Harvest/Ingathering 2023

We grow some really tall sunflowers!

Here we are, four days after the full moon, and I'm just getting our Harvest/Ingathering update out to you. That's how busy it is here. This is quite possibly our busiest time of year. So, right on to it...

Our weather in August was very cloudy, and sometimes rather cool. It's obvious that summer is on the decline. Very warm days are predicted for this week, but the nights will still be rather cool. We're hoping for sunnier conditions for September. We want to keep that solar production up!

The daily harvest on August 21

The garden work has kept me busy. I've picked nearly all of the blue berries, processed all of the celery and the freezers are filling up. There's still room for tomatoes, corn, applesauce and a few more boxes of kale.

Harvesting fingerling potatoes

Picking green and yellow beans

I've begun digging potatoes, we're eating green beans, cucumbers, eggplants and squash daily. Our meals are determined by what's piled up the highest in the kitchen! It makes for some very odd combinations.

This is what came in on August 31

The tomatoes are starting to come in. I hope to get some into the freezer very soon.

Wisconsin Chief tomato

I began freezing corn on Friday. It generally takes four weekly sessions to process all of the corn in my patch.

Shucking right between the patch and compost pile

Soon we'll be digging the sweet potatoes. You can see how luxurious the vines are. Hope we're getting a nice crop below.

Sweet potato vines running rampant

In addition to all of this, we're also eating and processing our wine cap mushrooms. The bed had gotten too dry, but with extra attention it seems to have recovered somewhat. This delayed production a little. In just one day this week, we harvested over five pounds.

Five pounds of Wine cap-they're large!

 In addition to fresh eating, I've sautéed and frozen some and dehydrated quite a few.

In the midst of all this, Bob brought in some "wildlings" from our woods and meadow. One day he came in with a couple of quarts of blackberries and a nice amount of wild mushrooms.

Wild blackberries

Chicken of the Woods

Both are now in the freezer and will be a pleasant treat in the cold months.

While I have been busy with all of this, Bob's been busy outside.

The deck almost gone

He's been removing the old deck. It was 18'x24', so there was a lot to remove. He's saved a few of the reusable materials to make a trellis for my clematis and some planting boxes.

He ran into a snag (this happens on all projects). Notice the white trellising in the photo. On the back of this is growing a shrubby vine that is very large. It has to be cut out before that trellising can be removed. As Bob was hacking away at it, he uncovered an active hornet's nest! It's the size of a basketball and was totally hidden in the shrub. He's very fortunate that he saw it before hacking into it or bumping into it. He didn't get one sting! The colony will disband and die with the cold weather, so the trellis will stand until that time. Other than that, the deck removal is complete. We're still discussing what exactly we want to do with this area.

This week Bob's been busy cleaning up the mountain of discarded material by the garage.

With all of our renovation work and the deck removal, we had amassed quite a debris pile.

20 yard dumpster arrives

On Tuesday afternoon we had a 20 yard dumpster delivered. As of today the pile has been loaded in and the dumpster is full. It will be picked up this week. That's a big sense of accomplishment!

In the month ahead there's still plenty for us to do. Our garden certainly does not quit on Labor Day, so I'll have my hands full there. Bob's got various little maintenance jobs to do. Many small tasks get set aside during larger jobs. We'll also be sure to take some time to enjoy the nice late summer/early autumn weather, especially on the equinox. 

We hope you too, will take time to enjoy the season's change.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Some of our wine cap mushrooms

Cold Time/Renewal Time 2023

 

January in our woods

Warm greetings from the cold Finger Lakes. Actually, today we're beginning a warming trend. In general, we've had a warmer winter with relatively less snow than normal. Cold Time however, decided to go out true to its name.

Feb 2 Moondog-harbinger of storms

From February 2nd through the morning of the 4th, we had cold temperatures and very high, gusty winds. The old house was continually buffeted by the winds. Thankfully, this particular 170+ year old house was built to stand for generations. Short of a tornado, it's not going anywhere.

We hunkered down by the stove, reading and playing cards.

Cozy in the storm

We just enjoyed the time in quiet ways.

Earlier in the month, we finished our threshing chores.

Bob helps with his first threshing

We now have our annual stock of beans (aka protein) all ready for use.

Sieving lettuce seeds 

We cleaned the lettuce seeds that we saved.

Howling Mob sweet corn

And cleaned the sweet corn seeds. We like to grow this variety and it is very hard to find. There is only one source that I know of that still sells it. Since no one knows when they may decide to drop it from their listings, it makes a great deal of sense to save our own seeds.

Besides working on our chores, we've been pursuing the Renewal Time part of the month. In addition to reading and resting,

A new piece for spring

I've been working on a new hardanger project and practicing my harp. I'm a SLOW learner, but I am persistent, at any rate.

 We've also been busy with medical appointments. Due to the pandemic and Bob's subsequent increased work schedule, we fell behind in our Well Adult checks. Now we're trying to catch up. Gone are the days when this could be done in one, or even two visits. At our age, it involves many tests and each one needs a separate appointment somewhere else. Additionally, scheduling these appointments can literally take months. By the time you finish one round, it's time to start all over again!! All that being said, so far, so good for both of us.

Bob is enjoying his retirement. He likes the change. The first change we made was to move our morning alarm from 4:30 am to 5:00 am. That's very nice. We also can eat supper a little earlier. We like that because we have more time to digest it before bed, and we get a bit more evening to enjoy.

He's been relaxing, reading, and helping me more with the routine household chores.

One of his goals is to become more consistent in his exercise routine. Since I've a longstanding (29 year!) practice of daily (weekday) walking and afternoon yoga, he has decided to latch onto this structure. He joins me on the daily walk. For now he has to walk at a slower pace and for less distance, but hopes to build up on both counts over time. In the afternoon, while I'm doing my yoga practice, he does a tai chi practice, which he prefers. Again, it's a dedicated time and is honored as important.

Other things that he's done, are to finalize the porch plans, prepare the tax returns as much as possible at this time and is planning out new mushrooms that he wants to grow. He's expanding his mushroom garden. Just a fun-guy, after all.

Winter tree Identification walk

Another thing he wants to do is to be better acquainted with our winter trees. He's been reading up on this and his first Cornell Retiree newsletter told about a local Winter Tree ID Walk. So, we went on that at the end of January. It was very basic, but a nice day to get out.

Within the next moon cycle, I'll begin some of my seeds and we will begin turning toward spring.

To prepare for spring, we'll spend some of our time examining our lives to see what needs to be cleared away to allow for new growth. Everything is on the table; possessions, habits, beliefs, and thought patterns. It's an annual "housecleaning" of sorts. Sometimes the "delete" list is long, sometimes short. It's the examining and acting that makes the difference. It helps us live consciously and purposefully. It helps us remain centered and at peace.

It's a very worthwhile discipline that I highly recommend. 

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Flowers to brighten January