Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA September 20th, 2026

I am writing this on Sunday afternoon – tomorrow is the last day of Summer 2026! In fact, if you want to be exact, fall begins at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, September 22. During the equinox, the Sun crosses what is called the “celestial equator” which is an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the Sun’s center passes through this line. This is called an “astronomical event” that marks a difference in the length of days and the temperatures of those days. There is another way to mark the beginning of fall which is called the meteorological definition of a season based on temperatures and the Gregorian Calendar. If you use that definition of autumn, fall begins on September 1st usually so we would be three weeks past the end of summer. This year, that would not have felt like fall! (Information from the Old Farmer’s Almanac).

I do not celebrate this “crossing of the line” by the sun because it means that the season of growing is over for the most part. There are fall gardens but they are limited and short lived for the most part and will definitely be for us this year as we have been unable to get decent germination of greens or roots. Today when we were picking tomatoes in the high tunnel, Katy saw a small rabbit hopping under the marigolds, probably after scouting around looking for any newly planted chard or greens.
Rain and more rain here on the hill this past week. No sunshine today (Sunday) after last night’s .40 filling of our rain gauge and adding up this week’s water drops, we come up with a total of 2.59 and a grand total of 5.67 in the last 10 days. This week has not been as hot temperature wise but the humidity has made it uncomfortable. That drop in temperature was helpful for the cucumbers as they produced more fruits this week but the okra struggled due to leaf loss during those dry and hot weeks. None of our peppers have a good root system so those growing tall have bent over in these rains and several have broken. Toads in the barn are growing fat on the fly population and we have never seen so many bumblebees as we did while picking cucumbers in the tunnels this morning. My reach and grab method for cucumbers changed to peer closely and see who is “humming” next to where I am picking before I grab. The cucumbers are covered in blooms again and I am glad that the bees are pollinating but wish we could schedule their activities!

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK

  • Large tomatoes
  • Cherry and salad tomatoes
  • Lots of Sweet Green peppers and some other colors also!
  • Hot peppers
  • Potatoes
  • Cucumbers – variety of colors/ kinds. New in some bags - Lemon Cucumbers (just beginning to produce)
  • Okra
  • Chives

RECIPE SHARE

CUCUMBER SALAD IDEAS from Simply in Season, Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert

3 cups cucumbers (thinly sliced) ½ cup onion (thinly sliced)

SALAD # 1

Place cucumbers and onion in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand one hour. Drain. 1/3 cup sugar ¼ cup vinegar ½ teaspoon celery seed. Mix together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over cucumbers. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Keeps several days.

SALAD # 2

¼ cup vinegar or lemon juice 2 tablespoons oil ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar (optional) Mix together and add to the cucumbers and onions.

SALAD #3

Place cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand one hour. Drain. ¾ cup plain yogurt 1 tablespoon fresh mint or dill weed (chopped) Add to the cucumbers and onions.

CUCUMBER TOMATO RELISH

1 cucumber (diced) 1-pound tomatoes (peeled and diced) ½ cup sweet onion (thinly sliced) Combine in a medium bowl. Add dressing of choice, starting with half and adding more to taste.

DRESSING #1

¼ cup oil 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper Seasoning of choice: 1/8 teaspoon celery seed; ¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped); 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (chopped); and 1 teaspoon dry mustard; or 1 tablespoon fresh basil (chopped) Whisk together until sugar is dissolved and dressing begins to thicken. Salad will keep, refrigerated, up to 3 days.

DRESSING #2

½ cup sour cream 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped) 2 tablespoons fresh dill (chopped) 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 tablespoon milk ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon prepared mustard ¼ teaspoon pepper Stir together and combine with vegetables. Chill one hour. Salad will get watery with time.

Lacy, Lucy’s sister, presented with a tiny baby Tuesday evening so now there are two mamas and two babies talking throughout the day and Izzy took an amazing picture of the storm coming in Saturday evening from the north.

Izzy got up close and personal with this praying mantis – another beautiful picture of one of the beneficial insects living in our gardens and of course, a picture of her beloved Hank, doing what he does best which is “begging”.

Seth and Dan had a pretty successful day fishing Sunday afternoon.

I spend a lot of time in my day job working with the court system – judges, clerks, prosecutors and other staff. I see them in the courtroom or in the clerk’s office or the law library or the jury room - -all those places where they do their jobs each and every day. So, when I walk into Casey’s and the judge is standing there and I say, “what are you doing here?”, I should not feel embarrassed or worried that I had made a mistake? He is not where I expected him to be. Katy’s picture reminded me of that moment but at least I did not reach out and grab the judge like she did this tree frog as she attempted to move aside the okra leaf to pick a pod and then shrieked because the okra leaf was not supposed to be soft and squishy like a frog and frogs are not supposed to be on okra leaves and judges are not supposed to be in the local Casey’s stores!

Blessings from the farm where we are all where we are supposed to be – Dan, Katy, Seth, Izzy, Jen, Teresa and Zach