It’s that time of year in the South when strange deliveries of produce start showing up on people’s doorsteps. A bag of okra, an ear of corn, a mound of zucchinis, and tubs of tomatoes. All the dreams of the winter have come true, with seeds and seedlings, planted with so much hope and joy in the spring, are producing beyond our capacity to consume.

Our first year garden consists of  three tomato plants, two blueberry bushes (both now dead), one raspberry bush, and several volunteer pumpkins from last Halloween’s compost pile. We’ve been getting plenty of fruit from our cherry tomato plant since the beginning of July, but now we’re getting the big ones. Big, heirloom tomatoes that are as tasty as they are ugly. Here’s a recent day’s harvest.

Tomato plants seem to tease you all summer, with luxurious growth, blossoms, and green tomatoes, and just when you notice the days getting shorter and you realize that in two months there will be a frost, they start cranking out the edibles. I like this time of year and our neighbors are enjoying some small deliveries on their doorsteps….

It’s also the time of year that the hop harvest starts in places like Oregon, Washington, and Germany. In celebration of this season, the Friday Night Beer Club was at it again this weekend with hits like Das Bij (previously known as Honey Badger) Saison from Jackalope Brewery , Ye Old Calfkiller Quazi from Calfkiller Brewery, and others from brewers in New York, Belgium, Austin, Illinois, Vermont and Oregon. It was a good night.

Good night!

Thanks to all those hop harvesters that made this night possible.