Pulling back from the river's edge.

It's that bitter sweet time of the year again: close up camp, move back home, and put the garden to bed. There are a number of clues that occur, with increasing frequency, signaling our need to migrate. First, our landlords are anxious to get the building buttoned-up, and the water turned off so they can depart for Texas. Second, as we inch toward the first day of autumn, the days shorten and the daybreak temps hover near 40 degrees the air inside the camp is 50degrees. We huddle around the coffee pot wrapping our fingers around our coffee cups to take away the chill in our fingers. Reason enough to trigger the move home.

So it was yesterday. We packed up the Trailblazer with the first load of the many to follow, and motored home. We were greeted by the sight of our yard torn up; Don and Tom had started digging out the planned new walkway from the patio to the porch. While they were busy with rocks, stones and concrete removal, D. and I proceeded to the garden patch to harvest both veggies and the out-of-control weeds. The veggies to feed us and the weeds fed the compost pile.

After starting a wash and putting the clothes I had brought home back in there proper places I exited the house to find D. giving a garden tour to a couple of passer-bys and their great dane. It turns out that Dave and Barb and the dog, Winter, have been including a walk past our gardens all summer. They were very complimentary and in fact yesterday they had purposely brought along Dave's Cannon G10 with the specific intent to photograph one of our gigantic Cabbages. In the tete a tete that followed we shared back ground info and gardening histories. Dave took the photos of the cabbages as displayed with Barb, D., and myself. I'd show you but the pics are on Dave's camera not mine. It turns out that Dave works for Cannon so he and D. shared praises of their respective Cannons.

Dave shared a story about a cabbage and ham dinner that was spurred by a farmer's market purchase in Canada a few years ago when his sister was impressed with the size of the cabbage and the fact that Dave "the big spender" paid all of one dollar for it. There-in the reason for taking the photo of our cabbages; the pictures of which have probably already been emailed to his sister. To cap the story; we gave the cabbage along with some freshly harvested carrots, peppers and hot peppers to Dave and Barb so they could fix a ham and cabbage dinner last night. Gardening has always been a friend maker for us.