By Margie Klein

October 2025

My windows are closed, the warmth is receding as I walk in the garden. I’m wearing my winter hat and jacket, a chill is in the air, it is quiet, and the remaining vegetables greet me with fresh dew on their leaves and vines. I embrace the changing seasons. I have no choice, mother nature waits for no one. I am greeted by the towering sunflowers reaching toward the sky. The brightness of the flowers is a reminder of the gift of sight and the beauty that surrounds us. The tomatoes are hanging from the vine and around them are beautiful clumps of basil. I’ve waited all summer for the bounty of tomatoes. The pumpkins are plump, winter squash is getting larger, and the marigolds are massive. 

I realize my days are numbered here. Soon, around Columbus Day, we will be planning to close the garden for the season. We will reflect on the summer and the vegetables, the earth, rain, and seeds that were produced for us. Every year it is the same miracle. 

When we met to divvy up the garden chores for the coming year I was excited to see familiar gardeners and also to meet new faces that we share emails with but I’ve never met. It is amazing you can work with a group of people to accomplish a goal and each one has a different task at a different time and day. Together we have made this garden grow. We have delivered to two pantries and fed ourselves. With independent grassroots efforts, without any support from the town we have made this garden a success story. How wonderful is this opportunity, this gift to our community, and I am pleased to be a part of it.