Another four trays of garden tomatoes were put in the dehydrator on Wednesday morning

September 10, 2015 - Thursday

56 degrees/rain - mist/calm winds

Pentoga Road

We're at the beginning of the end of the gardening season. The tomatoes are ripening and the yearly rush will be on in the next week or two when EVERYTHING ripens all at once. I'll be dehydrating, making salsa, and giving a bunch to Sheri. I just received word she's ready to make salsa.

Once dried, a tomato slice weighs nothing and takes up little room.

I picked the garden of any ripe tomatoes Wednesday morning and brought those inside, washed and sliced them and put everything in the dehydrator. 

Most were done last night by bedtime. I peeled the slices from the trays and put them in a plastic freezer bag. 

One thing about dehydrating, I can store a ton of vegetables in a very small amount of space and if done correctly, they don't need to be frozen. I put these in the freezer, but they'd do quite well being stored in totes or jars in the dark basement. 

I was looking at the beans yesterday and it appears we'll be able to fill several large jars with those that are being left on the vines to dry. I'll shuck them later this fall and we should be in good shape for this winter. 

And then there's the carrots. No doubt, I'll slice quite a few of those to preserve. The bumper crop of winter squash, rutabagas, and potatoes will be stored in the cool basement and Sheri's parsnips will be left in the ground to be harvested anytime after they are exposed to a period of cold weather. 

I've always enjoyed preserving food. It started when I was a young boy watching Mom can and freeze vegetables and fruits. Dad had a big garden and I remember thinking how neat it was that we ate "free food" well into the winter and spring months. All we had to do was grow it.

I loved walking through the rows of canning jars, looking at the pear halves, green beans, applesauce, and whatever else Mom could preserve to help stretch the budget. I know we didn't have any money, but we never went hungry. Dad gardened while Mom canned and froze what he grew. It was a great horticultural and culinary dance that kept my sister and me growing healthy and strong.

In recent years, I've become somewhat of a prepper, a "prepper light" if you will, a person who believes that sooner or later, the economy and way of life as we now know it will come to a screeching halt. If it's not an attack from outside or within our country, it might be caused by a large electrical disruption from a solar flare or EMP attack.  I personally think an economic collapse is entirely possible. With the clowns on both sides of the aisle that are running this country, absolutely nothing would surprise me. It's a matter of horrendous fiscal management and runaway entitlement programs. The government keeps printing and spending money we don't have. It's not a question of if, it's a matter of when the house of cards comes tumbling down. 

So, my political beliefs and enjoyment of preserving food fit hand in hand, not that we'd particularly enjoy eating dehydrated tomatoes, carrots, apples, and dried beans, accompanied with maple syrup on a daily basis, but if everything comes crumbling down around us, it would beat starving.

Page Two

With the tomatoes drying, I turned my attention to running electrical wires and installing junction boxes, switches, and more outlets. In fact, I spent most the day on a ladder working overhead. 

One problem I encountered... the cords attached to the new overhead lights are just a few inches long, not nearly long enough to run through an overhead stud and into a junction box. Believe me, I tried. Splicing the wire was my last option, something I really didn't want to do.

In the end, I decided to install outlets on the ceiling and put plugs on the lights. Since the lights have flat brackets that can be attached anywhere, it should work... I hope.

I took a break mid-afternoon to ride the four-wheeler to town and purchase a few more electrical things I'd either run out of or had initially forgotten. 

Sargie was home early last night. We had a great evening and we both slept the night through. 

I'm going to walk my three miles this morning then plan on working in the shop for the rest of the day. I should be able to finish wiring and hope to begin putting up the insulation. As Dad used to say, "Things are a shakin' and a movin'!"

Speaking of shaking and moving... it's time to pry my backside out of the recliner, pour another cup of coffee, and listen to the news.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Yeah, I know. I'm obsessing on the pumpkin... probably will continue to until it's loaded, weighed, and delivered to Marley and Aubrey's house in Iron Mountain. The soft spot I'm treating with alcohol and sulfur is that yellow place on the left hand side of the stem. It was drying nicely, but rain fell overnight. I'll treat it again this morning.