Cozy Ridge Newsletter - October 2022
October 12, 2022
It’s that time of year again. There’s a chill in the air up on Cozy Ridge, and the leaves are getting brittle, making that rustling sound in the wind! The goldenrod is blooming in full force, and there’s an amazing array of color spreading across the distant tree line! It won’t be long before the entire landscape is painted once again in all its glory!
The neighbors have been busy getting their last cutting of hay, and I’ve enjoyed the familiar flurry of activity down below the ridge! But they’ve finished their work, leaving nothing behind but a spare wagon. All is quiet again, and the turkeys have resumed their leisurely afternoon stroll across the field, indicating that all is well!
I finally mapped out our garden plots this fall! Inspired by our visit to the early Moravian gardens in Historic Salem, NC, I designed a series of long, narrow ribbons that I suspect will be easier to maintain. I was able to get my mom’s old Troy Bilt rototiller working again, which easily turned the unbroken ground into cultivated soil! The rye seed I planted has already taken hold, and will be at work all winter to deepen and enrich these plots! I’m pretty excited about it!
But the days are getting short so fast! Every year about this time, the early sunsets catch me by surprise, and give me a hint of urgency about all I need to get finished before the cold weather sets in. The first frost is already in the forecast (though I suspect by signs up on Cozy Ridge we’ve already had our first unofficial frost!) It’s time for me to reassess which projects I can actually complete, and which ones will need to be added to the list for next year!
I took a break from writing a newsletter over the summer—we were on the road with other priorities! But I’m so happy to be back on the farm, and to again be keeping this chronicle of life’s daily ebb and flow! I have a few new projects in the works, and though that is always exciting, I am determined to keep myself on task so that I can complete the ones I’ve been working on! Speaking from my own experience, keeping too many irons in the fire isn’t good for anyone!
And that is a reminder to myself (and anyone else who may need it) that this is the time of year for us to be certain to smell the roses, to take time to enjoy the fruit of the harvest, to take part in the fairs and festivals, and to at least mildly indulge in our favorite seasonal delights! The harvest is here, and the holidays are coming, and it is important for us to join in the celebration!
So whatever part of the world you find yourself in, and whatever festivities you take part in, may you find a smile on your face, and a warmth in your heart, and a voice deep within that says something like, “I’m so glad I did that!”
From our hearts to yours…
