Harvest/Ingathering 2026

Last big harvest

The summer passed by us in a blur. The Autumnal Equinox has come and gone. It's the first marker that we've celebrated since the Vernal Equinox. Our life has been discombobulated.

Our weather too has become autumnal with cold nights in the 40s and cool days. Soon rainy days will become the norm.

Sweet potato harvest

The sweet potatoes have been harvested. I am keeping some. The rest have been given to the Food Pantry.

Potatoes for the Pantry

My "Irish" potatoes are all harvested. Like the sweet potatoes, I have kept some and given the rest to the Pantry.

Final bean harvest

This morning I made my final picking of green and yellow beans. Most of these went to the Pantry along with tomatoes and bell peppers. This may be my final pantry donation. The garden is emptying out.

In the spring, I was only able to plant three types of drying beans: Christmas Limas, Succotash (a new black bean) and Cave beans. This week I harvested some of the Limas and almost all of the black beans. The Cave beans are nowhere close to ready. They will probably be left hanging or be pulled down and composted.

Before lunch today, Bob helped me pull down the green beans and five of the eight tomato plants. Now he's taking a nap to recuperate.

Dumpster ready for pick up

 

We had a dumpster delivered on a Thursday afternoon. Two days later, on a Saturday morning, three friends came and helped me fill it with junk from the garage, cellar and yard. We were finished before 11 am. They're all real "get the job done" folks. Thanks so very much to them and to the friend who made a final scrap metal run for us.

Richard and Riffat sort tomatoes

We've had company this month. Bob's brother, Richard and sister-in-law, Riffat came for a week from their home in Oregon. In addition to visiting, they helped me harvest beans and tomatoes, and Riffat cooked us some excellent Pakistani food.

Shequaga Falls

We took a couple of quick trips to see Taughannock Falls in Trumansburg and Shequaga Falls in Montour Falls. We also drove into Ithaca to look at our townhouse and stroll through the neighborhood.

And, we had other company too. My youngest brother's grown children, Danielle and Aria came to see us. Danielle has taken my dollhouses under her care. This has been a very special chance to get to know them, since I've never had that opportunity. We're hopeful that a positive future relationship may develop here.

Bob this afternoon

Bob continues to feel a bit better. He still deals with fatigue but has maintained the weight he regained at the end of the last update. Still, he needs to gain more. The new medications seem to be keeping him on an even keel.

On the 28th, he will have his annual physical. The next day he will have his second PET scan. Hopefully this scan will show if the treatment is having the desired effect of stopping the tumor growth. His next Oncologist visit is October 5th, where he should get his test results and his next injection. FYI, each injection costs $28,000. Thank goodness we have medical insurance through his Cornell retirement plan!

Colorful Zinnias

Now, about our vast real estate dealings.

We're still in the Lodi house. Paperwork tie ups are to blame. Things seem to be moving ahead again now. Yesterday afternoon we signed off as seller on the back property and the house property. The buyers of each still need to sign off. We're hoping that the back property closing will be completed this week. We need to use some of the proceeds from that sale to return to our IRA account before we incur some nasty penalties! We're also hoping to close on our townhouse very soon (specifically, before this house is closed on).

For now, we're sitting among boxes. There's more to pack, but we're at a bit of an impasse. We need to use some things before we move, so we can't pack them yet. Already we've had to unpack some things we've needed because of the delay, like clothing for the cooler weather. I'm sure there's going to be some fancy last-minute hustling going on.

That's where we are now. We hope you're settling into your autumn routines. Enjoy the season and prepare for a time of rest ahead. I know I'm going to!

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

View across Seneca Lake on my walk

 

  

A Wood Frog