We ordered new windows in March. They arrived in July. Such is the nature of supply chains these days. We still haven’t begun to install them. We have made progress in that direction, but triage overwhelms us.

Yesterday Michael announced that the pears were ripening. This is an emergency, as a ripe pear keeps for 30 seconds. Not all pears ripen at the same time. But if you wish to do anything but graze upon them, the time to act is always NOW.

I picked while Michael set up the press. They ranged in ripeness from sauce to potato hard.

I used the riding mower as a ladder and picked the tree clean. It filled the metal bucket, but just covered the bottom of the plastic one.

I chopped while Michael pressed. The juice turned out to be a light pink and tasted like a perfectly ripe pear smells. We have about 2 gallons fermenting. We will see how it translates into cider.

This afternoon we are sitting on the deck, enjoying the antics of the ducks who graze in the upstairs pasture. We spent from 7 am to 4 pm harvesting 6 ducks. That is 6.5 pounds of immediately edible duck (no, that is not what’s for dinner), and 8 pounds of sausage makings. We have 11 more ducks who need to go before winter arrives. The choice of who lives and who goes to freezer camp becomes ever more difficult. We harvest whenever the temperature drops low enough in the morning to fend off flies. We usually harvest 4 at a time due to having other required tasks, but time and approaching winter presses. One of our time sinks is to replace single pane windows. We have been having scattered rain, which keeps us from tearing down outside walls. We need to tear down walls to install the windows. Triage rules our lives.

Except for the bit we reserve for family. Tomorrow we make dinner for our children and their children. It is good to have occasion to set aside need and simply celebrate life. Is it work if it is joyful? It’s a debate I’m having with my back right now. Joy is winning.