This time of year is when the hens molt. They shed their old feathers and grow new, warm coats for the winter. Some hens lose  a few feathers and you can hardly tell that they’re molting. Others seem to lose them all at once.

Lulu is our crazy hen. Whatever she does, she does it with a zany energy. Of course, Lulu’s molt is way more dramatic than the other girls’. First she lost her tail. Here she is going by the name of Lulu Two-Feathers. Doesn’t she look like she has on one of those child’s costume Indian headdresses that you used to find at the five and dime store?

A few days later, she looked like a woebegone stuffed animal. Bare and moth-eaten.

Next, Lulu does her best porcupine imitation.

These pinfeathers will unfurl into beautiful black and white feathers. Most of the other hens are molting, too, but none look like this. I love Lulu dearly, but I’m glad there’s just one of her!

If you don’t see Pip, he might be here. The goat-proofed cam is now a goat-lookout perch. Doesn’t Pip look silly?

Agnes caught a frog.

The other chickens wanted it. The chase was on.

But Agnes was fast and clever. She hid by the stonewall, and gobbled it up.

The other girls wish that they could find a tasty frog, too. But all they find are toads. Yuck!

The gardening season is winding down. The peas and onions are done. I’m on the second, smaller planting of green beans. There’s only a few cucumbers left on the vine. My eggplants are all getting large enough to harvest. It looks like they’ll all be ready at once, which means I’ll be making caponata and freezing for later.

I might have made my last batch of Summer Vegetable Tomato Sauce. This time, I put in about as many summer squash as tomatoes. I’ve added onion,  garlic and basil, too. I was too hot and lazy to peel anything – not even the garlic – and I didn’t bother to pick the leaves off of the basil stems. I did cut the vegetables into large chunks. After roasting, I ran it through the food mill, which took care of the tough bits, seeds and skins.

It needed some salt and a teaspoon of sugar.

Here it is ready for the freezer.

It will be a welcome sight this winter.

Did you know that I have a FAQ page? I received so many comments and questions after blogging about egg handling, safety and storage, that I’ve added a FAQ on these topics that I hope will be useful. Read it here.