Now that abundant rain is less necessary for garden growth, and more conducive to fungal and bacterial disease, the rain storms have quit missing us. Very funny, ma nature. “Where were yoooou when I needed you? Wheeeeere were yoooou when I wanted you?” etc. It’s not bad really, but it is amusing.
Fortunately, the frequent storms have also given a boost to our local edible wild mushroom community, and we’ve been eating and selling plenty of wild chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, shrimp of the woods, and lobster mushrooms. The blackberries have finally stopped producing, but we made plenty of jam while they were coming on strong. The root cellar is adrift in apples, there is a laden crab apple tree with our name on it, and we have gallons of wild grape juice frozen to turn into delicious jelly.
Shrimp of the Woods 
beautiful but not edible. Unless you want a little recreational nausea & delerium 
The moderate sized one that did not get away 
the Big One That Got Away
The coming of autumn is undeniable now, as late blight takes out one tomato plant after another, the weeds go into full seed mode, and the cucumbers fade out.
That said, it looks like summer is returning for a last hurrah this coming week – so we postponed the potatoes and leeks that we’d planned for this week’s box, in favor of salad mix and cilantro.
It’s not only canning season – it’s now also friends’ farm visit season! Our friends ( and longtime CSA members) Tyler & Amy brought their little girl Aster to visit for several days this week, helping out with harvest, market, and more while Otis and Aster ran wild together. And right after they headed back to the Cities, our friends and former WWOOFers B & Nora returned for a visit with their 2 year old son Bear! Otis is loving the company, as are we.
there were only 6 “S”s in the sticker pack 
equine encounters 
tomato tasters 
Ummm after last week’s ramble I feel like I’m supposed to end with a Jerry Springer Deep Thought but I’m tired and we’re almost to the Cities so how about instead we all just acknowledge that life is good … our problems exist only within a context of blessing/abundance/fortunate circumstances/you know what I mean. Also, dogs are good people. Woof woof.
In the Box
Return of the Salad Mix – Green & red lettuce, tat soi, green & red mizuna, Arugula
Napa Cabbage – amusingly, we first tried to pack these in your boxes … which still would barely close even without them included. Hope you have room in your fridge! Last year’s crop was a bust (always a threat in the absence of pesticides), so this was a joy to provide to you. Enjoy fresh in an Asian salad, or make kimchi (maybe not – we were planning on including Daikon Radishes, but the nemotode population must have fizzled out over the summer, because they all were wormy), or sautee it in a stir fry … Napa Cabbage is a versatile ingredient.
Broccoli – the fall crop is going gangbusters! So much broccoli in the field.
Eggplant – one of the most underrated vegetables in our culture.
Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes
on the vine 
into your boxes 
bad ones getting sauced
Big Beautiful Beets – yay! Last year our beets got murdered before they could get large, and our attempt at a second crop was too late … so these beasts were a welcome sight to behold.
Cilantro – goes great with tomatillos! Hey what a coincidence, you’ll be getting those too ….
Tomatillos – Salsa? Or something else? Ideas to browse here …
Hot & Sweet Peppers – the spicy ones are in the cloth bag with the tomatillos and the sorta-spicy big green Poblano Peppers. The sweet peppers are free-ranging in your boxes.
and last but not least: Onions!
sunny sunshine 
beet autopsy 
puddles for the win 
WWOOFer Ben on firewood patrol 
marketcam 
Amy took this and I stole it 