October Harvest

Except for Banjo's ordeal, October has been lovely. There was an outdoor wedding at a campground in Maine where my band played our first contra dance gig! We met the caller at the reception just before the dance, and she single handedly calmed us and then aroused dancers out of the crowd of family and friends (most of whom had not contra danced before). We were so nervous about playing out of tune or not playing up to the right tempo for a dance, but it turned out the only things we really had to worry about were freezing temperatures and darkness because the dance didn't start until 8:00 and the freezing dew moved in as soon as the sun set. We were somewhat prepared with layers and headlamps: "ever seen a fiddle player with a coal miner's lamp?" the father of the bride asked someone, pointing to me. Dust was kicked up high under the dancers' feet, and their cheers and laughs made us play on and on, despite frozen fingers. The music was contagious and just about everyone stepped in for at least one dance. We put our instruments down and were surrounded with admirers (many were our friends), yet little did they know this was our first real gig. We have been strongly encouraged to continue playing for dances and I'm sure we will.

The next weekend was bountiful, with trips to two different local farms, for more dancing, harvest festivals, fresh-pressed apple cider, and vegetable collecting. I spent half a day "saving" the end of the year tomatoes and peppers from jack frost, even the green tomatoes. We brought home around 50-70 lbs of tomatoes, some needed a week to ripen, others went right into tomato sauce, while the green tomatoes have been fried or pickled with dill (the batch I tried were just like zesty pickles!). I'll show you my pantry soon, as it's such a lifetime achievement (rather dream or passion I never knew I had).

Finally, we have started up soup nights, a Minneapolis tradition that may be essential to surviving northern climate winters. Our soup night is hosted by one of 5 different houses every Sunday, we just happen to live right above one of the other couples, so we can walk down with Banjo in our slippers on sunday night, and vice versa. We gather for soup and company, and usually dessert and lingering conversation. I hope this will also morph into card or game playing as the nights get colder. Warm wishes to you!