I love these days. The ones where the sun feels a bit lazier than it did for the last few months, all low slung and syrupy, ready for a nap. The kale is taller than my kids and our counters are piled with tomatoes threatening to split from ripeness.

My kids are in 6th and 4th grades. The change we are experiencing as a family unit is dimensional and holistic. Like we’re all hanging onto the end of kite string in a furious and glorious storm with intermittent, affirming breathloss at the sight of rainbows. This phase of growth feels rapid and important, just like the other phases. But more earnest. And taller.

I let the chickens into the garden yesterday and I have to admit I felt a bit of relief when they dug up my pepper plants. As much as I year for the harvest season, I also have a theshold — a point when I’m just ready for a break from the relentless production and management of garden things. I’ll read that sentence in February and gasp incredulously at my September self.

My kids took the dogs for a walk and were a bit tardy getting back home. Ruby said,

Sorry mom, we lost the track of time.

And I find that sentence expansively more relevant than the saying people say.

Yesterday there were three teeth lost in our home. One required a careful twist while watching in the bathroom mirror, one required a fingernail leverage-pluck and the last required mama grabbing and pulling to put us all out of the misery of The Perpetual Dangler.

With fall coming on like a down comforter in a hammock in the branch-dancing sunlight, I’ve been thinking about our family’s favorite ways to honor and celebrate the seasonal transition. Putting the garden to bed, canning all the things like it’s Y2K, listening to Joni Mitchell while scraping dried chicken poop off the living room floor.

I put together a wee collection of my favorite things to share with you in a little buddy called the Fall Fête. Click here to get it right in your inbox. What the heck is it? I created a Fall Favorites PDF (a collection of recipes, rituals and activities — in the garden, at home and in the wild), pulled together my favorite autumn DIG+CO. items (all at 15% off with coupon code) and moved past my podcast fear and recorded one all about canning. You can gain access to all of these things, including the promo code for the sale HERE.

In the Maiden Podcast, I mention a variety of resources, which you can check out below. 

*Listen Here*

podcast: a conversation about canning food

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

• Join the fall fete (includes 15% promo code for DIG+CO. fall favorites items, fall favorites PDF and access to the podcast series) 
• Get my mom’s pickle recipe here 
• Preserved roasted tomato recipe here 
• Farm Girl Susan’s green tomato relish here
• pH chart for fruits and veggies here 

I must admit the podcast wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I thought it’d be. Like so many things in life, you just need to try, to begin, to give it a good ol’ college try. Or, middle school try. Or 41-year-old-mom try.