Harvesting....

 September.... sunny days of yellow, gold, and fading greens.

The red maples along the edge are starting to turn a dark burgundy colour. From waking up time, until the daylight grows, and the sun finally peeks through the trees, the length of darkness stretches so much longer. The overnight temperatures are creeping ever downward, now in the high single digits C. (high 40's F) and the mornings are very dew wet. We are watching the forecasts for the first frost warnings. 

Fall colours are showing up, mostly on the red maples, the tips of branches here and there, sometimes a whole red branch, and in lower, wet places along the highways, whole blazing red trees. All the trees are looking more faded, their greens dulled down from the glorious green of spring and summer.

Timing is everything, they say. Well, here is the dill, ready, finally.

and here is the cucumber bed...dismantled!

A neighbour dropped in and we sent her away with bags of ripe tomatoes, a big bunch of lovely straight, unmolested carrots from the second planting. (no sign of any carrot maggots in this crop), a bunch of peppers and some of the long mauve eggplants that are crowding this most beautiful specimen of a plant.

The buckwheat grew up rapidly, 12 to 15 inches high,

and started to put out buds. We turned it over and chopped in all the greenery.

What on earth will I do with all of these?

Cayennes. I had this thought of drying, and powdering them for my own cayenne pepper....but how much does one need?? 

We are in the middle of apple season, the shelves are filling, applesauce, apple jelly and dried slices,

and I think I have enough frozen slices for pies and crisps now. One of our trees bears the most pretty, pink-fleshed (and delicious) apples.

The tall ladder lashed securely into the back of the truck is still a difficult way to harvest from the tops of these old, old trees.

We've ordered an apple picking pole. Why we haven't done that before is a mystery!