Monday Morsels: Cranberries!

Wow!  I've never been so excited about cranberries before.  I mean, I've always liked them just fine--but there's something so exciting about finding wild food, in abundance, right in my yard.  Obviously we're psyched.  And my birthday rake is just the tool for the job, loving it!  

* Morsels are a little late this week--its been a busy one.  Just a few highlights from last week:  

fun in the leaves 

 for some...

* Last week we had a cold snap and broke out all the woolens.  Kale is sporting two hand-knits from Wylie's toddlers days.  Love that.
 

* Just as quickly as the cold came, it was gone.  Eighty degree days in October are a bit off, but we'll take 'um.

*Mime came for a quick visit, with treats for all:  candy corn, sushi, and playmo' guys.
Favorite Juniper quote:  "That Mimi is full of mischief!".

* Kale is all about guys lately.  He used to be all about the trucks, but now he's figured out that there are worker guys who get to drive those trucks.  Now all of our little tractors have mini guys propped in/on them somehow.  I love that his definition of a "worker guy" can stretch to include a Lego mini figure of a pirate woman, a Guatemalan worry doll, and even a tiny plastic chicken.  All of whom happened to be just the right size to fit his needs.  He and I found his "train guy" hat at Goodwill.  We both think its pretty much the greatest.

* The peppers survived the hard frost (they were in the cold frame).  The beans and basil did not.  Bummer.

A few survivors

* The sunflowers were a crazy 12 feet tall!  The garden looks so different without them.  I hope the seeds were far enough along to dry for the birds.  I've tried every year, but mostly they just mildew.  Any suggestions?

Hay wagon 

*  Last summer we gave our runner ducks to a farm where there were no dogs trying to eat them.  We miss our funny ladies, but know they are happier there.  I ran into their new farmers last week, who mentioned that one of our ladies is a new mama.  Ducklings might just be the cutest baby animal I've known. Certainly the funniest!

* With this warm spell I put a late crop of lettuce/spinach/kale into the cold frame.  I also thinned the carrots and beets and fed it all some chicken poop tea (seriously).  It seems late to me--not sure if they'll get a good enough start before the cold really hits.  If they're not big enough to harvest before snow they should at least have a great head start on the spring.  

                      Nearly full moon over the bay

Happy Full Moon!