"I woke with a start as thunder boomed in the predawn light. A wave of relief washed over me as the winds picked up along with the storm. We'd spent hours picking pears the previous evening, finishing just at evenfall. Had we been a day later, the storm would have taken most of the crop."

Harvest season marches on here on the homestead. This week we helped the neighbors get the pear crop in, spending about two and a half hours with my sons in a tractor bucket picking the higher branches while I was up and down the ladder picking the lower branches and gathering any fruit that fell. The neighbors are getting older, and I know I will miss these harvest gatherings at some point down the road, but we make the most of them for now.

We grafted some starts from their tree onto a volunteer Bradford pear in our yard this spring, and most of the grafts made it, so we'll have something of the tree here, too. (I learned about grafting onto Bradfords here.) I'd like to also see if we could get a graft on a different root stock, as the Bradford root stock has a propensity to split under stress, but the Bradfords are pest, disease, and deer resistant, so that's a plus.

Knock on wood, it looks like we may make it through this weekend without frost, though we did drop into the upper 30s, and my brother had frost overnight last night up in northwest Wisconsin. For now, the 10 day forecast has highs in the 70s, which should give our tomatoes and other warm weather crops more time to ripen. We have enough for a batch of salsa and double batch of tomato soup, but we usually make several batches each year.

The warmer temps will also give the ducklings more time to grow feathers. We kept them in the greenhouse on Friday because it was so blustery, with the high temp only in the 50s. With down and a sprinkle of pinfeathers, that was a bit much for the "paddle-ones". (The sci-fi geeks may get this joke.) They're cracking me up with their changing voices right now. Most of the time they still peep, but once in a while, a "honk" or "feep" comes out instead. The looks on their little faces suggest that it surprises them as much as me.

My sons fired up the cider press for the first time this week, but it won't be the last time, I'm sure. We need to pick the elderberries soon, too, and we usually press them or steam juice them to save time versus picking every berry off the stems. The juice needs to be heated for safety, so we usually use the steam juicer. I love the steam juicer for making grape juice, too - simple and easy to use.

Duncan registered for massage school and begins training at the end of the month, so we got his books ordered. He's very good with his hands - cooking, building, repairing - so I think he'll be a natural.

I'm making progress on my book, too, slow but steady. It's strange working with a publisher, but I have a nice editor, so that helps.

All our best to you and yours,

Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan)

This week's featured articles...

We are planning to can pears tomorrow, so I put together a pear canning guide with photos and video from previous harvests. I discuss canning with or without peeling, hot pack versus cold pack, and canning with syrup, plain water, or juice.

Speaking of green tomatoes, this article talks about why your tomatoes may not be ripening, and what, if anything you can do to help them. If frost is threatening and you need to pick, this article has tips for ripening off the vine.

I'm dealing with a bit of a sore throat this weekend, so I added some ginger honey to my tea. If you've never tried ginger honey, you really should make up a jar to have on hand for cold and flu season. It's wonderful for sore throats and coughs, either straight out of the jar, or added to your favorite tea.

We're discussing minestrone soup versus chili for tomorrow's dinner - which one do you prefer?

September is National Preparedness Month

Which is a good reminder to check your preps as we head into winter. My Patriot Supply is running some good deals on solar chargers, chow, tactical backpacks, and more. They even have an edible wild plants playing card set.