Holy crap, it’s November! Here I am again, watching the leaves fall, yanking the dead flowers from the planters, feeling the earth turning away from the sun and wondering where the hell summer went. Summer was actually really great. Warm and sunny, plenty of time spent in the water. But then it got too unusually warm for too unusually long and I started seeking out shade and secretly hoping for cooler nights. Maybe even a little frost — good sleeping weather.

The blooming fall crocuses and buzzing asters startled me. Fall? Now? Already? Then all of a sudden I looked up and the leaves were starting to change color. There are fewer and fewer plants in the garden — about a dozen purple cabbage and several beds of broccoli. Why does it seem like the Earth is spinning faster?

I got a little dizzy from all that spinning as I planted garlic. Fifteen hundred cloves in the ground. Again? Already? I feel like we just did this task and here we are again, dibbling garlic holes till our asses cramp up.

The dibbling process took a little longer this year as we paused frequently to discuss how we could improve the design so our asses no longer cramp up.

Sure signs the garden is winding down: The Boss is wrapping up all the garden hoses — which stretch from here to eternity; he has deployed “the fleet” (cold frames over the spinach and lettuce); and herded leaves to mulch the garlic.

I’m sorting out all the food we’ve put up this summer deciding how much to haul to Montana. The squash is harvested and there is so much of it. Anyone need squash? Or onions? The garlic is sold out for the second year in a row. Thanks to all our garlic patrons for supporting us so heartily. I guess I’ll be slacking off on this blog until next Spring. See you all in May!

Subscribe to have blog posts delivered to your email box.