Harvest Season is Winding Down

 We went out to the farm yesterday.

I haven't been in a week or so.

Rod has been going out with Kyle so

they could put up his new deck.

I forgot to take a picture.

But I'll be going again either today

or tomorrow.

(Probably tomorrow...)

Anyhow.

We pulled 7 or 8 zucchinis and 4 or 5

yellow squash, a hand full of cukes

and lemon cukes.

There are okra that need to be harvested,

but I didn't have my little scissors with

me and it's a pain to just pick them off.

They'll be fine.

Anyhow.

We went to the storage building to get a tool

Kyle needed to work on replacing the axle

on his Big Tex trailer (that caught fire WAAAAAY

back on our aborted trip here in May.)

We got to the storage building and discovered

that the keys are in his TRUCK.

(And we were in his car...)

So... BACK to the house.

It's only 30 minutes each way.

Sigh.

But by then, I had decided I couldn't wait to have

a new pump shipped from Utah.

(Oh yeah, the oil free pump on my freeze dryer

was dying - making a horrible noise and on

its way out... it has been a workhorse for me

for about 3 years, so not a surprise, just an

annoyance. I'm SO behind on freeze drying because

it was dying and each load was taking longer and

longer and longer......)

Anyhow.

I decided I couldn't wait to have it shipped,

so I found one at Tractor Supply in Ellsworth, KS.

Which is an hour and 29 minutes west of us.

So Kyle headed back north to Hill City,

and I headed west to Ellsworth.

It was a nice, uneventful trip.

Through some beautiful country!

There was a HUGE field of sunflowers!

And two of the biggest pigs I've ever seen.

I got here about 4:30 and Kyle and Rod

were still working on the trailer.

So I made some chili in the Instant Pot.

Which died.

Argh.

I got it for Christmas.... 7? 8? years ago?

Jim gave us each an air fryer and I

gave us each an Instant Pot.

So I'd say I got my use out of it...

but really? THIS WEEK???

New AC.

New FD pump.

New pressure cooker.

New laptop.

New rice cooker (I had one in storage... whew!)

Oh, and a new kitchen sink and water filter system.

Yikes!

Look how close my neighbors are!!!!! ACK!!!!

Anyway.

I transferred the chili to a pot on the stove

and we ate a little later than I planned.

(Meanwhile, there was a really nice replacement

one on Amazon on a $100 off sale!!!)

Thank goodness for Amazon points! I think

I ended up paying like $40.

(I use the Fetch and Upside apps on my phone

and get lots of Amazon points every time I 

spend money anywhere...)

Anyhow.

While dinner was cooking, Kyle helped me

get the old pump off and the new pump all

set up and we started a load of apples.

(The load that was half done when the pump quit.)

It pulled a deep vacuum and I'm excited to

see how quickly it finishes. 

I haven't looked at it yet this morning.

But it is QUIET!!!

So much nicer than the other pump.

This is my "to do" for today.

1. Make breakfast.

2. Package the apples from the load that should be finished.

3. Put the already frozen okra on plastic lid trays and

get 3 trays of okra and 2 trays of apples in the FD.

4. Wash the apple trays and put the tomato sauce from

the fridge on the trays and get them in the freezer 

ready for their run, tomorrow? maybe?

5. Grind up the new tomatoes and get them in the

jars in the fridge to be next in line.

6. Slice up the beautiful honeydew I bought at the

farmers market and get that into the freezer and

ready to go in the FD.

7. Pickle the "last" of the cucumbers.

8. Pickle the lemon cucumbers.

9. Slice the okra that is in the fridge and get some of

it in the freezer and some of it in jars to pickle.

10. Teach tonight's class.

And in the middle of all that, of course I need

to keep my family fed.

Sounds like a full day!

But it will be good to get rid of some of the produce.

I still have to do something with the zucchini,

but that can be a tomorrow chore.

I'm just going to grate it in the food processor

and get it into freezer bags as well.

But... not today.

Probably.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Looking forward to hearing Rozann and Greg

had a safe and uneventful trip back to Tucson.

So glad it was a wonderful trip!!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

**** Oh, by the way, the trip to California has been cancelled.

We decided to buy a machine from the local dealer.

A little more expensive, but less risky and under warranty.