You think we were busy before?

Well, yes, we were. Grandson, Drew, came up for the weekend and helped out a bunch. He and Will split a whole lot of firewood and brought it up to the woodshed while I picked more beans, tomatoes, and squash. We were sad to see him go on Sunday, but he’s had it with the city and is trying to find a job up here. He’s a welder and should have no trouble finding one.

Yesterday, our friend, Sherri, came over and brought us some seeds she’d saved plus the hugest, most wonderful head of Golden Self-Blanching celery I’ve ever seen. (Grown from our seed, of course.) We picked the dry beans that were left, in preparation for the freeze forecast for tonight. Not frost — freeze, with the temperatures in the low twenties F. She and Will went out and picked all the squash left in the gardens then she and I picked the last zucchini, Costata Romanesco, which is our very favorite. I knew we had some nice ones. But, holy cow, we got a whole golf cart load, heaped up!

Today, Will and I are going out to pick the last tomatoes for me to can. There are hundreds and I just hope I can get cases of tomato recipes canned up before they go bad. Our second planting of sweet corn is just now getting ripe. So, Will and I will be picking all of it tomorrow. The plants will have been killed but the corn will still be fine. Then it’s canning that up too. Whew!

My living room looks like a disaster as I’m shelling dry beans every single day and night in there. Bean pods, buckets, and stray beans are all over the place. Most seed companies have warehouses; we have the living room! Every seed is hand-saved. No machines here. Except for Will.

The fall colors are beautiful yet and I saw the most beautiful pink-orange cloud the other night, just at sundown. We are so very blessed to live where we do. — Jackie