November

 

The light goes gray and you can see past all the trees now.
The air smells of fallen leaves and woodsmoke.
The Summer People have gone and the games at the beach field are over, the loudspeaker is quiet.
Many of the birds have flown south.

The dahlias still have some color on them but it is time.  We harvest the tubers before a hard freeze.

The tubers 

The last tomatoes picked in November.
What's left is the quiet.  It settles over everything.
This is my favorite month.

Early October Around the Farm

The dahlias are still setting buds, more than will open this time of year.

The sunflowers have turned.  The tomatoes have dropped and the turkeys have returned, basking on their favorite rock.

We are cutting flowers and splitting wood in the same week.  The wood was a gift from the September Nor'easter.

One cold night and it's a different farm.

By The Door

You can count a houseful by the door.  Boots, sneakers, flips flops, crocs, left where they came off.

I burned the peach jam.  Walked away from the pot and came back

to something the color of copper.  It tastes like carmel.

I'm calling it Caramelized Peach and putting it up on the shelf.

Zinnias are still going

The dahlias are cut wet with dew.  Unlike July or August, September nights are cold, 

and the mornings are heavy with dew, the flowers are soaked at first light now.

 

Plein Air

 A plein air painter set up at the fence today.  I took her picture.  She took ours.

First Bloom

 

The first bloom is the one you sacrifice, and this year the sacrifice piled up faster than we could sweep it - so we started making things instead.

August

 

The moon is still up when we start.  By seven the buckets are full.  We've never grown so many lisianthus as this year, mostly white but some pink.

The beets came in heavy this week, Sister Holly washes all six crates by the wall.

It has been quite the summer of people.  Arriving, learning and then leaving.  August is close to the end of something and we are still picking.  The harbor always holds the last light.

July Grows the Meal

 Everything on this tray came out of the ground this morning. Scallions, washed and laid out on parchment. New potatoes, skins still thin enough to rub off. The first real tomatoes of the season.

Supper this time of year is barely cooking. Boil the potatoes. Char the scallions under the broiler until the edges blister. Slice the tomatoes thick and salt them. Good oil over all of it.

July grows the meal. We just carry it in.

Recipe below.

• 1.5 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 bunches scallions, trimmed and washed
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finishing
• 1 teaspoons flaky salt, plus more for the potatoes' cooking water
• 0.5 teaspoons black pepper, coarsely ground
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (optional)

Steps

Boil the potatoes: Put 1.5 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed in a pot, cover with cold water, and salt it well. Bring to a boil and cook until a knife slides in easily, 15–20 minutes . Drain and halve the larger ones.

 Char the scallions: Heat the broiler. Toss 2 bunches scallions, trimmed and washed on a parchment-lined sheet pan with 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finishing, a pinch of salt. Broil until the tops blister and char at the edges, 4–5 minutes . They should be soft at the white end, crisp at the green.

 Slice the tomatoes: Slice 3 ripe tomatoes thick. Lay them on a platter and scatter with some of 1teaspoons flaky salt, plus more for the potatoes' cooking water. Let them sit while everything else finishes — the salt draws out the juice.

 Bring it together: Pile the warm potatoes onto the platter with the tomatoes. Lay the charred scallions over the top. Finish with more olive oil, the rest of 1 teaspoons flaky salt, plus more for the potatoes' cooking water, 0.5 teaspoons black pepper, coarsely ground, and 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (optional) if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

If the grill is already going, the scallions are even better over a hot fire — same timing, turn once. Day-old leftovers, chopped rough with a spoonful of mayonnaise, make a good potato salad.

(opens in new tab)