It’s mid September. When you ask a gardener how it’s going, they’ll answer 1) Things are really winding down or 2) I’m over it or 3) Both.

In some ways I feel like we just got started. Growing season is so short. It’s kind of amazing we can get so much food out of the earth in such a short time.

It can’t be over yet. There’s still a shitload of food growing in our garden. I harvested over 20 heads of broccoli last week and there are 30 more coming. Our corn is finally at peak eating. We are just starting in on our tomatoes. The craziness of canning season hasn’t even begun. The sunflowers and zinnias are just kicking in. The third planting of beans produced four pounds of beans in one day and we are waiting on a fourth planting. This doesn’t seem like a garden that is winding down.

And yet, the majority of our garden beds have been emptied — you just can’t notice because they’ve been overrun by the squash. And the squash plants, one of the last things to come out of the garden, are starting to look pretty tired. Same with the tomato plants. All blighted out, sad looking, still supporting clumps of green tomatoes. They’ve given all they can.

Seems like I was just reveling in the greeness of early summer. But even the trees are starting to give it up. It’s a reminder to soak up all the color I can — soon enough my world will be months of gray. Each fall I hope I’ve soaked up enough sunshine to get me through the dark days of winter.

And when the dark days hit, we’ll have homegrown food to sustain us — stored up sunshine. That frozen corn is going to be sooooo delicious with venison meatloaf after a big ski day. Spaghetti nights are highlighted by homegrown tomato sauce and pesto along with venison meatballs. (If you know the boss, you know that would be every Monday night.)

Nothing beats a raspberry pie in February, sunshine in a pastry. And I am kind of looking forward to the sweetness of delicata squash with some Brussel sprouts. The garden may be winding down, but the goodness it produces will sustain us well into next summer.