Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA September 22nd, 2025

Here it is – the next to the last bag of the season! Next week is the week that the chickens look forward to all summer long! We pick all the green tomatoes that are within reach of a chicken’s beak and turn them out! It is like an old-time homestead land rush. The chickens race through the open gate and lay claims with such excitement. Chickens are not secretive about their “finds”. There is a cluck and tell all and an invite to come and share in the treasure. The treasures are usually bugs and we are hopeful that they are ready to take on the huge grasshopper population living in and around the garden.

Our cucumbers are losing the battle with the bugs. They are still producing though and the squash is also blooming and slowly setting fruits. Both of these crops are planted inside the tunnels which were dotted with the imprints of all those tiny little hail missiles but were not torn. The cool, cloudy weather has slowed production of both of those crops down. Outside crops have not recovered from the hail. If you see dings on your pepper plants, it is hail, not bugs. Rainfall this week was 1.09 here on the hill.

A few more quarts of tomatoes were canned this week and we were able to freeze some grape puree to make jam later when we have more time. It has been a week of visitors to the hill starting with a couple of roofing companies coming to check out our house “covering”. We have a dead tree that the electric company checked out since it will fall on their part of the lines so they made a plan to come and work on clearing it out. Friday was our lucky evening with friends stopping in to visit and discuss the weather and the coming season change. And most importantly to the cows, the man who wraps up their summer grass for winter meals came over to discuss hauling bales to our house in the coming week, dependent on rainfall. Seth and I went fishing and he caught his first largemouth bass so the week was perfect as defined by an eight-year-old boy!

Today, Katy and I, with Izzy’s help, managed to get some more boards on the building we are repairing. We are almost finished replacing the siding and ready to start on the corner boards. The hard part lies ahead as we try and rebuild frames for the windows! Trying to think positive!

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK

  • SQUASH – some of it hid from us, so there are some rather large ones in your bag!
  • Cucumbers
  • Large Slicing Tomatoes
  • HOT Peppers
  • Potatoes
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Onion
  • Beets and Carrots – remember this the crop the goats trimmed back to the ground this spring – it came back! Tiny trimmings!

Recipie Share

Too Many Tomatoes, Squash, Beans, and Other Good Things, A Cookbook for when your Garden Explodes by Lois Burrows and Laura Myers Just in case the larger squash is a little overwhelming – Here are some ideas for the oversized squash.

Zucchini Granola Cookies – Makes 6 dozen

¾ cup butter 1 ½ cups brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla Grated rind of 1 orange 3 cups grated zucchini Cream butter and sugar. Combine with other ingredients in a large bowl.

3 to 3 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon salt Sift into zucchini mixture.

3 cups granola cereal 1 cup butterscotch chips or chocolate chips. Stir in. Dough should be sticky. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Zucchini Pizza – Serves 6-8

CRUST 4 ounces Mozzarella cheese 4 ounces cheddar cheese 4 cups grated zucchini 2 eggs 2 tablespoons biscuit mix – SEE NOTE. ¼ teaspoon salt Combine all and press into a 10 by 15-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. NOTE: A homemade biscuit substitute typically consists of all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening or butter, with a ratio of 1 cup flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon of fat to equal 1 cup of biscuit mix.

Topping: 2 tablespoons oil 1 onion, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 pound ground beef Sauté for 10 minutes. Drain off fat.  

1 cup tomato sauce Salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon oregano Stir into meat and spoon over baked crust.

2 ounces Mozzarella cheese 2 ounces cheddar cheese Grate over meat. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Shredded Beet Salad - Serves 4

Spoon beets over lettuce leaves on salad plates and top with thinly sliced onions.  3 cups shredded cooked beets 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel Toss together.

2 tablespoons vinegar 2 tablespoons brown sugar ¼ teaspoon salt. Simmer to boiling. Pour over beets and chill.

The world from our hill —

It is amazing to me how much the sky impacts my world – art is presented in the most natural of ways. This last picture was one morning this week as I stumbled out to the barn, glancing up and seeing the moon hanging out with Venus and the star Regulus.

And this one is Katy’s – a large piece of sky art hanging over our hill as she drove home.

If you look closely, you will see the round ball that a mama spider surrounded her eggs with and then hung carefully in our barn to wait for hatching. I saw it while waiting for Mimi to finish eating tonight and marveled at the work put into this “incubator”. And last, Katy found this mantis watching over a bright yellow nasturtium or waiting for someone to come to lunch.

Standing on the hill, in the middle of a cloud of dragonflies - can you think of anything more magical? Seth, Izzy and I found ourselves almost whirling as we tried to watch all the iridescent wings buzzing around us. They were impossible to capture other than in short videos and even that was less than being there. In doing some research on dragonflies, I found that they do swarm and there is a “Dragonfly Swarm Project” where you can learn more about these beautiful insects.

Blessings from the farm - Teresa, Katy, Dan, Izzy, Seth, Zach and Jen