The Harvest, and Some Lessons Along the Way

Mini-Cuisinart, faithfully, doing her 'thing'..

 Pesto in 4 ounce containers...

...and more

...and more

...around 40 containers...that's alot of pesto!!!

Some of the dried lavender...love love love..

So, here we are nearing the end of September. The holiday of Sukkot, is a celebration which includes food related to the autumn harvest and is commonly called 'season of our joy.' I seem to be right on schedule as far as the harvest goes, and I am rejoicing in what looks like a good harvest, considering what the garden endured this season. Planting was a little later than last year because of the cool Spring, then there were 2 hail storms, which chewed up some of the more delicate leaves from the purple basil. I swept away alot of growth, yet the garden lived on. A miracle, I thought, that anything survived. Then while we were away for a few days, yet another hail storm. I did not know what to expect when I came home. Again, some more losses, but the garden still lived and was yielding plenty. The tomatoes did not stop growing, the basil, although much was lost, much was still there, the oregano was not phased. (Cilantro, dill already cut back and the peppers were still growing, even now, still flowering, the lavender has been harvested all summer...ahhh, the lavender!!!). Then, a week of heavy rains, which produced massive flooding, the size of the state of Connecticut, hit Colorado. We started the Summer w/ the Black Forest fire and ended w/ this enormously destructive and deadly flood. The life lesson, obvious to me.  There will be storms which will test and try us. We are not sheltered, like greenhouse plants. Hopefully, our roots are deep enough to withstand the storms, which will most definitely come, and we will be like weather beaten oak trees. Okay, a little dramatic, but, true, nonetheless.

All that to say, I have been making alot of pesto w/ the basil. I have been harvesting a little at a time and freezing it in 4 ounce containers. I know from last Summer that it will do very well in the freezer for a year, as was proven by the last batch from last years' haul. Still so delicious. (Now, let's see if the dry ice shipping 'experiment' will work!!) I remain the grateful little gardener, enjoying sharing, and eating the fruits of my labor!

' For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven. 

A time to be born and a time to die.    
 A time to plant and a time to harvest.'

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Now We Have an Epic Fire....

Waldo Canyon started burning on Saturday, around noon. Right now, there are 15,342 acres burning. 32,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Yesterday around 4PM, the worst case scenario occurred. There was a thunderstorm on the other side of the canyon which contained 65 mile per hour winds and literally pushed the fire over the ridge and into the Northwest part of Colorado Springs, which is residential. As of this hour many many homes have been lost. Most thankfully, there have been no injuries!! We are about 20 miles away, a bit north and east and we are in a high spot. The pictures posted here were when this virtual explosion occurred. It was within that hour when we began to think about really preparing to evacuate. I received a recorded phone call from Medtronic, the supplier of Edward's diabetic equipment 'reminding' him of what to bring in case of evacuation. A shudder ran down our spines at that moment.

These pictures were taken from outside my front door, and down the street at around the 4 o'clock hour. One of our neighbors brought out a very powerful pair of binoculars which he set up on a tripod so we could see what was happening on the Ridge. We saw the houses burning well into the night....clearly. This is a historically challenging fire, where all agencies and jurisdictions are working in unison. Please be assured that we are okay. The information is non-stop and we will heed all warnings. Again, we are 20 miles away. We would ask that you pray for the people of Colorado Springs, for the firefighters, for the newscasters, for  all the very important decision making people who have been extraordinary, and for the weather cooperating. Will most definitely keep you posted.