Gathering-In

Gathering-In

November 4, 2015

During late summer, our screened porch was constantly bedecked with piles of tomatoes, in boxes and spread out on newspapers. They were bright red, orange, pink, rosy and yellow. They were giant and tiny. They were bulbous, pear-shaped, smooth, convoluted. We had to toss some into the compost every day or so, but most were transformed into meals, sauces, ketchup and juice.

Eventually, the piles of relatively thin-skinned tomatoes gave way to piles of thick-skinned pie pumpkins and other winter squashes in various shades of orange.

We had switched from a summer to an autumn gathering-in.

The pumpkins will keep much longer than the tomatoes did, but will gradually be transformed into soups, pies and canned pulp.

Other piles have appeared on our porch – items left from our daughter Sarina's Halloween wedding on October 31.

It was a classy affair, both moving and fun, that celebrated this union through the celebration of Halloween. Through this we have gathered in our new son-in-law Jordon and his family into ours. This autumn, our family has increased along with the harvest.

Mini-pumpkins for reception table numbers

Jordon (left) and a couple of the groomsmen carving pumpkins for the reception hall

Sarina (middle) and a couple of the bridesmaids carving pumpkins for the reception hall

Sarina (far right), her three bridesmaids and her mother-in-law-to-be (center) getting favors ready for the wedding reception.

Through all the work and fretting of wedding preparation and details, I managed to take some time to enjoy the parade of autumn color from our windows and during occasional walks in the woods. The respite was much appreciated. I also made a trip to a local orchard, gathering in a variety of apples as well as cider, caramel apples and apple cider donuts.

Items from Apple Hill Orchard and Charlie's Caramel Corn and Candies, along with one of the local magazines for which I write

In late October I watched, through a kitchen window, two giant wild Turkeys sauntering about in our garden area.

Then, as November dawned, I watched autumn color through the screened porch.

On this morning, Cardinals are chattering and chipping in the Tulip Poplar out front, and the song of another bird reverberates through the woods. It is a damp morning, and the water droplets in the air amplify the song and carry it further, along with the moan of a faraway train.

Now and then, at woods' edge, a leaf drifts down from a tree. Some trees are bare now, but most are still abundant in fall colors, and some are still green.

I removed the tall Sunflower stalks some time ago, after the absence of visiting birds signaled that the seeds had been all harvested. The Sun Root plants, which bloomed much later than the domestic Sunflowers, have also finished blooming, the stalks like brown sentinels. The roots are probably ready to harvest.

The Tulip Poplar and Dogwood are practically bare. I find large Tulip Poplar leaves in interesting places.

The Persimmon and Hawthorn trees are well on their way to bareness. There are still fruits hanging onto Persimmon branches. Oddly, no clusters of crimson berries appeared on the Hawthorn this year. Normally, they are the last berries harvested by birds near the end of winter.

The sky is puffs of dark gray layered with blue. White light from the rising sun burns intensely through spaces around edges of clouds.

The tiny, fine leaves of Asparagus plants are yellowed and many have drifted to the ground, allowing the tiny scarlet berries to stand out. Each berry glistens with a tiny ball of moisture hanging off the bottom, reflecting part of its surrounding world.

November is my favorite month. I love the cloudy, steel-blue skies, the trees changing from bright colors to skeletal shapes, the forest floor deepening with fallen leaves. I love the transition from autumn to winter, with always an edge of cold that keeps me wide awake and alert.

It is a gathering-in time – gathering in the harvest, cleaning up gardens. Wildlife gather in stores of food for the winter as well as leaves, sticks and mud for winter dens. We start gathering ever more into our houses, cleaning them up and making them a place we can stay for the winter.

We begin the holiday season, gathering in with friends and family, as we did during the wedding on Halloween.

We have had one good frost so far, followed by “Indian Summer.” At that time, I gathered all of the plants from the screened porch and brought them in to the bay window in the kitchen. Soon I will set up bird feeders outside that window. From my rocking chair and the warmth of our house, this will be my main view for the winter, through a country window.

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A bit of prologue:

In late November, we canned seven quarts of Winter Luxury Pumpkin that Richard had grown and stored on the screened porch.