Fall and Goldenrod and Dahlias
Well there are some clear signs here in Northeast Ohio that Summer is almost done. The lady who sells the best sweet corn in this area is no longer at that corner gas station right on the way home from work. Her corn is the best but she also has melons, tomatoes, cucumbers – lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. We watch for her to appear late June/early July and then we’re sad when the end of September comes and one day she’s just not there.
Another sure sign is the goldenrod crop and it seems to be extremely abundant this year. It’s such a mixed blessing – we long for the good honey crop, but we know it means that Summer is pretty much over. You can see in the photo that our lucky bees just have to ‘step’ out the front and there it is. I got my first whiff of it as I was mowing past the hives last week. If you’ve never smelled goldenrod while the bees are processing it you might not realize that the smell can actually be a bit offensive until you know what it is. We’ve had phone calls in past years from folks saying there’s something terribly wrong with my bees. Then once we realize what it is Kim will say ‘that’s the smell of money.’ It’s in high demand in our part of the world.
We’re nearing the end of the garden season. We had a pretty good tomato and pepper crop this season. I made stuffed peppers and had enough to freeze and share. Kim and I are still adjusting to our raised beds and learned a few more lessons this year. Tomatoes and basil are frozen for some wonderful soup this Winter.
Our property is always a work in progress. It’s ever changing and being redefined. Kim, along with help from one of our spare children, probably planted 40 more trees this year. Thank you Matt. We lose a few and we plant a lot more.
The poultry gang is doing well. We haven’t lost anyone this Summer – 14 chickens, four ducks. I think there are three or four from our original group which would make them about eight years old. Welfare chickens we call them. But that’s okay, they’re just fun to be around.
We got to do something new and fun this past weekend. Our dear friend Nancy is a Dahlia expert. She belongs to the Dahlia society and grows amazing flowers. Well, they have an annual regional show and she asked Kim to help judge the photography portion. So off we went to Wooster early Saturday morning, properly masked because it was part of the Ohio State campus and helped judge photography. It was amazing. Dahlias come in every shape and size.
The printing and publishing and mailing businesses are still somewhat bumpy. Across the board you probably didn’t get your September issue as early as you normally would. That was due in part to our amazing printer being short-staffed like so many of us. You probably didn’t get this one as early as you hoped either.
Please know that all of us are doing are very best, but sometimes we fall short on almost every level. There are still so many things we can’t control. And even the ones we think we control don’t always happen like we plan.
I hope you have enjoyed your Summer and that you have a peaceful, mild Fall and Winter. Take care, be safe.
Kathy Summers
