Wiese Acres: The End of Another Growing Season

Once again, the bittersweet time of year arrives. I hate to see the beautiful flowers go to bed for the winter and no longer have the selection of fresh picked fruits and vegetables to put on the dinner table. On the other hand, it is nice to look forward to more relaxing days and evenings.

I realized this summer that blogging really does need to be a winter time activity for me. There just isn't enough time in the day to work on it in the summer. Plus, I must admit, that blogging requires me to be inside at my computer and being inside while the weather is nice is simply not something I can do very easily.

I also noticed that I work a lot slower than I used too. :( Part of the reason for that this year was because of a foot injury that caused me more than a little bit of misery this summer. I am currently recovering from bone and tendon reconstruction surgery in that foot and am looking forward to a much better season in 2015.

We did construct a new pond this summer to replace the one damaged in last year's freak October blizzard and planted nearly 50 trees to replace those destroyed in that storm, as well as adding a row between us and the highway which has become a major traffic artery to the Bakken oil field. We also began construction on my long-awaited barn. It's been busy!

I'm sharing a few photos from this year at Wiese Acres. Because of the pyridine poisoning in the sheep manure we placed on the vegetable garden, that was not as fruitful this year, but where the soil was good, the crops were phenomenal. The perennial gardens were spectacular because of cool temperatures and ample moisture.

We also added some new members to the animal kingdom of Wiese Acres. The last week in June, Callie, a very pregnant calico female cat arrived and took up residence in our garden shed. On July 2, she blessed us with four cute as a button, healthy kittens. I am angry that someone is mean and thoughtless enough to abandon an animal of any kind, but especially a pregnant one. Unfortunately, we find abandoned animals frequently because we live so close to a main roadway. We always try to find them a good home and hope that someday the ignorant person(s) who dump them learn a life lesson about caring for animals. Callie, along with Boots, Mittens, Traveler, and Squeaks, have become a part of our family, but not every abandoned animal is that lucky. We have a number of cats and dogs in our pet cemetery who didn't survive being dumped along the busy highway.

But, on a happier note, here is a mini tour through Wiese Acres 2014.