After two frosty nights (-5 degrees Saturday to Sunday and -11 degrees last night), we are reminded that winter is nigh and there is not much we can do about it. Colder weather makes us pick up the pace. Yesterday, for instance, we planted next year’s garlic: the air was brisk but the sun was glorious. We also continued to harvest other root vegetables (’tis the season), as we prayed for enough daytime heat to warm up our beets and lettuce, stopped cold in their tracks by the night-time chill. It’s looking like 2015 will not see an Indian summer, but no matter — September was memorable enough this year.
The cold snap and falling leaves beckon, making this farmer forsake his fields briefly and venture into the woods. Our woods lie forgotten during high farming season, but are top of mind as soon as the weather turns…Suddenly, we remember the treasures they conceal and set out to reacquaint ourselves with long-forgotten spaces. At this time of year, the wooded groves have lost the luxuriance of summer, but are not yet exhibiting all their wintry nakedness. They stand in an in-between state, awaiting the definitive northwester that will lay them bare. It’s the time I choose to walk my forest paths, asserting my rights as master of my woods and letting stalking hunters beware.
