All the leaves on one walnut turned yellow today. The maples flash red, warning of waning days. The tomatoes look tired. We, like squirrels, scurry to store food for winter.

The eggplants produce more than we can eat. I split them, salt them to draw out moisture, then toss in olive oil and grill until soft. I scoop out the flesh and freeze for that winter day when Baba Ganouj on toast will transport us back to steamy September days. Along the way, I sample the different types we’ve grown. The orange round ones are sweet. The purple round ones are fleshy. The others taste more like classic eggplant. I mix them together and love them all.

We have squeezed 10 gallons of pear cider and 10 gallons of apple cider, and have more apples to process for wine and dried apples. We have tossed loads of fruit ruined by July’s hail storm. We may be in drought, but the trees remember winter snow.

The tartness of cider cools the tongue after a day in the sun.

I completed my first quilt. I hope it helps warm some fragile frame come winter. This is part of a church group effort to bring comfort to our community. Our quilting guru joked that we should make it a “Sip and Sew” event…so I provided home made wine to help ease the aches that come with hunching over a sewing machine. Michael and I really can’t drink all the wine and cider we make.

The blue potatoes are amazing boiled or roasted. They are becoming our favorite. Cabbages crack when cut open, fresh and crisp. The giant pumpkins will go to Grands for Halloween. Extras will go to the church rummage sale. We will eat the small ones before Christmas, saving the winter squash to cheer us and our birds with their rich orange flesh in hard winter. Beets and pickles we eat now!

Michael and I took a break from pressing apples to go hunt the wily wild hazelnut. We found a stand driving around in the sand barrens and gathered a couple of paper grocery bags worth in half an hour. The hazelnuts are about the size of a chickpea, but are sweet and lovely. Sitting down for a while in the evening and chatting while cracking hazelnuts has become our new favorite pastime.

Aborted entalomas appear near the equinox. They cannot be confused with any toxic mushroom, so we gather them when we see them. They have a firm flesh and umami flavor. Great in stews or omelets.

We harvested the last of the ducks and chickens on September 3. Between 26 ducks, 25 broilers and 12 Wyandotte chickens, we produced a total of 268 pounds of usable portions. This includes feet and bones for broth, as well as meat and fat for sausages. 81 pounds went directly to our children. The rest we share out over the year. We lost 12 ducks and 4 chickens to predators. The birds have moved to winter quarters, which provide better protection. Bob continues to do well and keeps up with the flock on her single leg.

“Autumn is here!” sings Roger the Rooster.

The Grands remind us there is joy in hurtling through space.