The Gleaning

Deer make their way to our small orchard at sunset. They come for apples left on the ground and for the last two months there were many of them. As many as eight deer arrive, and based on what remains in the morning, they return through the night to eat their share of fresh apples. At some point last week, I decided the rest of the apples on the tree were for wildlife. The last few days they cleaned the ground of apples completely.

Birds eat some apples as do bees and wasps. If nocturnal creatures share in the harvest, I don’t see them. I used to worry what to do with fallen apples. Now I know they are just part of community building.

I used some of my share of apples to make 32 servings of apple crisp for the county party fund raiser this afternoon. They came out looking good. I’ll deliver them to the fairground in a couple of hours.

I was up late last night processing the gleaning. There is almost always something growing in the garden, so there is never any final gleaning. All the same, the first hard frost is a big deal. There was celery to dice and freeze for soup, Redbor kale to freeze, tomatoes to clean and process into juice and tomato sauce, hot peppers to make into chili sauce, and the counter is lined with the last green tomatoes for ripening. We’re almost at the end of the season.

It has been a good gardening season. I’m ready for fall.