First Freeze

October 25, 2011

Today is a sad day.  I find it too bad that after a long absence from the farm journal I return with such an opening.  It was and has been a busy through late spring, summer and so far this fall.  In the middle of busy days, something I enjoy is left undone, and too often, it was the garden.  I never felt like I got enough time in the garden.  That is why, though this day comes around every year, it is a little sadder than most years.

We had a heads-up the first fall freeze would occur last night.  Over the weekend, we pulled what peppers, green tomatoes, and other vegetables there were left out of the garden.  However, with the end of the yearly garden (though we have potatoes still in the ground and still need to harvest what is left of them) is the end of fresh vegetables for another year.  Sure, some of our friends live on land a little higher (in elevation) than ours and we might get another butter-squash or two, but there is a lot of cold between now and the next garden.

Yet, I reckon, even thought there is a bit of sadness with the first freeze, it was not hard and deep, which allow a few more days…maybe weeks?..of those flowers who seem to power through these early frosts and continue to give beauty and in their color a reminder of days that have been and of days to come.