So I realize that I have been MIA the past few weeks. Unfortunately, we had a little country problem with the Internet and it took awhile to figure it out. As we live out in the boonies of NJ we have to use satelite Internet because it is the only high speed option. Apparently, our wireless router doesn't like our Internet service and the two of them were fighting. So the router is on time out right now until we figure out how to make them play nice! A lot of interesting things happened during this time though, the main being that the water on the farm seemed to stop working, not once but twice! If I could have posted that first morning that we tried the tap and nothing came out it probably would have been sounded very dire and anxious. I was quite worried that our shallow well had gone dry from the drought this summer and that we were looking at a fairly lengthy and expensive solution. Our water pump/well is located in a small shed-like structure on the outside of our little cottage. I have to admit, I am scared to death of this spot mostly because I feel it is pretty likely that snakes will be waiting for me when I open the door. Now to be fair, the only snakes I have ever seen on the farm are gardener snakes, not exactly the most dangerous and ferocious creature. However, I have an illogical fear of snakes and cannot get past the fact that the creepy little thing is not poisonous and will likely eat mice and other nasty things for me. So, when the water stopped and I had to go out to the shed to look at the pressure gauge and generally see what I could about the problem I definitely suited up. Ok, so I basically just put on my hunting boots and hoped for the best, but I did take a shovel with me!! My plumbing knowledge is pretty basic and I was only able to tell that the pump was running continuously and so I turned that off. I called in the professionals and fortunately, it was a simple faulty switch problem and was resolved easily. The second time was just as simple and I am pleased to be able to say that we are showering these days :-) 
It has FINALLY started raining fairly regularly and for that I and the plants are grateful! The garden is just producing gangbusters still, probably due to the high temperatures that plagued our area all summer and have only started to drop off. That basket is only half of what I pulled out one day, the other half was green beans and a ton of beautiful black cherry tomatoes. I actually did all of this picking the morning that my husband and I were leaving for a two week trip to Europe. So what was a farm girl supposed to do with all this lovely organic produce? Well, i chose to freeze it. I usually chop all the tomatoes and freeze them in bags but I recently read an article on the organic gardening website that said you could freeze tomatoes whole for use later in stews, soups, sauces, etc. So, I simply washed and dried all the tomatoes and froze them on cookie sheets to be put in plastic bags later. I am anxious to see how these tomatoes taste in comparison to the chopped that I put up earlier in the season. I also froze tomatillos, green beans, and winter squash. I planted some fall crops as well, including Swiss chard, radishes, carrots, lettuce, and kale. I am excited to see how they progress when we get back.
Now, onto the trip. I am in Manchester England right now with my hubby while he works. In fact, I get the days to sight see and shop while his nose is on the proverbial grindstone. I thought is might be interesting to highlight some of the trip on here so stay tuned for that!
