The September Garden & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  On Labor Day, I prepped eggplant and okra, for my husband to grill.  We had sliced tomatoes to go with it, and made ice cream using our (toasted) hazelnuts.  It gives me such pleasure to have most of a meal come from this land.  Last week, I harvested green beans, okra, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, pawpaws, lima beans, pears and a plum.  Ironing was caught up.  I shopped at Walgreens, getting the Senior discount as well as the equivalent of over $18 in bonus points, plus a $5 off $20 coupon, just getting a few things I needed.  Laundry was done with homemade soap and hung on the line.  I shared pawpaws, tromboncino squash and cherry tomatoes with several people.  A large amount of pawpaws had to be composted, as they're so very perishable, and I just couldn't give them away fast enough.

I celebrated my birthday last week, a landmark 60.  Beautiful flowers arrived from my daughter in spirit.  One bloom was open when they arrived. By the time I returned from out of town, they were a riot of color.  A lovely dinner was cooked by J.  One of my presents was an IOU to attend a festival this fall, one I've been wanting to attend for a few years.  I'll share more about that once we've been.  While we were at the pond, J noticed a good sized Eastern painted turtle on a log.  A sweet friend gifted me this very special book, a peek of it in the top photo.  I've admired it for some time, and had enjoyed a copy from the library.  The illustrations and notations take you through the seasons.  It will be a lovely thing to be able to follow it along as the months go by.

A dear friend and I took a short road trip to Charlotte.  We attended an opening for an artist acquaintance, enjoyed a fantastic concert, and ate extremely well.  The only somewhat frugal part of the trip was shopping at thrift stores, and a discount grocery.  I was happy to find several things for my granddaughter, including rain boots and three pieces of dress up/Halloween clothing.  Favorite finds at the discount grocery were organic crushed pineapple, regular price $3.79 for .99, maple syrup, sale price $4.99 for $2.99, and smoked basmati rice, regular price $15.81 for $1.99/ 2#.

Two friends have been sharing photos of monarch and swallowtail caterpillars, chrysalises, and emerging butterflies.  Last night, I was excited to see at least 10 monarch caterpillars on the milkweed in the garden.  I didn't explore much, as I didn't want to disturb them.  Hopefully, I will spot at least one chrysalis this week.

Another order for a Berkey stand came in while I was away, as well as several inquiries, which means our vacation fund happily continues to grow.  When I returned, the garden had not been picked, and I harvested tomatoes, green beans, eggplant and pawpaws.  I didn't get to the pears or the okra, but plan on doing that today.  I'm sure a lot of the okra will be too large, but they'll make good compost.  On occasion, I open the big pods to give the inner seeds to the chickens, as they love them.  Thanks to McNibs, I didn't get a great deal of sleep last night, so it depends on how much energy I have if that gets done or not.  We've started getting rain, much needed, ahead of the storm.  We'll go over our hurricane prep today, and be ready to batten down the hatches if needed.  Be well and safe, friends!