Early October

I think October is a good month for me to kind of let go of things out in the garden. I know that I'm really coasting till the first hard frost. I know that the weeds will only get so bad, the bugs only so out-of-control, until the cold kills it all. Yes, yes, they all have to be dealt with eventually, but it does signal a slowing down, a letting go. I really only have a few more weeks of running the CSA for the season. Then what I produce is just for my family to eat. And if I get lazy, or more accurately, too busy and forget to cover something on a cold night, it's not the end of the world. This is a good attitude for me to have right now, because my garden, that garden, it is a living breathing thing of it's own. I can only control so much.

Case in point. I harvested sweet potatoes last week. Every other one had a huge bite taken out of it. Moles? I don't know. I know my kids are going to be hating me and the darn sweet potatoes. I can't give the ones with bites taken out to customers so that means WE eat them. The kids aren't big sweet potato fans.



Another case in point. Deer scat everywhere. The unfenced portion of the garden has just been raided. They are coming for the persimmons, which is fine by me, but they nibble on other stuff while they are here. Eli saw three of them grazing out there early one morning this week. At this point in the season, I'm over peeing around the edges every day and taking out the radio to blast sports radio every night.

Third case in point. My buddy, turtle, pictured below, has been found all over the garden the whole season long...in the compost pile, in the marigolds, snuggling an eggplant. Today I found him eating a tomato. I just let him be. It's just a tomato.

It's good to just let go. I'm happy to have my camera back and cool mornings in which to enjoy both my coffee and the scenery.