I was about to say, “Maybe we’ll have a mild winter.”… after the record heat we experienced all summer and into Fall. But, no. Here we are in our third day of low to mid-twenties…west Central Florida…who knew?
Covered the strawberries with hay and manure. They had finally started to flower and produce fruit after a slow start in the hot weather. But, they are perennial, so the strawberries should be okay. Live and learn.

I was about to say “What a nice crop of greens for the animals.” But, no. There go the pigeon peas, or at least the tops. The roots should be alright, so they will grow back this Spring. Not sure about the winter peas. We may end up turning them under for green manure. At least they are nitrogen fixing, so they’ll benefit the next crop, even if we did lose out on all the greens for the animals. And this year we know not to plant another cover crop right after the winter peas. Last year we made that mistake and ended up with marvelous greens on the cowpeas…but no peas! Live and learn.

I was about to say, “The Winter garden veggies are doing well this year.” But, no. The ‘night foragers’ have learned how to get over the electric fence around the main garden. Lost all the lettuce and the pole beans to midnight bunny raids…or maybe squirrels. We ended up putting field fencing around the garden anyway. Live and learn.

I was about to say, “The opossum have learned how to avoid getting caught in the Hav-a-Hart traps.” Evolution, it was bound to happen. But, no. After we found the duck egg nest and started collecting all the duck eggs each day, the varmint decided to eat the ducks instead of the eggs! Set the trap and…nothing…until yesterday. He must have been too cold to think clearly. Gotcha! Live and learn.

Happy homesteading,
T.