Day Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four and Seventy-Five

It's amazing what a little rain can do to the waining harvest season. The temperatures are still hovering around 70 degrees but the leaves have begun to turn and the vegetables are beginning to shut down. After raking a few leaves - there are many more to come - and taking our walk this morning, we've made the realization that Fall is definitely here. The grasses and trees along the river walk are all turning that telltale yellow and beginning to thin out. The shadows are long, making the colors of the landscape intense. The contrast between light and dark is measurable against the vividness of the sky dotted with a few feathery clouds, and the haze that is indicative of humans desiring the reassurance of a warm fire at night. Everything points to the season to come. It seemed Bob and I had the same thing on our minds once we rounded the last corner to the car - I began thinking about brunch at the Cafe Del Rio and Bob ended up verbalizing it before I had the chance to even finish the thought. So, we headed up and dined by the open window as we admired the view down Six Mile Canyon. We both ordered the Jack, spinach and mushroom omlette smothered with roasted red pepper salsa and the best shredded hash browns (nice and brown and crunchy). Afterwards, we took a stroll down Virginia City's Main Street relishing the warm sun. We were both a bit sleepy when we arrived home but jumped into the yard as we need to tidy up a bit before our vacation. Dinner is looming and the leftovers from breakfast will do nicely wrapped in warm corn tortillas.

I picked all of the tomatillos which feels close to 20 pounds and pulled up the squash plants and picked a few tomatoes. I'll have to make sure I pack all the tomatoes in boxes before we leave to preserve them for our return. I'm sure we'll get a frost while we're gone and I don't want to lose any to the cold. They will store nicely in the shed and will begin to ripen. The carrots can stand even the snow which is quite satisfying in the winter when you can go out, brush the snow off and pull out the beautiful orange, crunchy treats. The pumpkin is still maturing - it's bright, bright orange now - and is being reserved for the boy down the street.

Five more days!