The Fruits of our Labor

We work so hard all summer and sometimes the enjoyment doesn't hit us until now. The advent of the slower, colder season seems to bring us to our senses. Finally! We can now see what we missed! We were so busy producing, creating, maintaining, and now we see the results! And even if the results aren't all that great, isn't it kind of a good feeling to know that we weren't just wasting our time? That we really did try our best? That we can be happy with bringing it to a close?

These yellow birch leaves make me happy when they fall on this purple mum. Yesterday there was a slight frost on the windshield when I drove away to some training for church. When I got home I decided to bring in what's left in the garden, except for some herbs that I want to dry later.

This was a good year for peppers. I have a lot of them. So this coming week, I'll make the usual chicken-stuffed peppers and then I'll cut up the smaller peppers and freeze them. I'll use the yellow summer squash and zucchini to make sweet pickles. My cucumbers were not successful this year, that was a big disappointment, but I did find a good recipe for these sweet pickles in one of my mom's old cookbooks, the "Nokay Lake Cookbook". I've used this book many times and have never regretted it. It's one of those collections of recipes that you might find wherever you live, whether it be a company, church or neighborhood group. This is from a lake association close to the Brainerd, Minnesota area where I grew up.

Since I don't think there is much difference between a summer squash and a zucchini, I'm going to make these pickles with mostly yellow summer squash.

I did have good luck with cherry jam. I can't grow cherries here, except for sour Nanking cherries, so I bought a bunch of dark cherries on sale, pitted and froze them. This past week I had time to can a few jars of jam.

A very good harvest of Yukon Gold potatoes. I'm letting them dry a little in the garage. I wish I could grow more, but I don't have a root cellar. I try to use them up before the Christmas season.

Things are moving along here. It is not a fast life, but a life I can handle and be happy. Here is the barn with the big ash tree.

The nice thing about the ash tree is it drops all its leaves in one fell swoop over a couple days, so that will be soon, and I can get most of it cleaned up and on to the compost pile. Sadly, the emerald ash disease is moving swiftly now in Minnesota, and I want to appreciate this beautiful tree as long as I can.

The Fall makes garden colors more intense. Here are a few shots of purple coneflower, black-eyed susan and the beloved dahlias:

The dahlias give so much for so little:

The other day, I was mowing under the horse chestnut and I saw this red squirrel guarding her harvest:

When I'm outside working I always enjoy the chattering and squabbling of the red squirrels, doing their work and having fun as we do also.

September is a month of work, preparing, planning and hoping for the future. It's also a month of remembrance. My Mom and Dad both left me in September, in 1999 and 2011. But it definitely is not a sad month. There is nothing to mourn. Their work was harder than mine, and their contribution to the world was greater than mine. So it is a happy time of remembrance. 

Byron would like to wish you a good night. He's getting pretty sleepy, but he sends these wishes from a warm spot in the kitchen.

Peace be with you all.

Phil