There’s an abrupt change of pace each year as September rolls around. The easy days of summer become memories as the first hints of change appear as the trees begin to show small amounts of red, orange and gold. Winter is on the way, and there are many things to do before the snow flies. The to-do list is substantial, and the days become crowded.
Here in the North Country I’ve always used November 1st as my deadline to be ready. It’s not unusual to see a snowstorm around then, and I’ve seen plenty of late October snowstorms in the past. When the kids were young it was normal to wear their Halloween costumes over winter coats. Sometimes with the snow boots; most of the time without.
Our first order of business in September is to start closing down the garden for the year. We’ve been working on it. As things stand now, all that’s left out there are the fall crops of broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and a few cabbages.
Everything else has been picked, cut, dug up, dried, cured, frozen or otherwise stored. Tomatoes are done; cukes long gone. The pumpkins are in, all four of them! We’ve harvested and run through the dehydrator oregano, thyme, basil and parsley. We’ll use them in the kitchen over the next year.
When preparing the parsley to be dried, Wife noticed something looking at her, and then made a new friend. After recovering from the surprise, she returned the swallowtail caterpillar back to the herb bed. He’s welcome to whatever’s left out there.
Almost forgot about the carrots and butternut squash. We’re not freezing carrots this year, so we’ll be digging them up as needed until the ground freezes. The squash we’ll harvest after the first frost. We may get 15 or 20 of them this year.
Moving on from the garden, cleaning the vinyl siding on the house will take a day or two out of the schedule. I try to do this each year, as the house is white and discolors quickly. The key to this job is to choose a warm-ish day, as I invariably end up soaked. The job is about 75% done for this year.
Come the beginning of October it’s time to clean up the landscaping around the house. We’ve got quite a bit- it all came with the house when we bought it. I barely know the names of most of the plants, but each year Wife and I chop it all off down to the ground and the next year it all grows back bigger and better than ever. It’s a little tedious, but I’m glad it’s a simple job.
Also in October it’s again time to resurrect the power equipment maintenance skills. The lawn mowers and weed whackers need to be put to bed for the winter, and the snowblower readied for action. It’s also a good idea to make sure that the emergency generator is good to go. There’s not much worse than needing the gennie and finding it won’t start for one reason or another. Yes, that is the voice of experience speaking right there.
Those are the big chores. Then there are a myriad of smaller things needing attention. Clean this; fix that; get things out of the way so the garage can once again house the cars beginning November 1st until May 1st next year. Mustn’t forget to deploy the marker stakes along the driveway so we’ll know where it is once covered with snow!
While this is all underway we’re also trying to fit in a week-long vacation after enjoying another great (but damp) summer at Pondside. And, in early October I’ve got a high school reunion to attend, hopefully. This one is #45- whelp! There’s another weekend spoken for…………….
So there’s not been a whole lot of time to get out on the trails and mountains. I’ve managed a couple since the beginning of the month, but it’s looking more and more doubtful that I’ll come anywhere close to finishing the list I made last spring. The Presidential Traverse isn’t going to happen this year. Nor is the Long Trail. At least, not the whole thing. I may try to complete a section or two before the snow flies.
The weather hasn’t changed much, contributing to the crowded day effect. It’s still raining more than usual. This has given me more time to dig in and learn more about making and editing videos, which in all honesty has been fun. At this point I’ve posted five hiking vids, and I think each one shows improvement over the last. These have all been shot with an old Pixel4 mobile phone. I’ve recently picked up some new camera gear, so now there’s more new stuff to learn!
Below are links to the latest video on Youtube, and the channel I’m trying to build. If you’re so inclined, please check them out- I look forward to any and all feedback that would help me improve the work. Subscriptions to the channel would also be greatly appreciated.
What do you think of the new header photo on the blog? That photo was taken late last week. The prettiest sunset of the summer.
Thanks for dropping by. More to follow soon!
PONDSIDE 