Autumn in July

The weather here in Iowa is feeling a lot more like September than July lately. The daytime high temperature today was 63, and overnight it is expected to drop into the upper 40's or low 50's. It seems as though summer has barely begun, but the crisp air and brisk breeze today reminded me that fall is not such a distant season.

I thought that I would take advantage of the cooler temps and get started on some canning. It is much better to fill the kitchen with pots of boiling water and steam when the outside temps are in the 60's rather than when they are, say, 90ish where they would normally be this time of year...otherwise it leads to an activity that my friend, Miss Effie, calls "nearly-naked canning"....in her defense there is no air conditioning in her house. I digress.

I am way behind on canning/freezing this year....but then again, the garden has been way behind too, and much of the produce is just starting to come in. Today I got 27 jars of strawberry jam finished for market...well, that is, whatever jars make it to market! Strawberry jam is kind of a favorite around here. I will make Blueberry next week. Hey, now just for fun, let's watch the Iowa corn grow, shall we? These pictures were taken 10 days apart. For this completely non-scientific experiment, you can look at the tower in the background to show just how wild and crazy the corn has grown. That, and the fact that the neighbor's house disappears.Another experiment that I am conducting...........
I have several hydrangea bushes that are growing quite nicely with their beautiful bunches of pink flowers....therein lies the problem. Our daughter is getting married on August 8th and decided LAST WEEK that she would like a hydrangea bouquet to carry....blue hydrangeas. I am all about the blue hydrangeas. I love them. Problem is, we live in Iowa, we have fertile, alkaline soil to the max. Hydrangeas only turn blue in acidic soil. SOoooo, I have been adding aluminum sulfate, peat moss and an organic fertilizer that "will turn pink hydrangeas blue". Hmmm, so far I am not seeing anything, there are some new blossoms that will be opening before the wedding...I will keep you posted!Maybe I can talk her into some purple Cone Flowers instead...I have lots of those!

Lambies are growing too. Halley wanted to show you her new jewelery. We tagged all the lambs last weekend-my least favorite job ever, but it is done now until we have new lambs next year.