September 2012

I noticed that the insects had switched to their slower autumn chirp about 3 days ago, and now it's dark before eight.
The garden seemed ahead of schedule all summer...once we got past the early heat, it was a good year.
Now the tomatos and beans are almost gone and only the peppers and okra are bearing abundantly. The summer squash and the cucumbers lost to the asiatic brown stinkbug; even the winter squash only produced a handful of fruit. However, it was a wonderful year for peppers and zinnias!

Okra is drought resistant, nutritious (it contains calcium!), bears reliably until frost, tastes great fried,
and comes with beautiful blossoms.

The butterflies were abundant this year. I'd find 4 or 5 at a time on the flowers. The zinnias and hot peppers ended up  mixed together in a scenic jumble of blossoms and fruit...another of my "plan as you go" garden features! 

It was time to let Mr. Turtle go. I'd found him when he was only as big as a quarter and he happily  spent the summer in an aquarium, devouring not only turtle food but our enormous bottom feeder (that wasn't planned). Behind him you see the one acre pond on our property.

Mr. Turtle happily swims away! I hope he lives a long life in the pond. He'll have plenty of company.

Esther took this shot against the setting sun's light.

Mochi the cat was a bit nonplussed when I let the turkeys out to roam in our newly fenced back yard.

Narragansett Turkeys (a historic breed). These aren't for eating, I just like having turkeys around.

The male in "full ruffle" mode!