How did I get to mid-October already? Yet, here we are with crisp sunny days and leaves glowing with yellow. It’s time for garden clean-up: the last mowing, the weeding and mulching, putting away the hammock and so forth. Garlic will hopefully be planted in the next couple of days, but it is bittersweet, wondering who will pull it out in July as our home is for sale. Do I even want to cloche the fall vegetable offerings? Part of me just wants to put it all to bed, to say my goodbyes and let it rest.

The kitchen has been busy as usual. Lots of jams are put up, and applesauce, and salsas and tomato sauces and dehydrated garlic, onion, hot peppers, mushrooms and various herbs from the garden. I’ve got plenty of salve for boo-boo’s and lots of tinctures for ailments that hopefully won’t show up now that I’m armed. A fun thing I’ve been doing is preparing “tincture kits” for my friends while watching a movie (Pride and Prejudice!). You should have seen and smelled the small media room; it was clouded with a dry herbal smell for days! For five bucks each, my pals get all the premixed organic herbs and can make a pint of tincture for themselves. It’s a very happy go around.

We’ve been milking and are now working to dry off the goat. She has become a real pain, laying down on the milk bucket. My husband has to hold her backside up in the air so we can milk! (Find that man a chiropractor!) Twice we’ve had to throw out the milk because goaty stepped into it. And recently, I got into my beehive completely excited for the honey harvest I was going to have and when I got in there….nothing. Nada. Not only was there no honey to harvest, there wasn’t enough to feed them through the winter. So I am feeding my honeybees (trying not to sulk about it) and in all practicalities, starting over. I ought to mention that summer never *really* arrived here in the Pacific Northwest so not only did the bees not do well, dozens of tomato plants with fruit that rotted on the vine were pulled out by gardeners all over the area. I did manage to get my 85 pound puppy into the van for his trip to the vet to get *fixed* (that is, really, “broken”), but had to clean out the poop when I got home. Did I mention he is a big dog? No small potatoes there! Ah, the ease of country living…

I managed to sneak away for a weekend to the beach and got three scrapbook albums finished. When I first got there, I took a good look around and realized I was surrounded by scrapbooking professionals with tools and lights and electrical gadgets I’ve never even heard of. I was like, um, here are my pictures, papers and tape and pen. My books are very, very plain, maybe a strip of colored paper on the edges and that’s that. It’s just not my thing to make ornate pages even though I can totally appreciate the artistry that goes into them. And anyway, I got three books done. To me, that’s golden. And walking on the beach wasn’t too shabby, either.

I spun some more yarn, and tried to knit a hat. Which I finally ripped all out because I couldn’t get the GAP to close (you knitters will understand). And I am currently trying to knit a sock. Which I think I’ll probably be ripping out because I can’t get the GAP to close. Sigh. Knitter at heart, but not in my fingers. Maybe I’ll just end up spinning yarn for other knitters. In the meantime, I made a nice basket, finished an autumnal quilt, and have stacks of fabric waiting for other projects. And I have a nice gentleman from N’York making me some new harnesses for my loom.

I hope you’re enjoying your first days of fall! It’s a wonderful time to plan projects for those restful and quiet days of winter.

Blessings,