36/52: Kitten Whisperer and Fall Feels

Somehow we have FOUR barn kittens now, even though we only started out with two... I know they tend to multiply, but I didn't realize new ones would just materialize out of thin air? The gray-and-white one, as you can see, is rather accommodating. His name is Leo and he just... lets Edith cradle him like a baby? And falls asleep in her arms? Although when we were gone for vacation, it seems he got used to not being manhandled constantly, so he isn't quite so easy to toss around. Probably a good thing? Hopefully all these cats will mean no more mouse issues in the feed shed! And I doubt the new ones will stick around, I've heard male cats will just stay for a while and then disappear again, never to be seen. Have we become a cat colony? 

Mary Claire found all the missing bows and spent an evening styling everyone's hair. They were all very pleased with their styles! I... took pictures and did not comment. I love their creativity! And the fact that they recognized that they shouldn't sleep in one million bows or go to Mass while wearing them all.

We've been planting our cold crops and harvesting TONS of winter squash. Do I like to eat winter squash? Nope. But the CSA is getting most of it, some is just for decorations, I'm sure many will go to the chickens, and I promised the kids they can experiment with baking + pureeing + using in various baked goods. Which only they will eat, because I truly can't abide anything pumpkin-flavored. I think I can manage spaghetti squash, but everything else is just too pumpkin-y!

I think the peach total (purchased, not picked here, because the late frost got all ours) was 2.5 bushels, and I canned 12 quarts of peaches, plus four batches of jam and a batch of peach preserves. I don't think I'll bother with the preserves again, and I'm still trying to get a hang of our reusable canning lids... Something like 25% of them either haven't been sealing, or the seal releases after a couple of days. That's really, really not okay!! I'm troubleshooting with the company, and I'd really *like* for them to work, but I just am not sure they're a long-term solution. Which is really too bad, I would love to generate less waste, and we can a decent amount! Anybody have reusable canning lid tips?