Tea on Tuesday - Taters!!!

As I sit here with my mug of hot Provence Rooibos tea, the windows are open, it is a brisk 55 degrees out. The other morning, it was an even brisker 45 degrees- lovely riding weather!!! Don't know how long it will last, with daytime temps in the upper 70's- perfect weather in my book!!!

This flavorful rooibos is from South Africa composed of rooibos, rosehip, lavender, raisins(!), black currants,blueberries and rose petals. Put out by Metropolitan Tea Co, it can be purchased from Susan Teter of
Over a Teacup , or if you are in town, Julieanna's in Broadway, Va.

As I brace myself for the day- I have to get out and go for a ride - my ride was cancelled yesterday, because the neighbor called and said it was time to pick our potatoes- if we wanted him to plow them up for us!!!
Last year, I/we dug them out by hand - it was like an Easter egg hunt - never knowing what you will find when you dig! And find we did - tons of potatoes!!

This year, the pickings were really sparse, even tho there were more and longer rows of Kennebec and red Bliss.The lack of rain, and severe heat, made the potatoes few and tiny.

This year, I am drying them out on the front porch - our pallets are being used to hold the round bales. DH made a table last night to hold them all- and we will be storing them in the neighbors' root cellar- a cinder block structure built into a hill, right at the edge of both our properties.





Sparse pickin's as you can see.......
Only 2 of these bins are full- and we got way more full sized white potatoes than red this time, even tho an equal amount were planted.










Setting up the table in the root cellar:



I am, as usual, keeper of the dog, while the stronger folks (DD, DH, and Neighbor) are wrestling that heavy table into the cellar. This little cutie is Pepper, a Mountain Feist, bred for squirrel hunting.

I have to say, without our neighbors, who are the REAL farmers, we would not be able to get all of this accomplished every year!!!!

Picture credits this time - go to my daughter, who likes to brag she is a better photographer than I!!!!She does manage to figure out all the icons on this new camera alot faster than me!!!

Well, time to get off the computer, and get on with the day - ride the horse, cover the potatoes while they are drying in the sun, post some "no hunting" signs, work on my Sketchbook Project book, and more I'm sure......

Please feel free to join us every Tuesday for tea, and visit Kimmie and Patty for a list of others who come for tea!!!

19 comments:

  1. Oh my, love all those potatoes on the porch! How nice to see all the photos, and to see YOU too! Your daughter did a great job taking them. I know what you mean about quick camera icon recognition -- only our kids have that. Seeing you makes me appreciate my morning glory teapot even more!

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  2. Great pics and ooh la laa look at those spuds!
    You will not believe it Pat, my T post is about potatoes too ... of a little different kind

    You all work so hard ... loved the pic of your watering cans and spuds on the porch!
    Happy T to ya!!!
    oxo

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  3. oh and you look marvelous darlink! :)

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  4. I agree those temps are perfect weather.

    There is nothing wrong with being keeper of the dog--it can be very entertaining.

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  5. Still looks like a LOT of potatoes to this (non-farming) gal!!! :)

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  6. ~we tried pototoes in the spring and well i have non to harvest...lucky one are you...and blessed with a huge amount in my eyes! i l♥ved seeing your day...warm wishes and brightest blessings~

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  7. a fair amount for this wicked weather summer...i have grown "backyard" potatoes and they are kind of fussy, now i leave it to the experts...i love to hear my mom tell stories about gardening on the ranch she grew up on...hard hard hard work...i think i'll try your tea too! happy tuesday, pat...hope you have a good ride

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  8. I just came from Patty's spud post to see your "duck". What a wonderful looking harvest. It may be sparse to you, but it looks huge to me!

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  9. Looks like alot of work to me...but I am sure they are yummy. Okay, here comes a stupid question....how do they not get runners on them in the cellar....my sister had a door in her basement that went to dirt and they put the in dirt...???

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  10. These photos are stunning! I planted five types of potatoes this year and when I tried to dig them up, there was nothing but a bit of mush. I was so disappointed. Like you, the heat and dry conditions have made for a less than desirable harvest. But I would be so very happy with even one small bucket of potatoes. They are so much better than anything you buy in the stores.

    It was good to see your face, too. I always like to envision a person when I read their thoughts. Tell your daughter she did an excellent job of photographing you and the spuds. Of course, she had a good subject, too!

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  11. Patty had potatoes today too! great minds and all that jazz :)
    It sure does look like an adventurous country day though! you do the coolest country kind of things :) and there's nothing better than FRESH potatoes!!!

    Happy T today!! hugs, Kimmie

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  12. My dad keeps his "taters" under his shed. They live on the side of a mountain anyways, so it's always cool there. love your taters on the front porch

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  13. The taters on the front porch turned out to be a bad idea!!!! Too much sun - so tonite, I will be pulling them all off (aaagh) and putting them in the bed of the pickup, to be parked in the shade for a day or too. Then off to the root cellar they go!! Today's antics with them definitely needed to be video taped. maybe I'll write about it another time - along with the duck shaped potato!!!

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  14. Wow... I wish I had your energy! Looks like a lot of taters! Pepper is a real cutie... I almost had a feist, I had adopted a little female pup but the entire litter came down with parvo and didn't make it... I was heartbroken... but I ended up with Fred, my Schnoodle... instead. He brings me so much joy... I don't know what I'd do without him...

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  15. Greetings dear Pat,

    To bad there was not enough of rain and proper weather to increase your bounty. Though are garden is large, we are situated on a hill and so very little of it is flat, but daddy grew a few, enough for two meals.

    Glad to know your neighbors helped.

    Just so you know Pat, I am trying to remain in character as I am logged in as my cat.

    Wishing you all the best,
    Miss Kitty

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  16. Tiny potatoes usually taste pretty good and your harvest photos were a real treat for me. We have a potato farm north of where I live and the harvest was weak here also. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

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  17. Happy T day, it sounds delish :)
    Love all the potatoes, that is a lot of work!

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  18. Goodness gracious! I can't believe all the potatoes! We had a sweet friend bring us a sack of fresh potatoes and I had no idea of the trouble he may have gone through to get them to us. We've been blessed with great sweet corn, a good harvest of field corn and now we have lots of pumpkins to share.

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  19. Goodness me! potatoes for AFRICA!! loved seeing pics of your harvest!

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