Last Tuesday, as we went to drive away from the last CSA box drop in Northeast Minneapolis, our weekly cycle’s opening moments began with the van’s abrupt inability to be shifted out of park. That sounds like the week started off terribly, but no!

We have AAA thanks to a Christmas gift from Grandma & Grandpa, and while we waited for the tow truck, we walked to a nearby pizza place for an ice cream cone in the urban afternoon sunshine. (thanks for the tip, kindly CSA member!)

We happened to be without either dog or our children for the breakdown, we had some time to spare … and it turned out that being forced by the dissolution of a linkage bushing to take an ice cream stroll through Minneapolis was really downright pleasant. We even held hands while walking down the sidewalk; surprise date!

After we got home, the week went on, even more quickly than those before.

The chilly mornings returned, and so dd Squirrelly & Dragon, the two orphan squirrels we’d befriended this spring, whom we had not seen up close in months. Dragon’s dragging hind leg looked even worse, but she has gotten much more adept at going up and down trees without its use. They are much larger now, but we know them from the unnamed woodland masses when they come up close and watch expectantly for us to fetch them sunflower seeds.

The squirrels don’t climb into our hands anymore,but one of the two surviving chicks from August’s predation spree has turned out to be quite the friendly foul – Robin seems likely to be a rooster, but if he continues to outwit death, we will keep him on the team as a father for the next generation of chicks.

Oh and this week we finally got some September rain! First some tiny intense thunderstorms that hit us directly in spite of all odds, and then a long wall of rain, for a total of 1.3″ of much-appreciated moisture over the course of the week.

The acorns continue their noisy bombardment of our structures, the leaves slowly lose their vibrant greens, and thoughts return to snow removal, firewood, frozen water lines, rodent prevention, snowload supports, winter travels to warmer climes, and the Farm Party that qwe hope to see you at on October 13th!

Find Inside Box 16:

• Tomatoes – the cool nights has really slowed them down at last! Good time to transition to:
• Winter squash Jester or Delicata or Acorn
• Broccoli – unless you’re Bree in which case you get an Eggplant.
• Potatoes
• Fennel – roasted or raw, delicious and crunchy when roasted with potatoes onions and sausage. Fronds are also edible. I think people do something with them and fish?
• Carrots – We don’t know why they turned out rather poorly this year, in spite of being weeded and pampered.
• Zucchini 
• Cherry tomatoes
• Onions
• assorted Sweet Peppers – did you know that Green Peppers are just unripened peppers? When ripe they have more flavor and nutrients!
• Thyme – would pair nicely with your potatoes, roasted or mashed.
• Daikon radish -we left the greens on because they’re edible and tasty when cooked! The root is beloved by kimchi people, but alas for you if you’re among them, because our fall Napa Cabbage crop failed (abundant rain and improved soil = slugs for us it seems)
  
  (PS: spoiler: our whole Leeks crop failed too, alas, but that seems to have been the fault of a lousy batch of starts)

Only ONE more 2024 box to go …. how on earth can this so quickly be?!