Seasonal Friends

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.

~ Henry David Thoreau

The Autumn counterfeited Spring
With such a flush of flowers,
His fiery-tinctured garlands more
Than mocked the April bowers,
And airs as sweet as airs of June
Brought on the twilight hours.
~Dinah Mulock Craik

When Summer gathers up her robes of glory,

And, Like a dream of beauty, glides away.

~ Sarah Helen Whitman

I really enjoy the times of year during the transition of one season to another, a bridge between the phases of nature's inevitable advance. These days, I experience it most profoundly when I am out working in the vegeyard and am seized by a profound awareness of recognition--a seasonal déjà vu.

After months of growing comfort, working to become in tune with the unique personality of the current season, it's invigorating to get a whiff of the approaching season--like a good, old friend when you think you caught a glimpse of them across the street, or a remarkably familiar smell that suddenly forces a sharp, visceral recall into your consciousness. (With my grandmother, it's certain smells of hardy "old school" cooking or Lysol, reminding me of the process of cleaning the garbage room of the apartment building she managed with my grandfather.)

Of course, since September 23 was the equinox, we are now in the early days of Autumn, with the various temperature extreme this time of year brings--sweatshirt in the morning, t-shirt in the afternoon (and, of course, sun screen)--only more so this year!

We've just finished an unusual heat wave that had gardeners and growers in the area stressing about heat stress, resulting in this warning from Sonoma County Master Gardeners

Now that everyone has switched gears to dealing with the heat wave and the water stress that it produced (it also produced some ripe tomatoes and melons!), we have to switch gears again and prepare for some early rain. The weather forecast calls for rain for the first half of next week. If you are planting a winter vegetable garden, get your starts in ahead of the precipitation. You may need to protect the young plants with some Remay or overturned pots if we really get the stormy conditions that are forecast.

(from their Facebook page ...of course!)

Severe Weather Alert!!

So, this is all well and good, but in addition to the warning from the Master Gardeners, the Weather Channel issued a “severe weather alert,” complete with flashing red graphics and such on their site:

... EARLY SEASON RAIN EXPECTED NEXT WEEK ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA...

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE WEATHER ARE FORECAST TO OCCUR DURING THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK AS A STRONG EARLY SEASON PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM TAKES AIM AT NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA...

So, as I’ve mentioned before, it has been an odd weather year (both this and last) that is having a pretty significant effect on how things grow. Change in weather, change in climate, caused by human activity...what I can say for certain is that if these changes remain constant, what we eat when will be affected, as will the cost of food.

Lesson Learned!!

One of the joys of gardening in Sonoma County is growing chiles (or chili or chilli) of many different varieties. The hotness of chiles is rated on the Scoville Scale and is dependent on how much capsaicin is in the fruit. Recently I learned a lesson in the intensity of the Scoville Scale and a bit of humility regarding what I will shove in my mouth without thinking it through.

I took a bet with one of the guys helping us out with some work here at RMH to trade and try hot chiles that we grew. Seems he eats very hot chiles every day for lunch; however, I on the other hand will typically only use them for cooking.

He ate the one I grew like it was candy, so it was my turn. Being small, I ate it in one bite. At first it has a fresh taste and a mild warming sensation. Turns out the chile is referred to as El Diablo, and it lives up to it’s reputation. First I felt a slow, steady burn develop as it I had taken a mouth full of a hot beverage that was uncomfortable but not burning. Ahh, if only it had stopped there. Very quickly, it began to feel like I had taken a mouth full of some chemical that wasn’t supposed to be consumed, and, even more quickly, I began to worry that I would soon be experiencing blistering. Ahh, the calming effect of the fat in several glasses of milk...lesson learned.

Like Buttah

Didi and I had a fund day on Thursday turning our RMH organic pear harvest into Spiced Pear Cardamom Butter, using a great recipe from Organic Gardening [LINK: http://www.organicgardening.com/cook/spiced-pear-cardamom-butter]. We look forward to sharing it over the coming holidays.

Reminder of Upcoming Events at RMH in October

October 22: Fundraiser for the Redwood Empire Food Bank

October 29: Eerie but Elegant Winemaker Dinner featuring Moshin Vineyards

Happy Autumn!

~Timothy