Seasons Turning Weekend

taken by my four year old photographer Lil

This weekend was a blur of summer fading to fall.  I put three garden beds to rest, including harvesting peppers and green tomatoes, pulling out honeysuckle and ivy creeping around the fence, and adding to our massive compost heap.

early fall harvest and a bottle of Charlie's hard cider

In discussion last night we decided to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates at our favorite credit union.  We hope to sell our Honda Fit and buy a mid 90s Civic or similar, using the car payment difference to refinance the house into a 15 year mortgage. That’s not really pertinent, is it?

This morning Alex was planning to start on making molds for the kitchen concrete counter tops.  In reading about how to do so and the necessary steps after, he came across an article about using furniture grade plywood for counter tops.  We have had wood counter tops before and loved them.  In a fit of inspiration ten months in the making, we changed direction and are now going to install cherry veneer counters, and soon!

In the middle of thinking about the counter tops, I received a text from Trish at Local Matters.  She invited us to the lovely community garden at the ECLC school.  Really an integrated playground and garden, we loved walking the spiral paths and raised mound, playing with the climbing toys and monkey sculptures (above), and drinking the apple cider.  This event was a truly good time and a harbinger of offerings to come for Local Matters Local Foods Week.

While at the garden tour, we met a Farmer Paul and his chicken.  We have considered raising backyard chickens for eggs for quite some time.  When he mentioned he was selling several four month old hens, our ears perked.  Maybe now is finally the time for us to get into raising urban livestock.  We’re researching coops and will certainly update progress here.

When we returned home, we planted three varieties of garlic.  Getting my hands in the soil after a weekend of big decisions always makes me feel grounded again.

We ended the weekend with a hearty dinner with family: roast pork and potatoes, risotto cakes with tomato sauce, portabella with goat cheese, green salad, bread, butter, and gourmet salts.  Autumn is beginning to settle in around here.