Fall Weekend

Updated below:

It's officially fall here in Georgia since this is the weekend of the 'Turnin' and Burnin' at the Hewell Family Pottery in Gillsville. This is the 19th year I think and for what started as a little family and neighbor thing it has really grown. Last year there were 30,000 people there. This is will be the first year I have not gone but Madam is there with the daughter who is selling her metal art. The report this morning is that things are selling and the crowd at 0830 in the morning is already large. I am going to miss the pinto beans and cornbread from the church tent though.

Madam is already dithering over some sweetgrass baskets for sale. There are two ladies from Mt. Pleasant(near Charleston) selling their handmade baskets which are evidently beautiful. We already have a few that we got during our trips to the coast.

Madam has already found me a split oak gathering basket from a man there and I am sure we will own another sweetgrass basket as well. The only thing is they are so beautiful and finely made that you are afraid to use them.

I am off to the back 40 with my bush cutter to finish clearing my garden spot. I have let it go fallow for several years and the wees have enjoyed the fertile garden soil. This will be the 3rd weekend of clearing but I should see the end today. I dragged out the chipper/shredder and the Troy-Bilt tiller last weekend and made sure they were all ready. I plan to have all the cleared brush shredded into mulch by the end of the day tomorrow and maybe even get a pass or two with the tiller in. BTW my Troy-Bilt is nearly 35 years old and still runs like a champ...they don't make them like that anymore.

Like I said I really haven't done any big gardening for years and I am excited about getting it going again. Yes, there are only two of us and why in the world would I work so hard tilling and tending a 10,000 sq ft. vegetable garden? Because it makes me happy and because the pleasure of planting seeds and watching them sprout and grow are immensely rewarding. I recommend it highly as therapy for the challenging world we live in. Don't even get me started about the delight in harvesting and eating your own vegetables.
Everybody have a great fall weekend. It is an absolutely fabulous fall day here in North Georgia and in spite of the drought we are going to play in the dirt.

Update: Added the picture of the two sweetgrass basket makers and some of their wares. We now own two more. OH, and on the left is Sharon Perkins on the right Doris and you can find them on the web at Sharon's Sweetgrass Baskets.