At 8 PM, darkness reigns, Michael quietly sleeps, rain gently falls. We have had a week of work.

These are three of the eight or so cabbages Michael grew. They weigh about eight pounds each. We needed to get the biggest ones out of the garden so they would not split in the rain.

I have a 14” knife perfect for parting out these Dutch Flat Heads.

I love cabbage patterns.

This is what 5 pounds of thin-sliced cabbage looks like. All told, I sliced 15 pounds from 2 heads. I used one pound to make okonomiyaki.

The rest is now gently fermenting into sauerkraut. I hope to make kimchi with other cabbage, but I need to find some daikon radish first.

Michael has been picking the apples off of our trees. We have lost a number of branches as we haven’t had time to thin. Michael has filled about 20 5 gallon buckets with apples and stashed them in the garage. He has dumped trailer-loads of apples out where the deer can eat them. Cider-making is on the triage list.

He began harvesting the popcorn, even though the husks are still a bit green. The squirrels have been pillaging the stalks and Michael has been salvaging what is left…which is plenty.

Our new hens (pullets) are laying. “Pullet eggs” are these tiny things.

In an effort to free some freezer space (we still have 15 ducks that need to go before winter sets in), I rendered three pounds of duck skin. We have large blocks of deer tallow in the freezer that need to be turned into soap. But deer tallow likes to be cut with a softer fat to make good soap. The deer-duck mix is my favorite, not only for texture, but somehow it turns out smelling like milk chocolate. We gobbled down the cracklings and I froze the 3 cups of duck fat.

The eggplants ripened at last! We have been eating Eggplant Parmesan, Pasta alla Norma, baba ganoush, stir-fried eggplant with crispy chile sauce, and I cruise the internet for other eggplant ideas. I toss eggplant with salt and olive oil and grill it until soft, scoop the flesh out and freeze it for winter dishes. Michael is experimenting with drying it to see if we can preserve it without using freezer space.

The green beans. They taste amazing when picked and cooked within the hour.

I’ve been using some of my chicken fat (shmaltz) to sauté vegetables. The Golden Laced Wyandottes have the best fat.

Geese gather.

Trees turn.

Light lengthens.

Warm sock weather will soon arrive.