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

  

Seed Fall/Frost Time 2024

Milkweed seeds

The leaves are all down, with the exception of our large red oak. We've had a decent frost, but no hard freeze yet. It's been dry, quite breezy and generally, warmer than it should be.

The nice weather allowed us to finish up our outside chores on schedule - October 30th to be exact.

Laying out garlic bulbs

I have planted the garlic and shallots for next year.

A filled wood bin

Bob has filled the wood bin in the cellar.

Bob and his compost stash

He's covered all of the beds with a layer of fresh compost.

A pretty new compost pile

And our compost pile has been restacked for a proper balance of green and brown material. We tend to get out of balance with too much green until the leaves come down. Now it's as it should be.

The garden is now at rest.

Nature's perfect solar collector

This is one of our porch cats. We call him Marmalade because we have no idea what his real name is. He, at least at one time, belonged to someone in the neighborhood, because he wears a collar. It appears that he's been on his own for quite some time, but we don't know for sure. He spends a good deal of time at our house. If we are in the garden, he's generally there, too.

This is Bob being busy

He's really attached to Bob. As you can see, it can be difficult for Bob to get work done. (Work other than petting and warming up a cold cat.) 

On cold days Marmalade not only cries at our kitchen door but knocks on it trying to lure Bob outside to sit with him. Mind you, he has five different warming boxes available for his use.

Scarlet Runner beans

Now that we're inside, I've begun my bean threshing. I got two bushels done earlier this week.

Time to remove the toilet

Bob has resumed work on the bathroom. He finally had to remove the toilet so that he could finish taping and mudding. He didn't want to take out this fixture for two reasons; it's a yucky job, and he hasn't been looking forward to making trips to the downstairs bathroom a couple of times each night. Fortunately, so far neither of us has fallen down the stairs in a drowsy stupor.

The drywall work is now nearly finished, and I should begin priming and painting next week. This needs to be done before installing the shower surround, vanity ...

Our book sale haul

We went to the Autumn book sale in Ithaca and stocked up on reading material for our winter rest time.

Future sweater

I have also begun Bob's winter sweater.

We went on two outings with the fine weather we had this month.

Cornell's Sapsucker Woods

Early in the month we walked at Sapsucker Woods on a sunny and warm day. Tee shirts in the beginning of November?!

Salmon River Falls

Samhain marks the halfway point between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. We celebrated the day by traveling north and visiting the Salmon River Falls in Orwell. 

The Salmon River bisects the village where I grew up. Because my family had no car, I never saw the falls, despite their close proximity. Now I have seen them, and they are quite nice. We stopped off to see Lake Ontario (Selkirk Shores State Park) on the way home. We had a very enjoyable day. By the way, our new electric car took us there and back comfortably and without a glitch.

Settling in

We continue to try and balance our projects with restorative pursuits. Some days we're more successful than others, but we keep at it. Each day is a new opportunity to pursue balance.

Sunrise on November 10

We hope that you may achieve a desirable level of balance this season, especially heading into the season of holidays. Here's something to ponder. Take time to consider what you do for the holidays and what you would like to do. Traditions can be comforting or confining. Don't be afraid to step out toward what you would like to do. Holidays are meant to feed the soul, not drain it. Pursue what feeds, not what drains.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Supervisor Marmalade

Full Beaver Moon