Winter for a day

 A bit of snow stuck overnight, but we'll be 70 degrees in a few days. Winter for a day can be really pretty.

90 great minutes

Both saws sprang to life this morning as we processed the two red maple logs and some smaller trees in the fall zone. The morning low was about 53 degrees. Splitting starts in earnest tomorrow!!!

First frost, hard work

Our first frost arrived this morning, weeks later than average, but three of the last four have been in October. We are taking advantage of superlative weather to prep some firewood for what will be the '26-'27 season. The main task this morning: Dropping two big red maple trunks.

Fall color remains vibrant in several places. Here is a view from northeast of the house.

Delightful day

October continues September's big trend: Lots of sunshine. Much green remains on the trees, but some color has poked through. The two red crowns are clumps of mountain maple, while the yellow birch west of the house shows some autumn color as the sun shines through.

Apple Butter Day!!!!

 

Red, White, and Purple

Potatoes of three different colors came out of the ground yesterday morning: Red, White, and Purple.

In other harvesting news, a fine berry season wrapped up recently. Nearly 90 cups, with most being blackberries. The 20 cups of raspberries were the most fabulous ever here!

This morning, we thinned some white ash to help out red oak and yellow birch youngsters. One red oak leans heavily west, but next year will start to grow an eastern crown, which was 100% shaded prior to the morning work.

Before/After

Both saws did some nice work yesterday morning. We cut, stacked -- and even did a small amount of splitting-- of a collection of generally smaller wood which had been adding up since last autumn. Much of the paper birch fell to help sugar maples and oaks enjoy more sun. This kindling and some larger wood will sit for well over a year before burning. Here are before/after pictures of the glorious effort.