Day 54 (8/18/12): Goodbye Kenya, Gil, and Sage

Kenya and I fed the animals together this morning.  We're going to alternate having Tom and Jane (Gil's show turkeys)  with Oregano (the new rooster) out of their cages and the chickens with Jordy (older, white rooster with one HUGE talon that lives with the chickens) out.  Oregano has been bullying Jordy when they're out together.  We also changed the fly catchers (rosen-lined strips that hang from the ceiling) in the animals' stables  - the flies and fruit flies seem to have doubled this week compared with the rest of the summer.  Flies are all over the farmstand unlike any other time before.  Once done, I cleaned the CSA section and put the leftover veggies into the farmstand for sale.  Mary and I made (delicious, medium) salsa for the rest of the day:

~50 tomatoes of all sizes
8 large yellow onions
20 hot peppers
3 green peppers
10 cilantro stems
20 parsley stems
3 garlic heads
~2 C Vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Sugar

Fill a pot strainer 1/2 full with tomatoes and dip in boiling water, making sure tomatoes are covered in water.  After 1 minute pull the tomatoes out and finish rest of tomatoes.  Peel the skin off tomatoes and cut salsa-sized chunks into a pot.  Drain tomato juice out of pot.  Use a food processor to chop onions and mince hot peppers, green peppers, cilantro, parsley, and garlic.  Add to tomato chunk pot.  Heat pot on stove at medium.  Add vinegar (for preservation) and dash in salt & pepper and sugar. If not canning, let cool.
Canning: Pour the salsa into canning jars and submerge jars in boiling water for 10 minutes to seal.  Let cool.

The family was packing all day to leave for Pemaquid, ME for the week.  As I helped Mary clean the dishes, finish taking pies out of the oven, and close up the shop, the kids finished packing and were ready to leave.  This would be the last time I'd see them before I left.  Sage clung on to me and said she's miss me and even Gil gave me a goodbye hug, thanking me for helping them this summer.  Kenya and I had an emotional goodbye.  I can't believe they're gone!  The farm will be so empty this week without Sage's giggles, seeing Gil driving hi steer around, and having Kenya helping out at 10 places at once.