November on the Farm

As summer came to a close Pete and I were thrilled with the thought of autumn in the country.  There is that frenzied period at the peak of summer's bounty when the days are long and nights are short and it feels impossible to keep up with the garden and weeding and everything else.  And then the days start to shorten and life begins to slow down.  I think that's one of the things I missed most in California - the rhythm of the seasons.  Back on the farm again, we have loved September, gloried in October and now we are relishing November's distilled sunlight, short days and sweater weather.  I'd forgotten how beautiful November can be.  Yes, there are gray, rainy days and foggy mornings.  But the angle of the light this time of year amplifies the sun's beauty and makes up for any shortage in the hours.  Some days we just drive slowly across the countryside and bask in the tawny harvested fields and colorful trees.

We have been immersed in the huge project of finishing the basement.  Carpenters, dust, electricians, dust, plumbers, dust, dry wallers, dust, bags and bags of stuff to cart away, and more dust.  But Anne is painting away down there now and within a week or two, the Big Move should take place.  Anne and Kenji will move into the space down there and Pete and I will migrate to the master bedroom on the ground floor.  I will acquire a sewing room upstairs and the threads will begin once again to fly.  Yesterday I finished the LAST of the canning for the season.  All the beets and apples are now in jars and the shelves are groaning under the bounty.  

Anne in her painting gear - we bought a sprayer that she is using on all surfaces.  This is the "before" photo. Now she is completely white from head to toe.

Long shadows of autumn

We've had a fire in the woodstove on a few days and evenings but the house is now so well insulated that the furnace rarely kicks on.  Logs stored in the barn need to be split - a job we enjoy on cool days.