Harvest

Early October here is sunny and warm. I love it. My bell peppers are finally turning red and orange. Some of the tomato plants on the deck are finally offering up big heavy and succulent fruits. The six wonderful tomatoes out in the raised beds are getting ready for the end. I still see a few yellow blossoms here and there, and we've got more nice red tomatoes on the vine still. But their end is near, I'm afraid. Out of six plants, I've got one Japanese eggplant. But at least it's very pretty! I've been totally neglecting my cucumber plants and have some scary looking cukes out there! I keep meaning to get some lettuce starts and trade out some of the tired old plants.

These days we have several big projects in the works--getting new cards made and Krista's open studio. With the card printing we're choosing six new paintings to be cards. I think that having new work will revitalize our card business. It's exciting putting the art out there as cards. The images really travel that way. The open studios are to be a low key affair. Still, they may be fun--I want to get some live music set up for at least one of them.

I've also been pushing to have more regular sit down dinners, with the girls taking a turn cooking. Once we started it made a major shift in our family dynamics. The girls both started taking a more active role in homemaking. It feels timely. The days are definitely getting shorter. Harvest time is upon us.