All around us: corn fields, the stalks dried out from the August sun. In between bouts of rain, the farmers cut and collect the corn for their dairy cows and other animals to feed on through the winter. They’re getting a second–or third–crop in, maybe barley or hay, before the snows come later in the autumn.
Corn grown from seeds native to our plot of land came in showing harvest colors.
It’s harvest time…so different from the vindima all around us in Portugal. I get photos and videos from friends who are in the thick of it now across the country, an ocean away. It looks to be a good season–that in spite of the pandemic, nature moves forward, and the crazy weather seems not to have taken that much of a toll on the wine regions across Portugal.
The proof is in the crush, and the fermentation, and the ongoing vinification that lies ahead…
A butternut squash hides amongst the leaves.
At Vivenda Vista de Paz, in September, we were harvesting okra, squash, chiles, potatoes, and the last of the raspberries–a handful every couple of days. Stephen found a massive puffball mushroom in the woods, which reminds me of autumn days to come. I’m making pesto to freeze from the bounty of basil we grew from seeds–add some pecorino romano, walnuts, garlic, and pepper–and olive oil to bind it together–and summer will stay alive through the dark months when I pull a tablet out of the freezer.
An acorn squash, which we had in abundance. 
I’ve never watched okra grow before…