Summerfall

We decided that farmers need to track more seasons than just four. It's like a compass: there's southeast and southwest as well as just south. Right now, we're enjoying Summerfall; that time at the end of the summer when you are getting just the first hints of fall. It's when I begin to long for the austere orderliness of alliums, after the sprawling, prickly exuberance of tomatoes and squash. I'm ready to be done with sweaty harvests of sweet stonefruits and melons of summer; ready to trade the spice of peppers for the peppery bite of arugula. I want to need a sweater while I contemplate the dusky blue lines of broccoli on a cool wet morning. But while I look forward to fall, it's still warm, and the summer crops are still producing. Since it's been a bit cooler, and breezy, we decided to work on the pizza oven base a bit, way back on 8-24 (weekend before Labor Day weekend).

It was "cooler" but still warm when you're working.

But we got it done! Since then Rick has cut the pieces of angle iron to bridge the gap. Next we will build the "cutout" front bit with bricks.

Also that week, we got our first red grapes. I took these lovely bunches home and ran them through the food mill to make juice.

Which we decided would make lovely cocktails! We had chilled fresh grape juice mixed with vodka infused with Buddha's hand citron. We even had ice and a shaker! It was very elegant and delicious.

Work on the freeway continues.

We did more beer tasting. This was a Rogue Northwestern Ale. I forgot to take notes, but we all drank it, so it must have been good.

We also made our first visit to the Handle Bar, with Karen and Glen. They have a fantastic beer selection, and it's always changing. We couldn't resist getting flights.

The front of the menu was almost all Knee Deep beers,and we tried a lot!

And more on the back! Rick had the Trumer Pils. I had a flight of Hoptologist, Simtra, Pliny the Elder, and Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock. Karen compared the McCarthy's Bane Imperial Red Ale with Sierra Nevada's Imperial Red, and liked SN better. Glen got mostly dark beers. Nobody tried the Tanilla, but I was tempted.

Back at the farm, we're still getting tomatoes, like this lovely Gold Medal.

It's a very beautiful tomato. The vines didn't produce a lot of fruits, but what was produced was spectacular.

And the little Tumbling Tiger was putting out lots of fruit. Notice my foot for scale. These are very tiny plants, but when you turn them over like this, you find tons of fruits beneath the foliage.

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What We're Eating
I made these lovely quiches from our homegrown onions, garlic, peppers, and eggs, plus some storebought crusts and cheese.

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And then we harvested even more tomatoes and peppers.