Samanda's Wedding

Live music at the prenuptial taco party.

Leaving for the church.

The church was ready....

The mothers and the bridesmaids were ready....

Can't we finish the game first?

Dads understand....

...that croquet matches are serious business (Mik won).

The bride was lovely, the groom was handsome, and everyone was happy...

I can't believe you had to finish that croquet game!

And they lived happily ever after.

A Warm Saturday, November 7

With the temperature in the upper fifties, our bees came out in force.

The hives are close to the trees in their "winter cluster" to keep them out of the wind. Bees form their own clusters within the hives to stay warm. The bees consume their stored honey and metabolize it to generate heat. As long as there is enough honey and enough bees, they have a good chance of making it through the winter.

We took advantage of the warm weather to tie up our raspberry bushes and trim them. Stalks which are tied together can stand up under the snow load and will not break.

We transplanted swiss chard, a frost hardy plant, from our backyard garden into the greenhouse. A layer of woven plastic row cover material goes on top of the hoops. According to Eliott Coleman, an organic gardener in Maine, and the author of the Winter Harvest Handbook, this double layer system will keep the plants about 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature, allowing frost hardy vegetables to be harvested year round. This is our first year with the greenhouse, and transplanting plants is stressful on them, but I wanted to get started with the experiment. Next year I hope to plant the winter crop in August and then transfer the greenhouse over it.

The chickens enjoyed the warmth and sunshine as well. We originally had three roosters with these hens, but we had to eliminate two because their repeated matings wore the feathers off most of the hens backs. There is nothing gentle about rooster courtship. A friend had warned me, "If you keep more than one rooster, your hens will never forgive you." Now almost all the hens have regrown their feathers, and life is much more peaceful for them.

We planted these tamaracks years ago for some fall color.

Our new greenhouse.

Cotton grass at the bog

Our pond.

A Cranberry Bog

Cranberries grow on insignicantly small looking plants. Last year was a bumper crop. This year, almost nothing.

Leatherleaf is the predominant low bush on a sphagnum bog.

Pitcher plants. A sphagnum bog is acidic with very low nutrients. Plants like these capture flies for food.

Even though we didn't get any cranberries, the subdued beauty of the bog always makes it worth the trip.

A Visit at the Norgrens

Good food

Madeline entertained us

A walk in the park along the "No Scottish Terriers" Trail

One of the mute swans at the breeding sanctuary. Minnesota is making an effort to restore these impressive birds to their former range.

Yoopers in Minnesooota.

The famous Minnesota Water Spaniel running on water to retrieve a stick. These dogs are very rare because they love water but cannot swim.

Minnesotans after a ten-mile walk in the park.

Tree climbing keeps Minnesotans fit during the off season.

Poster Girls for the new "Minnesota's More Than Just Ten Thousand Lakes - We Got Lotsa Trees Too" Tourism Campaign.

Slaughtering Chickens

It seems a shame to kill such beautiful birds, but you can't eat chicken unless chickens are killed. Our industrial food systems allows us not to think about such thing, but when you raise your own you are confronted with the reality that we eat other living creatures.

David and Jonathan caught the chickens with a fishing net.

The chicken is placed in a killing cone with its head between two nails on the chopping block.

The chickens are dipped in hot water and plucked.

Ready to be bagged and put in the freezer.

It has been an excellent year for apples. All the wild apple trees are loaded. David put the JD to use collecting deer apples.

The Superior Road Rally, formerly known as the Press on Regardless, passed by our house. The leaves are hanging on the trees late this year. Many haven't even turned color yet.

A wall for our new greenhouse. Because the evenings have been cold and dark. I built it in sections in the garage, including the roof.

Three walls up.

Marja's sewing room.

October 10th - First Snow

It began snowing about 9:00, just as we were eating breakfast.

Because the leaves had not yet fallen, the snow was especially beautiful against the fall colors.

Jonathan split and piled the last few remaining blocks of firewood.

These apples get sweeter with a few frosts.

Strong winds and snow continued much of the day and evening. The fire in the parlor stove felt especially cozy when you could hear snow pellets hitting the windows.

Picking Potatoes

I found myself thinking that a plow would make the job easier and more efficient, but the humble shovel gives you time to think about and appreciate what you are doing.

The French have a much better name for potatoes - pomme de terre, apples of the earth.

We harvested the potatoes on a beautiful calm evening, right before a snowstorm.

We harvested two wheelbarrows full. Marja dug these up by herself earlier in the day.