Hail Damage

Almost a month gone by and no word from me. Don't you wonder why?



Well...just look at my plums! They were just coming ripe--and it would have been the first 'real' harvest off this tree.

The hail was golf ball size, and it went on and on. 25 minutes of being pounded with frozen golf balls will do a lot of damage to a poor plum tree. I was in shock for a while over this.



A week later I did manage to pick enough fruit off this tree to make one wonderful plum tort. The best. Too bad there wasn't enough to make a bunch and freeze them for Christmas. Sigh.














How about my tomatoes? They weren't even coming ripe yet--well a few on the outsides, but they were still mostly green. Just beaten to a pulp. What a mess. The chickens got a lot of the worst ones, but we left some damaged ones on the vine to see if they might just ripen up. No such luck. They rotted there. This disaster caused me more distress than the plums--it was a week before I could go out there without crying over it. Whew! Who knew I was so attached to my tomatoes?



We did get about 10 gallons for making tomato sauce--I was very excitted--and then I burned it. Bummer. There are a few more I can still salvage, but nothing like the 50 quarts I was hoping for.

My peppers were looking great this year. And then the hail came. Peppers with golf-ball size holes in them were all that were left. They rotted on the plant. Chickens loved them.

Our beans were done, and our fall peas had just been planted. We should be getting those pretty soon. The carrots are fine and the beets. The ducks got the broccoli earlier this spring, so no loss there (heehee).











And the squash. The winter squash were the least affected, but the vines just look horrible. The summer squash was, natually, completely lost. Good thing I already had my fill of it. How much zucchini bread can one eat? More than you think, originally, but then even that much is too much. Good thing everyone around here likes it.



These squash are just beginning to ripen now. The variety in the picture is called a 'striped cushaw' and is our absolute favorite. It has pink seeds and a pale yellow, very sweet flesh. They are huge--so 4 plants will keep us going all winter long. I bake them whole, and then scoop out the flesh and freeze it in 4 cup servings. That's enough for a meal and enough left over for pumpkin muffins or, maybe a pie.



There was some damage done to the house. Not as much as we'd thought (or hoped?), but enough that Jon's been digging trenches around it and tearing out sheetrock, and generally adding to the mess. Maybe I'll explain more later.



As it is, I guess I'd better be focusing on God's Benefits: No one was hurt. We didn't loose any animals or trees. The tornado that touched down a mile or so south of us, didn't bother us at all. We have insurance for the house. There are grocery stores we can utilize. I don't have to do all that work canning and freezing(even though I love it). We've been needing to tear out the sheetrock anyway--now the insurance will pay for it.



And that's why you haven't heard from me for so long. A lame excuse, I know; but sometimes I gotta retreat from my busy social life and do some self-care. Rest assured, I've had my chocolate and coffee and am ready to jump back in.