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We celebrated concurrent Christmas and Hanukah, with all attendant honors and gifts, with Jen’s parents and brother. Everyone, including Daisy (resting contentedly just above Sarah’s left hand in this picture), received many presents, ate like kings and/or queens, and generally had a wonderful time with family.

We had a happy Thanksgiving with Julie & Stacey, Erica & Geoff, and, in a reprise from 2018, the Perkins family from Perth.

We baked many pies: hickory, sour cherry, pumpkin, apple, and mushroom (clockwise from left).

Indeed, we had so many pies competing for oven space that some had to be cooked in the cottage. Here, Sarah gave a master class.

Jen understands the true meaning of the holiday.

This house finch wanted to join us Saturday evening. Who could blame him?

We spent most of the weekend in the city, but this evening we attended the Hudson Valley Hunter Jumper Association’s annual banquet at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, where Sarah was named Reserve Champion in two events: Short/Long Stirrup, and Pleasure. Congratulations to Sarah and Cisco (a.k.a. Talk of the Town)!

Daisy is constrained by her electric fence, but she waits patiently for those who travel a bit farther afield.

We stayed in New York for a dance rehearsal and to watch the New York City Marathon, but here’s a bluebird checking in on the PondCam.

While Sarah collects armloads of horseback riding ribbons — including, I am told, a championship in the pleasure division (whatever that may be) — and Jen collects bushels of apples, I am stuck in New York collecting comments from opposing counsel. But here are some drones-eye view pictures I received from the Landsman Kill Trail Association, which held its Fall Trail Ride last weekend.

Were sunsets always this dramatic? This one was Saturday evening, just after Daisy cleared about a dozen grazing deer from the field.

With Jen away in Concord, Massachusetts, for board meetings, Sarah and I sprinted up to Rhinebeck Friday night after Sarah’s evening dance lessons. We arrived in time to allow several hours of sleep before Sarah’s 6:00 a.m. arrival at Southlands to prepare for her horse show. I went back to bed, but I was reliably informed that Sarah and Cisco had their best event of the year, winning an armload of ribbons.

On Saturday, rejoined by Jen, we harvested green tomatoes and whipped up a crowd-pleasing fried green tomato parm.

Late-season haymaking continues, as you can see by the big tractor near the crest of the hill. The garden is still giving us tomatoes, melons, and peppers. Late September is the new mid-July.