August was the time when the efforts of the previous four to five months (because I start my plants indoors at the tail end of winter) begin to visibly come to fruition. August is a reassuring month to gardeners, and for me, this was the most reassuring season I've ever had in twenty years of gardening.
looking up to the Three Sister's garden in the back middle of the photo
the kitchen garden
the Three Sister's garden is becoming quite a tangle of vines and gourds and beans
We had a wonderful summer squash year...and our favourite were these Flying Saucer pattypans. I must remember to space the plants out way more than I expected as the plants thrived in the sheep manure and exploded with huge leaves. Also, our cabbages were larger than we could hope for, and the sauerkraut making has begun.
Unlike most years, my enthusiasm for gardening never waned in the heat of summer. At this point, I am so grateful to be putting so much food away for winter and to be feeding my family with such healthy food, I had a lot of energy to be out there every day, watering and tending and weeding. The children played nearby, always, as the garden is at the very heart of our property. That was quite an accident, really, when we put the fencing up years ago...long before we dreamed we'd have a thriving farm full of animals. But there it is, the hubb of our homestead. Animals border the east side of it, the woods are to the north, the fire pit and fields for playing soccer or biking are to the west, and the creek runs along its southern border.
From my vantage point, whether I am watering or weeding, I can hear my kid's voices, usually happily shouting in play, sometimes in frustration or needing help. It is my happy place, this garden of mine. And with all my heart, I do hope my children will think of it this way, too.
