First the indoor report. My father used to say that winter was for the Indoor Sports. And yes. That's what he meant. But to the left is the poinsettia phoenix. A friend left two poinsettias with me when she left for travel. I kept them going until they were tired, cut them back to stems, and cared for them when they were pretty grim to look at. Patience paid, as it should. And I knew that they are perennials, so I was hopeful. The short days of fall are inspiring flower bud development, first as bracts. How lovely. I'm hopeful that I'll have them for years now.
But the real news is still the outdoor sports. Our first freeze was the night before last, but the raspberries soldiered on to give us these last berries. Delicious, though soft from the freeze, so I harvested them and popped them in the freezer with the other raspberries that I'll soon make 
into a bright grab-you-by-the-lapels flavored jam. Yes.
I also harvested all of the carrots. I had read that you can leave them in the ground all winter, but I wasn't so sure, so up they came. Six pounds worth. Carrot soup is going to happen Very Soon. Freeze. Eat on a winter night when you have no inspiration for dinner. Again, Yes. I love that all of this food comes from such small plots. Small inputs with a lot of Paying Attention yields lovely results. And I love that these carrots so lack uniformity. Fat, thin, large, small. This is somewhat due to my poor thinning. Not thinning enough isn't due to lack of attention, of course. It's due to lack of desire to play God with carrots. John eventually went out and did the job properly, or we would have had all tiny roots. Thank goodness for sensible people.
Here's the thing though. I am So Grateful for our food system. If I had to grow all of our carrots for the year, I would no doubt starve. I love growing my own, but it only increases my appreciation for folks who grow food for a living.
Lastly, I made a video of the yard yesterday. It's too big to insert here, so you can click on the link below. Be sure to get to the end. It shows our beautiful Copper Beech putting on her Autumnal show.
