Song Time/Falling Leaves Time 2025

Leaves are beginning to fall

The leaves are changing color, though not at peak yet, and beginning to fall. Summer birds have all departed and winter birds have yet to return. It's an in-between sort of time.

Thieving chipmunk

Bees, chipmunks and I have been busy socking away goodies for the coming winter. Bees are busy in the Nasturtiums, pollen bags full; chipmunks are busy stealing my Aduki beans; and I'm just about finished filling freezer, pantry and larder.

Many of the garden vegetables are done for the season: peppers and squash,

Dehydrating green beans

green beans and tomatoes.

So long tomato plants

I made salsa from some of the last tomatoes, both red and green.

Salsa for the freezer

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, so we took extras to the local food pantry three weeks running. 

Shredding cabbage for kraut

We put up a crock of red cabbage for sauerkraut last week.

My cranberries have been picked and sent to the freezer.

Cranberries ready to pick

I harvested 1.5# this year. A new high yield.

A nice harvest

These are mainly used for making cranberry orange ginger muffins. Ooo, so good!

Harvesting dry beans

I'm still harvesting dry beans. Past the halfway mark now. My problem there is the new variety that I tried this year: 1500-Year-Old Cave Bean. It appears to need a much longer growing season. It has plenty of full pods, but they're not drying yet. This is in spite of the fact that we've had hot and dry weather. We're currently in a drought situation.

Tiny Bottle Gourds

Another experiment was the Bottle Gourd. It finally showed two small gourds formed on September 27th! They don't appear to have grown any larger since. I knew this was an "iffy" proposition in the first place. I may try again next year, starting them indoors earlier.

Gardening friends brought us some hot peppers. This was their bumper crop this year. Bob's experimenting with some of them.

He's trying to dry some by hanging them in sunny southern windows.

Drying peppers

Another variety he's put down in a salt and vinegar brine (like we use for horseradish). We will see if they will be pickled after a long soak.

Bob's pickled peppers

Now our attention turns toward garden clean-up.

The corn patch has now been cut and transformed into our annual sign of the final harvest: the corn shock.

The garden's final banner

We grew a little sorghum amongst the corn. We bundled that separately and have hung it in the bird garden for the birds and squirrels.

Sorghum-pretty, isn't it?

We went on two outings this month.

Early in the month, we spent the day at Filmore Glen State Park.

Lots of lovely fungi at Filmore Glen

It was a beautiful day for a hike and picnic.

At Filmore Glen State Park

Then, of course, we marked the Autumnal Equinox. Again, the weather was delightful. After a tasty lunch of Tempeh Cacciatore, we walked at Watkins Glen State Park.

Fun shot at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen gorge

In the month ahead we hope to get the garden clean-up finished. I'll plant the garlic and shallots for next year, and we'll go to the semiannual book sale in Ithaca. Once these things are done, we'll begin to settle in for our annual rest time.

Autumn is a time to slacken the hectic pace of summer. Slow down. Breathe. Look around. Begin to re-center. Prepare for winter's luxury of resting in that center.

We wish you awareness in this most wonderful season.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Fall and Winter ease awaits

 

Harvest/Ingathering 2025

 

Vegetables Incoming!

The month of Harvest/Ingathering ends today, but the work continues.

Pantry is all back together

First of all, our freezer was delivered on the morning of the 20th. By that afternoon the pantry was put back together and the freezer was halfway filled. Now it's nearly all filled.

Refinishing the worktable

During that long waiting period, I refinished the small worktable that sits beside the freezer, as well as the tops of our two sofa tables.

This is the season when the garden production really peaks.

1 1/2 gallons of calendula flowers

I've put away the Calendula flowers that I dried for autumn and winter teas.

Bob cleans shallots

Bob helped me by cleaning the shallots...

Cleaning garlic

... while I cleaned the garlic.

Garlic and shallots hung for storage

Now they're all hanging in the cellar, ready for winter use.

Tomatoes for the freezer

Green beans and tomatoes are coming on strong now. I've finished freezing beans and can only fit in three more jars of tomatoes. I've begun dehydrating beans and will soon be drying tomato leathers.

I've made pasta sauce and frozen my quota (seven pints).

Shiitake mushrooms ready to harvest

Shiitake mushrooms have been sauteed and frozen and I have begun freezing corn.

Aduki Beans are drying

The Aduki beans are beginning to dry. We've made three pickings so far. That's a bushel in the cellar.

Bob digging potatoes

Bob's been busy with potatoes. He dug all of the regular potatoes, which I packed and put into the root cellar.

