Putting the Garden to Bed + Happy 200th Post!

While I was in Boston for six days, winter descended on our tiny town in Vermont. Boston is a few weeks behind Vermont, and the foliage is still close to peak down there. I took the photo below from the parking lot of a grocery store, of all places. Fire red leaves against a bright blue sky get me every time.

Back home, the branches are bare and we woke up to a small flurry this morning.

And so we decided it was time to put the garden to bed today. The kale, swiss chard, pumpkins, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower are still going strong, but the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, squash, pole beans, corn, basil, and morning glory covering the arbor have long since dried up. We pulled down twisted vines, cut wilted stems, removed tomato cages, and turned rotted fruit into the soil. Five heads of cauliflower and four sugar  pumpkins were cut from the stalks, and our brussel sprouts will also be harvested soon. We'll let the kale and swiss chard go as long as we possibly can.

We also finished laying the bluestone on the covered porch today and installed the railing. Sealing and grouting comes next. We are racing against winter at this point, as much of the work cannot be done in freezing temperatures because of optimal drying temps, etc. I will take some photos in the next few days to share.

Tomorrow we are off to the hardware store first thing to see about a wood plank facade for the foundation and ask some questions about the best way to waterproof and insulate the covered porch ceiling. So much still to do, but we are finally in the HOME STRETCH!

In other news, this is my 200th blog post! I wanted to thank you all for following along on our journey and leaving comments here and there along the way. Your kind words and encouragement make my day/week/year. This blog keeps me going in ways I don't often go into, so I wanted to stop for a moment and say thank you. The interactions that happen here make more of a difference to me than you probably know!