the trees on the farm and in the forest are very happy that fall is here, and we are too.
Alpacas enjoying autumn grasses:
Some fall colors from up high:
One of the few remaining apples on this tree:
Friend Rooster collecting apple pieces for his hens:
This wild tree was loaded with fruit this year and the apples are really good!
A tiny starter wasp nest, abandoned in the cold:
Collecting apples:
Piper is getting big:
A little city of golden fungus:
Craig with a mantis earring:
The mantis had climbed from his hand, up his arm and head to his hat. Once on top we moved it to some plants:
One of the gorgeous pileated woodpeckers who lives in the woods and likes grapes:
One of the last garden harvests:
A very fat spider, presumably looking for somewhere to settle down and lay her eggs:
Our pumpkin crop!
