looking back, looking ahead

I think that summer usually ends a little earlier than this in our area, but this year the warm, sunny, dry days stretched from early July to mid-October.  Today it is raining, though, and I think that we are officially tumbling toward winter.  Fall and spring both fill me with the oddest emotions.  Mostly, both of these seasons send me reeling with excitement as changes abruptly happen.  Though the seasons are nearly opposite, spring and fall bring me a sense of promise for good things.  Yet, as I feel excitement and hope, I also feel a sense of loss as I realize that another season of life has passed, never to return.

First, let's celebrate the end of summer.

These are some of my very own tomatoes.  Delicious.

What a lovely creature!  It's amazing that few months ago,
this beautiful chicken was a scrawny little fuzzball.

Never in my wildest dreams growing up did I imagine harvesting
my own sunflower seeds.  

This melon grew from a seed that germinated in the worm bin.

A blue heron surveying our pond.  The warm days and lack of rain
sure has the pond water mighty low!

While I really enjoy each season, and perhaps especially so since I grew up on the coast where seasons were less distinct, I am already looking forward to next spring when I can put the first seeds in the ground and start over again.  I am really happy with all that came out of our garden this year, and I am excited to improve next year.  Plus, we have plans to radically change our gardening space for next year.  We plan to demolish half of the driveway and tear out about half of the front lawn.  In this space, we intend to build raised beds and perhaps add some fruit trees and shrubs.  We also plan to move the raised beds from the side yard and plant a little fruit orchard there instead.  One other major addition we're planning on for next year is a grape arbor in the front lawn.  It's going to be a lot of work, and I am terribly excited to dig in and see the changes.

My professional dreams and goals have also lead me to unexpected places.  While I feel more confident with my teaching every term, I am holding onto the hope that I will have a part in starting a food co-op that will eventually have the means to employ me!  In the meantime, I soak up the days when my students tell me that they appreciate me, and I work to not let student failures bring me down.  Teaching is a good job, and I really enjoy working with my students.  There is just a part of my insides with a PASSION for bring good, healthy, local food to our city, and I also feel anticipation for how a co-op could unite people in our community to do so many good things.

And this post would be simply incomplete if I didn't mention that I love being a wife, and I still eagerly anticipate being a mom someday.  I could never express enough gratitude for the way my life fell into place.  How did I end up marrying such a wonderful person?  Matthew and my dream for our life has somehow evolved simultaneously throughout our marriage.  It is perhaps not every husband who respects and appreciates both my part-time work for money and my part-time work at home to help live our lives simply, healthfully, and with respect for our fellow humans and the world.  We are partners in our mission; he works full-time at his job so that I can have the time to use my bike to get the groceries.  Thanks to my dear husband who is simply the best, and thanks to God who inspires the passion within us and delivers the joys of our lives.

CSA Weeks 17 & 18... The End!

 Week 17 provided about 15 pounds of:

• Tomatoes
• Pie pumpkins
• Kabocha squash
• Broccoli
• Potatoes
• Apples
• Sweet peppers
• Beets

Week 18 gave us 16.4 pounds of:

• Kale
• Pie pumpkin, spaghetti squash, and kabocha squash
• Pears
• Sweet potatoes
• Navy beans
• Hot peppers

I believe that this brings us to a total of 212.7 pounds of produce in 18 weeks!   It was a good 18 weeks full of a lot of food adventures and a lot of healthy food.  My one regret about this CSA is the plastic bags they package some of the food in.  It was one or two bags a week, and they used them to package lettuce or sometimes things like tomatoes.  I appreciated that they do their best by using biodegradable bags, but it still eats away at my package-free loving soul.   Mind you, I know that not all of their customer have the same passion for plastic as I do, so I understand what they do.

Next year we are considering trying a CSA that runs all year long.  Maybe I'll anticipate growing enough of our own food that we'll only get a half-share!