Last weekend ushered in the change of seasons as the earth
shifted her balance from summer to fall. We spent the final day of summer
engaged in activities that seemed appropriate – putting up more garden harvest,
hauling and stacking more firewood, and putting away equipment we no longer
need this season.
We have never expected to grow all our food here. At this
elevation it would be a nearly impossible task. But we do have some successes.
The garlic and onion harvests are complete and dried and will supply all our
needs for the coming year.
As they ripen I’m roasting and freezing the summer squash,
tomato and sweet peppers. We’ll have a good supply in the freezer but certainly
not enough to get to next year’s crop.
I tried winter squashes again this year without much luck.
The plants took up half of our small greenhouse with the foliage but only
produced about ten pounds of squash. Those are cured and stored. I don’t think
I’ll try winter squash again – the nighttime temperatures here are just too
cold to set fruit.
Both of our herbal gardens were very productive so we will
have a great supply of both dried culinary herbs and extracts of medicinal
herbs.
On Saturday, the first day of fall, we decided a short,
scenic drive was in order. After considering a couple of destinations we
settled on the little town of LaVeta mostly because we knew the back roads
leading there would be a riot of fall colors and because we hadn’t been to
LaVeta in years. We weren’t disappointed. The colors were stunning on Pass
Creek Pass and LaVeta Pass (both over 9000’) and LaVeta has a great little deli
with incredible sandwiches. It was a great way to welcome the autumnal equinox
where for just a moment, the earth is in balance.
From Fleur Creek Farm