A couple bushels of potatoes

Just the other day, we both worked to dig the sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes

We got about a bushel of those. They're curing now. In a couple of weeks, they will be individually wrapped and stored in a warm part of the cellar. (In the space beneath the hanging garlic and shallots.)

We got away just a couple of times during this busy season.

We went to visit my oldest brother one afternoon. A couple of days later we had some errands to do near my hometown, so we had a visit with a cousin of mine. Then we picnicked at Selkirk Shores State Park on Lake Ontario. 

Beautiful weather and two nice visits.

Rescued Sunflowers

Fall seems to be coming right along. Our weather is beginning to fluctuate between short spans of cool and warm temperatures. The winds are picking up, so typical of spring and autumn.

The strong winds tend to knock down our tall sunflowers. When that happens, I cut off what blossoms I can save and bring them inside for a little extra cheer. We need all we can get these days.

The harvest is really what's taking up my time this month. Bob's time has been divided between the garden and his civic activities.

We continue to live as responsible, thinking citizens in this time of escalating chaos. 

Be strong and determined.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Sunset reflected in Cumulus clouds

Morning sun reveals spider web

Abundance/Ripening 2025

It's blueberry season

Last night's full moon ended the month of Abundance/Ripening here at Thistledown Gardens. 

Today's update happens to fall on the 14th anniversary of our buying this house. It has taken us all the 14 years to do the majority of the renovation work: broken doors and window shades, sketchy wiring, dirty wallpaper, absolutely gross carpets. The list goes on and on. There are still smaller jobs waiting to be done.

Bob has just finished one of those.

Cellar doors

Our outside cellar doors were in need of repair and a new paint job.

Bob had to repair the concrete which covers the original stonework. Then he had to make repairs to the metal doors, scrape off rust and paint them.

The finished job

The job is finished and looks much better. The paint will stabilize the doors, which should be usable for many more years.

I've begun resealing our porch glider. All of the old finish was gone. Now, this too will be protected from further deterioration.

Resealing the glider

I'll finish this job tomorrow morning.

The garden is coming along, although a bit behind schedule, due to the cool spring.

Laying out Calendula to dry

As I mentioned last time, I needed to get one more batch of Calendula blossoms laid out to dry. That has been done.

Harvesting garlic

The garlic has been harvested...

Shallots

...as well as the shallots.

Shallots ready to dry

All of these are drying in the cellar. I'll put them away sometime this week.

18# of cabbage to freeze

All of the early green cabbage has been harvested. Most of it (some 36#) is in the freezer. The late red cabbage will be used to make sauerkraut.

 Blueberries

The blueberries have been very plentiful. I've frozen some, we've eaten a lot and have shared some with others.

Green beans, patty pan squash, peppers and cukes have been coming in as well.

6-foot-tall tomatoes

The tomato plants are looking good and setting fruit. None of it is ripe yet, but as you'll soon find out, that's quite all right.

Sowing beets and carrots

My late beets and carrots have been sowed. I hope that they do well.

You may remember that we use two small chest freezers for much of our vegetable storage. On July 11, one of our freezers conked out (after 21 years of service). That left us with one nearly full freezer heading into prime freezing season. We purchased a new, larger upright freezer that day, which would replace both of the smaller freezers. We figured that since the two were purchased together, the second one may likewise quit at any time.

The new freezer was supposed to be delivered on July 23. Okay, I could deal with that. We had to remove pantry shelves, repair and repaint walls and rearrange the entire room to accommodate the new freezer. We hustled and finished that job.

Dead freezer and shuffled shelves

 

New freezer space

Now for the fun. On July 20th, we got a text saying that our freezer could not be delivered until August 20th!!! YIKES! 

Now our only freezer is FULL! I keep telling the green beans and tomatoes to "keep their pants on" and hold off until the new freezer arrives. It better come on the 20th, or I may go berserk.

We've gotten out a few times this month.

Buttermilk Falls State Park

We walked at Buttermilk Falls Park twice.

On Lammas Day (August 1), we drove to Green Lakes State Park, had a picnic and walked around Green and Round Lakes. It was a beautiful day.

Green Lake

Lammas Day is the celebration of early harvest. For supper we had a selection of vegetables fresh from the garden. Dessert was blueberry pie.

For Lammas Day supper

It was a nice day of relaxation during a busy season.

That's about all of the news for now. As you know, our garden doesn't vanish on Labor Day, so we'll be busy - hopefully filling the new freezer. Stay tuned to find out, "Will they get their freezer, Or will Kathy lose her marbles?".

Enjoy the season.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Lammas Day

Tiger Swallowtail along the path