Fall clean up

The consistent fall rain is inspiration to clean up for the winter. We took down the garden fence and cleaned up the beds. There are still rows of leeks, carrots and greens in addition to the peppers in the hoop house. We will take those houses down too, when the peppers are finished. Planning has begun for placement of the garden next year now that we have a better idea of necessary space as well as plans for more permanent structures. In the meantime, we are trying to use as much of the surplus produce as possible. We compost vines and other materials and supplement the chickens' diet with ripe vegetables. In this picture my mom and dad are freezing a few of the many now frozen peppers. All of this clean up is now done quickly in the precious daylight, because the early nights and dark mornings cut down on outdoor work time. Those projects that can't be done by headlamp (and there aren't many) are saved for the weekend...or brought inside. I never thought my living room would be used as a workspace in which to build a pvc-chicken wire door frame. I don't have a picture of this project because it was as big as the living room itself.