Shuckin' and Chivin'

My garden in autumn always looks like a hurricane went through it.  (My apologies and sympathies to so many out there who actually did go through some horrid storms this year!)  The tomatoes are at an end, still struggling to ripen before the rains descend, their leaves yellowed and tattered and pathetic.  Peas have come and gone a couple of times now and the stragglers hang on the fencing with their tongues hanging out, making seeds for next year.  Same with all the beans.  The cucumbers Bruce uses to make The Best Pickles In The Known Universe have succumbed to the cool and the chickens today are happily munching on all the immature ones left on the dead vines.

New chives under protection of fading cornstalks

It's a sad time, in a way, but also an incredibly busy time, with harvesting so many different seeds, beans, tomatoes, zucchinis (yes, they're still putting out!), melons and squashes, and preparing the beds for spring plantings.

The fun part of fall is giving the chickens their daily corn cob and watching them argue and fight over it.  They look forward to this scuffle every afternoon, and gather around my feet clucking and cooing for a chance to peck on a fresh cob.  This is just one of my sick little pleasures in the fall garden.

Another big pleasure is dividing up all the plants that have outgrown their spaces, and giving the extras to my friends.  I dug up a single clump of chives and turned out about 20 new starts... and I don't even have that many friends, so I guess I'll have to sell the rest at the farmers' market next year!

Another adventure!  Stay tuned for more on this.  The caterpillar is out of the cocoon, so to speak, and there's no turning back!

Meanwhile, back to getting my hands dirty.  Much to be done!

:D