Isn't this where we came in?

Happy Anniversary to "A Locavore's Life"! It was exactly one year ago today that I posted my initial welcome to you, inviting you to share my journey. It's had its ups and downs, but overall I'd say I've enjoyed it.

Faded glory, 2016

Just for fun I took the photo above yesterday evening to compare to this one,

Faded glory, 2015

 taken last year at this time. Not much difference, although this year's garden does look a little more "bedraggled" to me and I'm blaming the insane lack of rain over the summer combined with the sporadic torrential downpours we've had over the last 6 weeks or so.

It's made for a very unusual growing season and as my previous post indicated, I have been less than thrilled with the harvest this year. I still haven't put up any peaches yet, so I will hit the farmer's market again this weekend and see what I can find. Maybe some tomatoes too to put up as diced and perhaps some passata.

Truth be told, though, I've sort of run out of steam when it comes to the garden this year, so I've decided to more or less leave it to do its thing. Besides, in contrast to last year at this time when I was going through a slow period at work and had time to actually start this blog, this year I am insanely crazy busy, so I have very little real time or energy to devote to properly post. 

So, although I'm not actually saying I am taking a break from blogging, I'm expecting my posts to be much fewer and farther between than they have been. At least for the next little while. 

I do have some grand plans for later in the fall to build raised vegetable beds and a cold frame. I've been inspired by this great book: The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Your Own Food 365 Days a Year, No Matter Where You Live by Niki Jabbour, figuring if she can grow lettuce in January in Nova Scotia, surely to goodness I can do the same here in Toronto!

However, it remains to be seen just how much time and energy (and money!) I will have. I may just be able to get the existing garden put to bed and ready for winter, never mind a major renovation! Then there's the fact that I have less than 10 months to go before I retire and then I will have all the time in the world to spend on such labours of love.

So, we will see. In the meantime, before I dove headfirst into the crazy circus that is my work at the moment, I was lucky enough to be able to spend 3 glorious days up at Sauble Beach at the cottage of my friend, Nancy.  

Despite the clouds, it turned into a glorious day!

Sauble Beach is about a 3 hour drive northwest of here on the eastern shore of the main body of Lake Huron renowned for its long stretches of sandy beaches and breathtaking sunsets. In fact it's been nicknamed "The Sunset Coast".

These shots were taken on an early morning walk and the sun hadn't fully risen yet. It turned into a beautiful clear, sunny day and later on this stretch of beach was packed with vacationers. I love the solitude and tranquility of early morning.

I cherished my time up there, but now it's back to work and full steam ahead!

Until next time...