End of Summer

The end of summer sounds are so pleasant to my ears.

Crickets. Cicadas. Bull frog. Even the breeze in the trees sounds distinct. I can no longer hear the water gurgling in the stream. But I do hear peeping guinea keets following their mothers. Peeping chicks following their mother hen. Mama ewes baaing at little lambs.

Speaking of little lambs, I had to "waste" a few minutes on the deck this afternoon laughing. The three musketeers were dashing across the field. They would run as hard as their little legs would take them, come to a screeching halt, leap straight up into the air then do it all again. One of the little guys is mostly black, the other two are white with black spots, perfect little Jacob rams. The mama ewes ignored them, munching on grass. Ignored them, that is, until they went just a little too far. Then a warning baa was issued. Babies returned to nuzzle the mamas and snag a milk snack. Then off to the races again. Very cute.

The days are growing shorter. The sky has a different look this month. Just a couple of days ago it seemed to change. I believe the dog days of summer are about over according to my friend Donna at www.brambleberryblog.blogspot.com. Last night the moon was a very thin crescent, not like a bowl, but upright. My grandfather always said that if the crescent moon was tipping, expect days of rain, but if it was horizontal like a bowl, no rain would fall. Seems to be accurate.

After a nice nap this afternoon I headed to the garden. Here is what I picked:

yellow squash-lots of it
monster zucchini
spaghetti squash-lots and lots of it
green beans, dragon's tongue, provider and romano
a few straggler carrots
a couple of poor remaining cucumbers
some tomatoes-juliet
sweet basil
shiso
many many weeds.

I should have picked a bouquet. We have gorgeous zinnias, three varieties, cosmos, sunflowers, nicotania, four o'clocks, and a butterfly bush, and a straggler purple coneflower. How did Coco miss that one? She ate all the rest...

Instead of cooking all those delicious vegetables, Rose and I shared cheese and bread and figs. I had a glass of red wine. We splurged on teeny little pieces of aged gouda, a creamy soft blue cheese and a creamy young gouda since it was just the two of us this weekend. So good. I think I will try to make some cheeses tomorrow. Since my milk drinkers are gone I have a huge supply of milk in the fridge. Hmmm. That aged gouda is so good. Could we possibly wait more than 10 months for one cheese??? The romano we made in the spring only made it 4 months. It was so good we gobbled it up in a few days. Maybe feta?

Tonight I appreciate someone else's labor and craft. Donald Hall has a wonderful poem, an ode to cheeses. I should share it someday.

End of summer means we are getting ready to think about school. Too busy to start yet. But definitely thinking about it.

The weather this August is much cooler than last. I appreciate the changes of the season. Not quite fall, but there is a hint of it on our farm. Like in the pumpkins that are growing and growing, making us think about pie! Before you know it we will need a fire in the fireplace. Better start thinking about wood!

But now i am thinking about Maggie. She is on her way home with my dear friend Julie and her kids. Philip is on his way home with the other guys. I will be glad to see them. In the morning, that is. But for now, it is the end of my day and I am going to bed!