We are very quickly approaching the end of the 2017 season, and the selection at the stand seems to get smaller and smaller each week. There are just the two final official days – Saturday 10/14 and Sunday 10/15. After that, it’ll be a long wait for the next round of fresh veggies.

I’ll be pulling as much out of the field as I can for both Saturday and Sunday, so if you are looking to get anything to put away for the winter, that will be the time. Just be sure to check the What’s Available page to make sure I have the things you’re looking for. You can also either send me an email, or get in touch with me by text (518-728-9344) to get specific crop info.

For those of you looking to get Preserves, I have decided to make a final batch of Raspberry, since I sold out of it this past weekend. So whether you want some for yourself or are gifting them out for Christmas, there will be more to get over the weekend.

And speaking of Preserves, the “suggestion box” is still open, if you’d care to make a request for any special types for next year.

Lastly, and this mainly applies to people who live nearby the farm, I want to make you aware of an incident that occurred this past Monday morning (10/09). At about 7:30am, as I was loading the truck up to bring non-produce stuff out to the stand, I stepped out the door of the house and noticed two coyotes in the lower field, approximately 120 yards away. They were running toward the back part of the lower field away from the house, so I paid them only very little attention. My mistake. Upon stepping back outside with another load of stuff, I saw that the coyotes had changed direction and were now beginning to circle back toward me, having closed the distance to about 75 yards or so. I came back out of the house a third time, to spot the coyotes, now hunching down in the tall grass and moving directly toward me, about 60 yards away. Their stalking behavior was now unmistakable, and it was obvious I was their intended prey. I stepped back into the house and retrieved a rifle I keep handy for dealing with threats like this, and then moved back outside. At this point, only one coyote was visible, obviously trying to draw my attention as a decoy. I could not see the other coyote at all and concluded it was moving toward my left to try to get around behind me. When the coyote I could see, slinking low in the tall grass, crossed 50 yards distance to me I deemed it an exigent threat and began shooting at it. After the first shot the second coyote, who I had lost sight of, suddenly jumped up out of the tall grass further off to my left and raced away from me toward the tree line. The coyote I was shooting at also broke cover and raced back across the field to the trees.

My point in recounting this event is not to scare people, but rather to make you aware that the coyotes, who have come at me before (3 times now in less than 3 years), are now willing to do so as a pair, rather than the 6-plus animal groups that have tried before. In the past, packs of 4 animals would generally break for the trees immediately upon seeing me. In this case, 2 coyotes that were much further away decided to actively stalk me, in the daylight, at the house. For those of you in the Jewett Valley, please exercise extra caution when you suspect coyotes are in the area.