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

Song Time/Falling Leaves Time 2024

 

Autumn Greetings

Song Time/Falling Leaves Time was ushered in with the September Harvest Moon.

An interesting moon shot

Bob got a shot of it when the heavy cloud cover briefly parted.

This month has been very busy with the garden. Until this week we had warm and beautiful weather. It was ideal for finishing the harvest and cleaning up the garden.

Beet harvesting

Beets and carrots have been pulled and stored. The potatoes are all in the root cellar.

Three kinds of potatoes

The beans are all in the cellar waiting to be threshed (13 bushels worth). Threshing begins in about a month.

Applesauce making

I made applesauce and both freezers are now full.

Bob helps dry apples

Right now, we're dehydrating apple slices.

Bob's shiitake logs had one final flush for the season. These mushrooms were dried for tasty soups this winter.

A good mushroom harvest

All that remains to be put up are horseradish and a crock of spicy sunchokes. We typically do these on Thanksgiving weekend.

Shoveling compost over straw

While I was finishing the harvests, Bob began weeding and amending the empty beds with compost.

Pulling off bean vines

I helped by pulling out the tomatoes, eggplants and peppers and cleaning off all of those bean trellises.

The upcoming week is supposed to be dry and warmer again, so our goal is to have the cleanup and amending all done by the end of October.

Firewood assembly line

Bob cut his medium wood today. This is wood that is too large to break by hand, and too small for the chainsaw. He's come up with a handy way to cut it into stove length pieces. He sets up his compound miter saw and has the bin filled in no time at all. 

On a warm day next week, he'll fill the wood bin in the cellar with regular stove logs which are already cut. We had our little "seasoning" fire in the stove just a couple of nights ago, so we're all ready for the cold weather.

Cayuga Lake

We got away for one walk this month. We went to Cayuga Wildlife Management Area (formerly known as Bell Station Preserve). It was peaceful with nice views of Cayuga Lake.

We are now in the season when we readjust our balance. We shift from a focus on providing for our physical needs, to a focus of providing for our inner needs. From growing, harvesting and preserving, to rest, creative endeavors and activities to feed our inner selves.

So now we gather the books, and I pick up the needles and we sit by the fire. We take time to think and to listen. A pot of tea and good music will be our companions. Nature rests and so do we.

We hope all of you can practice at least some of this, for your wellbeing, as well as for those whose lives you touch.

We bid you peaceful rest.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Happy Shiitake log

At Cayuga Wildlife Area

Harvest/Ingathering 2024

A Harvest Basket

The harvest moon has come and gone. Have you been wondering where we are? We've been pinned under the produce cart!

Seriously, the garden has been producing heavily and we've been scrambling to gather it in and preserve it. 

Our weather has been pleasant and a bit warmer than normal. This makes the tomatoes and eggplants very happy. I'm happy because the nights are cool and refreshing.

Husking sweet corn

We harvested our somewhat smaller corn crop.

Bob learning a new skill

Bob helped me get the largest portion into the freezer.

He also dug all of the regular potatoes and the sweet potatoes.

"Who's been nibbling?"

As usual, we had some damage to the sweet potatoes from rodents, but still had plenty to store for winter. And no blimps this year because we dug them in a timely manner.

Another year's stash

We had a bumper crop of squash and ate squash daily for two or three weeks. It's finished now, and we're not sorry.

The green beans have produced quite well. The freezer quota has been met, so now I'm dehydrating the rest. They are almost done now, as well.

Eggplants and peppers are still producing. Tomatoes are going bonkers.

Prepping tomatoes to freeze

I have frozen 48 pints of tomatoes and 14 pints of pasta sauce. That fulfills the freezer quota for those.

Ready for the freezer

Now I am daily filling the dehydrator with tomato leathers, and we're eating tomatoes three times a day! Today Bob took some down to the library for the staff and patrons there.

Both freezers are now full, except for the space that I've reserved for 12 pints of applesauce. I have been very busy. September is easily our busiest month here.

Bob has been able to take time and finish the seating area where our back deck used to be.

New seating area behind the house

All that remains to be done there is digging out the old flower bed next to it. That area will be seeded to grass because there is a nasty invasive there. We will be able to mow it down continually in the hopes that it will finally die out.

We have, remarkably, taken some relaxation time amidst all of this bustle.

Teeter Pond on August 29th

At the end of August, we walked to Teeter Pond in the Finger Lakes National Forest. You can see that the Red Maples were just beginning to change color. They're one of the earliest trees to turn here in the autumn.

Then, just this month, we took our first vacation in 15 years! That's right, we haven't even gone away for a night since our last annual vacation in October of 2009.

We travelled up to Alexandria Bay on the St. Lawrence River. That's the Thousand Islands area. (For non-New Yorkers, there are really 1,826 islands.)

We spent four days and three nights in Alex Bay. We did some very touristy things, and some walks and hikes in local State Parks.

View of Boldt Castle from Alex Bay

We toured Boldt Castle and its extensive grounds. It was a beautiful place, inside and out. It is on Heart Island in the middle of the St Lawrence River and is only accessible by boat. We took the shuttle boat over there.

A portion of the Castle front

The library, an example of the interior

Besides the mansion, there are three large outbuildings; a huge arch structure and swan pond; and many gardens and walks.

The electrical powerhouse 

The arch and swan pond (no swans)

The Italian Garden

The next day we hiked all morning at the Wellesley Island State Park. This was our favorite of the parks that we visited.

The St Lawrence from Wellesley Island

The hike was challenging but the views were lovely. We thought all of the outcroppings of granitic bedrock reminded us of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

We encountered a Bald Eagle just a few feet above us on one of the trails.

Bald Eagle at Wellesley Island

We also saw a lone loon on the river there. It's the first we've seen or heard since we left Minnesota. We found it very stirring.

Loon on the river

Later that afternoon we rested our sore feet and took a two-hour cruise on the river from the US to Canada and back again. There were many opulent homes to see, but we were far more interested in the natural scenery and all of the birds we saw.

One of the Ospreys that we saw

 

Swan on a shoal in the river

Cormorant, one of many, drying its wings

The weather was gorgeous for our entire stay, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We won't wait another 15 years before our next vacation. Hopefully we can return to our old pattern of a vacation each October.

Of course, one always has to come home. We came home to a garden gone crazy. This is what I picked the afternoon we returned:

A lot to deal with

Well, you can see what we've been up to this month and can surmise what we will be doing for the next month.

We'll be marking the Equinox with good food and fun. Enjoy your autumn.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Alexandria Bay Point Park

Monarch on Wellesley Island