From the Cabin August 2026

The garden is at its heaviest point right now. Tomatoes coming in faster than we can eat them, the squash starting to take over the far bed, and Cali spends most afternoons flat out in the shade of the porch, only getting up when something crosses the yard worth barking at.

The days are still full summer, but the mornings tell a different story. Yesterday, I noticed the first cool edge to the air before sunrise, the kind that means fall is not far off even though the calendar still says August. That is usually my signal to start thinking about the wood pile. Not stacking yet, just walking it, counting what is there, deciding what still needs splitting before the weather turns.

Chaga season is close too. I will be out on the birch stands again soon, checking the growth on a few trees I have been watching for two years now. It is slow work and there is no shortcut to it. You find it, you leave what is not ready, and you come back next year.

None of this is urgent. That is actually the point of this time of year up here. The work is steady instead of rushed, and there is something in that worth paying attention to before the pace changes again.

Thanks for being here. I will write again next month.

— Shawn