October Magic

In a contest between the most beautiful months of the year, I’d say it comes down to a tie between May and October. Here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, May is the month of blooms. Maybe it’s not actually a state law, but it seems that everyone and their credit union has a rhododendron. Or an azalea. Or, both--because more blooms, “most better.” Mother Nature is at her greenest, leafy best. The hills are purple, blue and green—the clouds dramatic, the sunbreaks glorious. May is clearly the Most Beautiful Month.

The Season of the Great Pumpkin

Then October rolls around and makes me rethink my belief system. The daylight is waning, but the days are still warm. The nights are a crisp counterpoint, and who could argue with the magnificence of a harvest moon? The leaves catch fire and their colors blaze out the close of summer, the scent of them intoxicating. Every sunny day seems like a bonus, deserving of celebration. 

 

October is the season of Pumpkin Spice Everything—and I’m ok with that. Since my strawbale garden pumpkins took over my back yard, I’ve been looking forward to the day I could go kill harvest them with out fear of retribution. October seems a reasonable time to do that; pumpkin spice bread with cranberries a worthy end.

The end of the tomatoes

Since we have yet to experience a killing frost, my zucchini is still putting out fruit, but not—thank God—as prolifically. My tomatoes haven’t really recovered from the elk attack, but that’s ok—I had planted WAY too many of them and they were producing WAY too well. I am sorry that they ate the little sweet orange tomatoes plant—that one was amazing as bruschetta topping, and I feel the opposite of forgiveness when I recall it. Stupid elk.

Bruschetta goodness.

It’s still too early in the fall season to plant my bulbs, the ground hasn’t sufficiently cooled and I don’t want them to try to grow above ground before next spring. That means I’m free to ignore other garden chores until I can do them all at once. I’m all about efficiency. 

Or avoidance.

Whatever.