Sundog CSA September 13st, 2026
We are definitely not watering anything this weekend and in fact, we were hunting up mud boots which had been abandoned for the last few weeks. High temperatures and zero rainfall dried up every bit of mud that had been hanging around since last winter or so it seems to the cows and cow milkers. Over the last five days, the rain gauge registered 3.08 here on the hill and the forecast had rain clouds on most of the days in the 8-day forecast. Our plants have really struggled this season which seems strange since we have had plentiful rainfall. That has been the problem in some ways though because the plants did not develop deep root systems so when this long dry stretch came along, the plants did not have the ability to reach out for water that the soil might have been holding deep down. The hard rains that came this weekend also knocked several tomato and pepper plants flat because of their weak root systems. Thank goodness it was not a sustained drought period – we are grateful for the mud even though we might have to say it through gritted teeth as we slog through! September – middle of the month and we only have 8 days of summer left with the 9th day, September 22 being the first day of Fall. The weather does not always fall in line with calendar season changes though so we are hopeful for warm weather continuing. Notice I said warm, not hot.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT: Lucy presented us with a new baby boy on September 9th. We all marveled at the fact that he is basically earless since he is the grandson of Ella who is at least part LaMancha. LaMancha goats are known for their tiny ears but this little guy has teeny ears – not even tiny. He is spending his days with Lucy in an enclosed pen rather than with the herd since my sister sent us a picture this weekend of a fairly large bobcat that was close to our pasture and this little guy would be about “snack size” for a predator.
We had plans for today but like most of our days, those plans took a back seat to calf and goat chasing. The goats decided to take a stroll through the garden and chasing became more complicated because of the deer netting put up to keep the guineas and chickens out which did not keep the goats out but was difficult for the humans to navigate. The goat escape was followed by a couple of calves busting through the electric fence – not once but twice. Getting everyone back where they were supposed to be became the new plan for the day.
YOUR BAG THIS WEEK
- Potatoes
- Large Tomatoes – all colors and kinds
- Cucumbers - a variety of colors and sizes
- Okra
- Peppers – sweet and hot
- Basil
RECIPE SHARE
Potato Pizza From the Natural Healing Cookbook by Mark Bricklin and Sharon Claessens 3 cups cubed potatoes 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 large ripe tomato 1 small onion ½ cup tomato paste 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons oregano 1 clove garlic 1 cup ricotta cheese 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Scrub potatoes, but do not peel before cutting into cubes. Boil until soft, then mash, and add flour until quite stiff. Spread mashed potato mixture in the bottoms of two lightly oiled 8 x 8-inch baking pans or on the bottom of a lightly oiled cookie sheet with sides. Place in a preheated 400-degree oven for 15 minutes while preparing the sauce. In a blender, combine the tomato, onion, tomato paste, oil, oregano and garlic. Process on low speed until smooth. After 15 minutes, remove crust from oven. Break up ricotta, and sprinkle evenly over crust. Top with the sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan. Return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until done. Serve hot.
First bath was from mom and in the middle, Izzy holding up a newly born, dry baby. The last picture was his second bath.
We went down to check out what a cloud of vultures were doing and Izzy shot a picture of an owl keeping watch over a deer carcass. Information that you will probably never need is that a group of vultures perched in a tree or on the ground is called a committee but if they are feeding on a carcass, the group name changes to “wake” of vultures. So I guess we attended a wake that evening. The second picture is also from Izzy – a fog coated spider web in the early morning up by the high tunnel and the third one was our milkhouse tree frog who is persistent about hanging out near the sink.
Problems for our cucumbers are a new hatch of squash bugs along with a fairly large population of cucumber beetles. The last picture is from Izzy who captured a spider either preserving or preparing breakfast – fresh wasp!
The end of a long rainy day came with the rescue of a hummingbird. Picking tomatoes up in the high tunnel, we saw a hummingbird who had somehow flown in but could not figure out how to get out of the enclosure. Izzy was able to rescue this beautiful bird. He sat in the palm of her hand, exhausted and wet from all of his struggles and we were not sure if he was going to be ok or not. She sat him on top of a pile of wood pallets which were facing the sun and it was only a short few minutes and he was alert and flew off. There is something special about rescues that sticks with a person and I am not sure if it is because you went out of your way to help another being or if it was because you were helping yourself by experiencing a different ending to a story?
Blessings from the farm as we say goodbye to this day, watching a sharp-edged moon slice sink in front of the planet Venus in one of the last summer sky days – Jen, Zach, Izzy, Seth, Dan, Katy and Teresa