Last of the Harvest — and Kiera

Thanks everyone for the well wishes; the writing is going well. I took a break from it this morning to finish putting my garden to bed, which gave me a chance to reflect on the past growing season.

Each year, I try a few new seeds. This year I planted Hokkaido Stella Blue squash and Dave Four-O-Seven quinoa. The squash has been a big hit –it’s sweet and buttery, and hardy. I’d go so far as to say it’s the best new seed I’ve tried in years. The quinoa was a bust; pretty much the whole crop developed rust.

Each year, I try a new experiment. This year I wanted to see how breaking vs. not breaking the scapes off my garlic plants affected the growth. Breaking scapes doubled the size and weight of the bulbs.

Each year, there is some aspect of the garden that makes that particular year distinctive. 2007 will go down as the Year of the Vines. They overran the whole place: pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, and grapes galore!

It’s been a memorable summer.

Because of these,

Cait's Sunflower

and these,

concord-grapes.jpg

and these.

Last of the Harvest

But most especially because of my beloved girl.

Australian Shepherd Kiera

Kiera has not been well this summer. Her chronic Lyme is taking its toll. Any good thoughts and prayers you can send her way will be gratefully appreciated.

17 thoughts on “Last of the Harvest — and Kiera”

  1. Karen Lynch-Live the Power

    Hey Karen
    The pictures of the Garden are so spectacular…
    the grapes are so beautiful…..
    Sending you and Kiera Love and healing energy…
    Glad you are back to blogging a little bit
    sounds as if the writing is going well.
    I was just thinking of you today and thought I would stop by, glad to see you here as I expected you would still be on hiatus!

  2. I’m so glad to hear the Kiera is doing better. It is so hard when our pets are sick; they are so patient and uncomplaining.

    I have not been able to garden for a number of years, and seeing your pictures makes me remember how wonderful it made me feel and how much I miss it.

  3. Thanks so much everyone for your kind words and healing thoughts. Kiera has finally turned a corner and is back to her old self. She’s playing with Graidy like she’s a two year old again. And it does my heart good to see it!

  4. Welcome back Karen, I did miss reading your posts. Looks like a good garden year for you! That is what keeps us going back each year I think. So sorry to hear about your Keira, I think we suffer more than they do when they don’t feel right. Hugs.

  5. Blessings to your Keira. Your garden is beautiful. I will pass on the results of your garlic experimentation to my father-in-law who plants enough each year to keep half the community happy. He gave us an enormous freshly dug bunch some years ago when we were visiting and we drove from California to our new home in Georgia with it tied to the back of the car, as it was so pungent!

  6. Michelle at Scribbit

    That sunflower is lovely. When we lived in North Dakota there were fields of sunflowers everywhere and I loved to see them in the sun.

  7. Hey Martina and Georgie and Gordy! Thanks for stopping by and offering your positive thoughts. It’ll be a couple more months before I’ll be freed up to get back to blogging again, but I’ll pop back in every now and then.

  8. I was just going to e-mail you and ask when you would return! Heal Keira, heal, we (Georgie, Gordy and I) are all pulling for you. Your photos are wonderful-especially the wagon o’ squash with Keira guarding.

  9. Teetotaled, thank you.

    Simply Jen, your compliment is high praise. I’m going to tape it over my desk so when I’m having a bad writing day, I can remember why I do it. Kiera and I thank you for your prayers.

  10. Karen- Today is compliment instead of comment day for me, but first I want to give you all of my best thoughts and wishes for Kiera. Chronic Lyme is horrid and I hope she’s able to recover completely.

    As for complimenting: I absolutely love your blog. Your descriptions of your daughter, dogs and instincts are so vivid and beautiful. You’re not only a good writer, but you write about things that really speak to me on a much deeper level. You’ve also helped me to understand my dogs better. I always appreciate your comments on my blog, and I can’t wait for you to come back to blogging.

    Again, prayers for Kiera and thank you for being you!

  11. Thanks for posting…so sorry to hear that your lovely dog is ill. She is so beautiful, as is your garden produce. What an amazing green thumb.

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