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Sarah participated in her first horse show at Southlands on Sunday.  Riding Owen, she won a third place and a fourth place ribbon.  She hopes to do even better next time!

Sarah showed nice form today aboard Owen at Southlands.  Next weekend she has her first show.

Jen rooted for them both.

Today we enjoyed Porchfest, Rhinebeck’s second annual effort to bring musicians to the porches of the village of Rhinebeck.  (Back at the farm, we have Porchfest every weekend, weather permitting.)

A highlight was seeing Al Wolcott perform with his jazz trio on Maya & Guy’s porch.  They had a party afterward.

Here is Jen at that party.

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This ghostly presence arrived at midnight Saturday.  Daisy seems not to approve.

In June, we talked to local haymaker Herbie Stickle about haying our fields.  He showed up today, having finishing up haying at Burger Hill.  We were very glad to see him — it’s about three full days’ work to clear the fields with our little tractor.

While the farm brooded like Heathcliff, we ourselves had a happy Labor Day weekend.  Erica & Geoff visited, and John Harris flew in from Los Angeles to join me at Pete Townshend’s Classic Quadrophenia at Tanglewood.  On Sunday, Geoff and I squared off for an amiable Iron Chef-style pizza-making challenge.

Today we climbed the fire tower at Ferncliff.

John wore his new Rhinebeck Farmers Market T-shirt.

Before we returned to New York this afternoon, John took a spin in the kayak.  Daisy waited patiently for him to return to shore.

We attended the Dutchess C0unty Fair on Saturday — my first and only visit this year; Sarah’s fifth.  Jen won a blue ribbon for her Rhu-Berry jam.  She also took two second place ribbons, including, yet again, a grudging one for her peach-lemon marmalade with no first place ribbon given.  The judges — whom Jen refers to as the “jam biddies” — are quite strict.  Sarah took a third place ribbon for her photograph of Daisy’s nose.

Julie and Stacey enjoyed the Ferris wheel.

Sarah declined our annual hostility-sublimating bumper car session.  Julie was kind enough to fill in.

We saw goats, bunnies, and cows — and even a livestock costume show where we saw a cow dressed as the wife in American Gothic, led by a boy in overalls holding a pitchfork.

Back at the farm, our ever-agitated hawks circled overhead.  On Sunday we scattered my father’s ashes beneath the hickory tree where, seven years ago, we scattered my mother’s.  Dad loved the farm, and he loved the Dutchess County Fair.  We were missing him.

Our Feverfew is enjoying a moment in the late summer garden.

Also enjoying a moment: our rhubarb, as well as Jen, whose birthday was Friday.   She celebrated (after a nice birthday supper at Le Petit Bistro) by combining the rhubarb with blackberries to make Rhu-Berry jam.  Jen entered that, together with four other jams, in the Dutchess County Fair.  Stay tuned for fair results!

This is not our entire 2017 peach crop, but it is a majority of it.  Still, they’re pretty nice looking!

We just wrapped up a two-week vacation in which we returned to our roots.

Sarah returned to riding, aboard Joanie (the Pony) at Southlands.

John Harris returned, with his boys, for a mid-summer visit.

Sarah returned to the stage, at the Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center’s dance camp.

Jen returned to the pond.

And I returned to my agrarian roots (*agrarian roots sold separately).

Jen ranges far and wide gathering berries.  If you look carefully, you can see her trusty companion, Daisy.