A blustery Fall week here in Delavan

Too long since I've posted - Summer takes such a huge commitment here in the Southern Lakes region. We wait for summer through damp and cool April, hope for May to bring us flowers. Flowers are slow to appear though as May turns to a cool June. Our summer doesn't really seem to kick in until July, and then all of a sudden it's Labor Day! Four months just flew by.

At any rate, I was just reading one of my Farmer's Market vendor's posts* to her customers and thought I'd share, while I'm sitting here hoping to have some kind of lunch traffic to pass the day. Made a roasted red pepper and tomato soup yesterday, and an eggplant soup for today. Farmer's Market vegies are really making my soup selections quite eclectic right now.

*Thanks to Sonja Schresner, Peach Tree Organics, for her 'Ruminations'.

**Jennell took the picture (above) from inside out through a bottle of olive oil. I love the look, like you're looking through a golden fall filter, at scudding clouds with small wisps of blue sky and a flag almost perpendicular in the wind. She has a great eye, that Jennell does!

ljw

Ruminations...

In The Garden

As the growing season nears its end I find myself feeling like a bear. Lumbering slowly around the farm. Ruminating over what I can do better next year, what I can plant more of, what I can plant less of, how I can adjust the beds, what grew best and where, which beds need the most compost. . .the list goes on. With the rain coming down and the frost holding off I get to witness the spinach seedlings pushing up through the soil to yield their fall crop. As I get better at sowing these fall greens I'll be able to offer subscriptions that go later into the year.

With the cool wet weather looming, a profound tiredness seeps into my bones. I want to curl up into my cave, draw the curtains and sleep for at least a week. As a kid I always remembered fall feeling so vibrant and invigorating as we would begin a new school year. The excitement of learning new concepts and skills. Now I check my stores, hoping I have put up enough food for the winter month. I examine the poorly stacked wood pile and realize that a whole new set of chores are beginning, so I had better revitalize, at least for another month or so. But then what, the holiday season slams up, raining us with chocolate bars, turkey leftovers and Christmas cheer. The bear in this momma is going to have to wait, at least until the quiet snow of January begins to fall gently on the rooftops. For now, I guess I'll just settle for a good night's sleep (I hope) and a hot steamy cup of tea at sunrise.

Your Farmer, Sonja