Fall came with a lot of rain!

 Last Friday I enjoyed a warm summer day--just right temp in the 70ºs. During that night, the sky opened and it's been raining ever since. We've picked all our tomatoes and have pumpkins and squash drying. 

Cute, huh?

There are a few more, pie size. Also picked 8 Jack Be Little pumpkins. Love to decorate with them, so, netting this many from one vine is exciting to me.

The other squash I grew is the mini spaghetti squash. Wanted the smaller size as I am the one who eats this squash. Next year, I'm growing the Four Sisters garden by including sunflowers to the group I did now. I am leaving the Glass Gem corn and the Mandan corn on their plants to dry. The other corn known as Sweet Corn has been harvested for eating. Love the taste of this corn.

Do I love fall, harvesting and preserving? Yes, yes, yes. The colors of this season are my favorites.

Fire and this time it's not the Goddess of Fire, Pele

 I grew up on the island of Oahu. Once you live anywhere in Hawaii, it doesn't matter where you're from. Hawaii is in your heart, your soul, every cell in your body. You come from a culture that is unique and no one else understands.

To watch the fire that engulfed Lahaina the other night broke me. I was so shocked and horrified for the people, the horror they endured just to save their lives. And, to now know so many are still unaccounted for. I need to help  I just feel that something inside of me is aching and I must do something. 

In the past I have often gone to other quilters for quilt tops or completed quilt for hurricane and tornado events which left people homeless. Some donated. Most ignored me. This time I just don't know how to get help as I feel this is my family that I must help, fellow Hawaiians. I see so many giving money and I have too. This lifts my heart.

Summer Musings

 Garden surprises keep coming. We built 7 raised garden beds, filled with commercial organic dirt, composted, fertilized, watered well. Plants are slowly growing. Meanwhile......

We dugged up some plants, weeded and put in some corn seeds. Bingo! Sprouts, super growth, then beans near the corn, and finally squash seeds, They sprouted within days and are rolling along showing growth daily. This is just dirt, folks. Nothing more! It's my 3 Sisters garden. I have so much joy looking at it everyday. I'm baffled. Most seeds planted elsewhere in the garden, either never came up or it took them over a month. We have the watering system on a timer, so everybody is getting the same amount of water, same soaking hoses.

The Mandan corn plants grew the fastest and have tassels. The glass gem corn is doing really well. The sweet corn is very high and I'm sure we'll see tassels soon.

I hope all of you are going to get a good harvest year......I love Mother Nature. Just need to learn more about her....