September and October 2017

We harvested the tomatoes, sun-dried them in the oven, and turned the remainder into sauce. The herbs we whirled in the food processor, and mixed then with either oil or water and froze them in ice cube trays.

We pulled the irrigation system out in preparation for winter, and pulled out the remaining tomato plants and hung them upside down in the garage. Many of the fruit continued to ripen on the vine.

We covered the remaining plants (broccoli, withered green peppers) with some frost fabric and hoops.

Free-seeded snapdragons came from nowhere and burst into fiery bloom in the front yard. I asked my mom what to do with these beautiful invaders not part of our garden plan, and her response was as wise as her heart: say thank you and enjoy them. We did.

We harvested a very disappointing watermelon that stopped growing. Its insides were mostly white. In November we harvested three more smaller melons; all of them the same green color, and none of them very edible.

The green peppers looked miserable and the yellow and red peppers never arrived. Gardening is a series of successes and failures all season long. 

In preparation for winter, I moved our strawberry pot into the unheated garage and watered it once a week. I pulled the rosemary, mint, and lavender inside for the winter.

• Painted ladies butterflies have taken over the Front Range on their way south, Denver Post (September 20, 2017)
• Flood of painted lady butterflies enrich Boulder County’s late summer palette, Daily Camera (September 19, 2017)