There’s just something really special about the Harvest Moon and the beautiful month of September. Maybe it’s because it’s that time of year when we harvest our bounty from the seeds we planted in the spring?

This summer, and with the help of Sweet ‘n Special (Greg), I planted my first garden that included tomatoes, zucchini, onions, cucumbers, radishes and peppers. Here’s a photo of my “baby” garden 😊

Gardens, like relationships, require time, attention, nourishment, sunshine, darkness, and weed pulling in order to thrive.

Speaking of relationships, Greg and I enjoyed some adventures together this summer. In June, we camped and hiked in northern New Mexico. Here is a view of Cerro Pedernal from Ghost Ranch.

In July, we spent good time in a riverside cabin in Almont, Colorado with our mutual friends Wanda and Shelli.

In August, we camped in Palisade, Colorado for the Peach Festival.

While near Palisade, we enjoyed a hike in the Grand Mesa National Forest.

On our camping trips, we practiced cooking over the campfire. (Is it just me, or does my hair in this photo remind you of Cousin Itt? 😆)

In Palisade, we skillet-grilled marinated beef tenderloin and roasted Brussel sprouts. Our meal was delicious and we were pretty impressed with the evolution of our campfire cooking skills 😋

We wrapped up our summer this past week with a Harvest Moon road trip to Savery, Wyoming, a small town with a population of 25. It was beautiful and peaceful and a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Denver. Here’s a photo of the only traffic jam we saw  😂

In Savery, we had the opportunity to stay at the Boyer YL Ranch, a private and rustic 500 acre ranch with the Savery Creek running through it.

Greg, who is a talented fly fisherman, taught me how to fly fish! While I really enjoyed fishing, I especially enjoyed watching Greg – he makes fly fishing look graceful and easy 😊

The Savery Creek was fun to fish. We caught – and released – about 40 fish. Let’s be clear, GREG caught most all of the fish while I spent most of my time learning how to cast my line. Here’s a photo of the Savery Creek after we hiked up from our third and final day of fishing. Isn’t it stunningly beautiful??

At the Boyer YL Ranch, we stayed in the coziest knotty-pine style barn loft. It was perfect! And, we brought lots of our garden goodies with us. For snacking, we enjoyed fresh, crisp cucumbers and tomatoes.

We also prepared a couple of tasty dinners during our stay. The first included fried cabbage, onion and carrots, all harvested from Greg’s garden. These veggies were fried in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, leftover chopped bacon from breakfast and apple cider vinegar. 😋

For another dinner we made pan-fried Moroccan-spiced chicken thighs and polenta with sautéed red onion and crumbled feta.

This year’s harvest brought lots of bounty! Between Greg’s and my gardens, and the Peach Festival, we had a lot of produce. I’ve made peach jam, zucchini bread, bread ‘n butter pickles, tomato pie, cucumber salads, green beans, vegetable broth, and so much more.

And, all of the adventures this summer with Greg and our various friends and family were special. Time was well spent.

Like a well-loved bountiful garden, life is just better when we spend time with the important people in our lives 😊❤️😊