Fall-ing!

The Fall is upon us, and there is so much more to do than I remember from years past. Lately I've been helping Maryanne catch up with her soap business. It has been growing by leaps and bounds (most likely because it is such wonderful stuff), and we went from making 2 batches a day to 4, and now 6. We work so smoothly together, and have this great work-shop to do it in that it goes very well. The picture of the workshop shows the yellow delicious apple tree that is begging me to find time to make applesauce and apple butter. There is the gourd trellis where the gourds are drying, and you can make out part of the garden.
Of course there is the still that calls me constantly too. On an evening walk, we gathered enough plantain to try tomorrow. There are all the sages, the basils, the mint, and the evergreens. Next year there will be many more things to try.
Right now I'm also making vinegars - mostly hot pepper and opal basil. The peppers also need to be made into jelly. If it seems like I'm complaining, that is not the case. I'm THRILLED! A little scared too - lol. The next magazine deadline is this coming Saturday, and it is the holiday issue AND the issue where we do lots of product/book reviews. There are a lot of little things I need to do beforehand. All fun.

Another thing we discovered during a walk the other day was this Rusty Black Haw tree. The berries have a large pit, turn black, and the one I tasted reminded me of dried plum. Not bad, a little bland, but it is always interesting to find new edible plants somewhere that you've been walking past for years and not noticing. There are so many wonderful edible plants around here. With the recent scare caused by E. Coli bacteria in cultivated spinach, I'm pleased to have and know so many wild greens. I'm thinking about sewing some spinach right quick since it might be the right weather for it now.

Lastly, while making deliveries the other day, we saw this little display outside a roadside stand. Those corn wreaths were eye catching and colorful, and the pumpkins and gourds were a sure sign that summer is officially over.

So that night I pulled the watermelon and squash vines. Just waiting for the beans to finish drying. Soon, very soon, I'll be planning next year's garden - and it is going to be a doozy!