A SUDDEN CHILL IN THE AIR

Pine trees reflected on June's field

So – We’ve gone from unseasonably warm temps to a sudden need for warmer garments. Last night I turned on the electric blanket for the first time this season and pulled the bedspread out of storage. Mike has built fires in the fireplaces at both houses and even lit the pilot on the wall furnace at the farmhouse. I guess he had an inkling that colder temps were on the way because last week he brought our space heaters in from the shed. This morning, he turned them on.

We went to the farm Thursday (Oct. 9). Afternoon highs Thursday and Friday were 82, but Friday the wind picked up and by evening it was raining. We need the rain. We’ve even prayed for rain, and all the while other regions of our country are inundated – storm after storm with wind and flooding. The glow cast by the evening sun as the storm approached was spectacular. The photos here (taken with my phone because I forgot the camera) just don’t do those “magnificent effects” justice.

So, it’s time to prepare for winter. It will surely come. The garden is finished. I picked two dozen (or more) ripe tomatoes and two heaping Cool Whip containers of green ones. (A Cool Whip container is a standard measurement at my house. At approximately three cups, it’s approximate but gives a mental picture nevertheless, sorta like the obsolete bushel and peck.) I picked a few strawberries but tossed them. And I picked three summer squash, but only two were edible. I did not pull the plants out. I’ll do it next trip – or next spring. (I’m tempted to say whichever comes first.)

Thursday afternoon, Mike and I transplanted “blanket flowers” and mint from the town garden in the orchard. These may not take but perhaps the seeds will spread and plant themselves. I can always dream.

The pears we picked last trip gradually ripened on the counter, so I sliced and dried two trays of them. We were surprised to find eight more decent pears on the tree, which Mike picked for us.

And I made a batch of haw jelly, baked an apple blueberry pie and cookies. Mike took the big chimes down and stored them. He also cleaned the eavestroughs. It all sounds so easy, doesn’t it? But it was work. And we brought the lawnmower back to town for winter service and storage. KW