My vegetable garden did not do as well as in summers past, but my grandson and I were able to harvest some beans (we ate them immediately after picking), a few small tomatoes, a few green peppers, a bunch of hot peppers, four butternut squashes and lettuce.  Luckily for us, our neighbors have shared their long green Sri Lankan beans which have also attached itself to my Rose of Sharon so we had plenty to keep our bellies filled. Below is the last of the long green beans and tomatoes. 

Even the figs have been slow to ripen.  Now is the time to get your composting sifted and placed on top of your flower and vegetable beds and around your fruit trees.  I was told that next year my apples will be perfect if I prep the soil correctly with compost.  If you are thinking of selling your home or just love a splash of color, clean up your flower beds, prune those unruly bushes and plant some mums. They come in all different colors and are sold at grocery stores and garden and home centers.  If you are a summer baby like me, you will need color outside to brighten each day.

To that end, the St. George Greenmarket, open Saturdays from 8-2, will close 12/26.  The Staten Island Mall Greenmarket, open Saturdays from 9-4 will close 11/21.  The Heritage Farm at Snug Harbor, open Fridays from 3-5, will close 11/20.  And Gerardi’s on Richmond Terrace will close around November and re-open to sell Christmas trees.

Did you take a tour of the emergency vehicles last week with NYC Emergency Management for a day of emergency preparedness at the Children’s Museum at Snug Harbor?  I can attest that with the threat of the tropical storm this weekend, NYC Emergency Management is ready for any eventuality. 

Tonight, Thursday, 10/1 at 8, participate in the Sundog Theatre Fall Reading Series at Galerie St. George, 11 Phelps Pl. for a FREE reading of an original play “Adam and Eve and Adam and Steve” by Jason Gordon.  Call 718-816-5454 or visit galeriestgeorge.com for more info. 

Have you joined the New Day Toastmasters yet?  Never too late to start!  The group meets every Thursday at 7 at Regina McGinn Education Center, 475 Seaview Ave.  I have such fond memories of my brother, Mark, giving speeches at Toastmasters.  I learned so much from the different speakers each week, and my brother became an accomplished public speaker because of this experience.  For more information, call 917-359-1985.

I posed a question to my gentle readers last week.  Due to a lifetime on Staten Island and especially the North Shore, going to school on Richmond Terrace and experiencing the water activity—tugs, tankers, ferries up close, I have always felt as if I was a part of maritime life.  Does anyone else on Staten Island feel this way?  Did you ever just want to stow away on a tug boat or be a deckhand on the ferry for a week?  When you witness the cruise ships traveling in the Harbor, did you ever get the urge to not take a cruise but work on the ship?  I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories about living on our Island.  You don’t have to use your real name if you are shy, you can use initials or a pseudonym.  Looking forward to many of your stories!

Are you looking for a fun outdoor activity for the entire family?  Pumpkin Picking is every weekend in October from 11-4 at the historic 1800’s Decker Farm, 435 Rchmond Hill Rd.  Take a farmhouse tour, enjoy a hayride, get lost in the cornstalk maze, take part in arts and crafts and bring home a pumpkin. 

Free shuttle bus service is available from Historic Richmond Town parking lot to the Farm.  Admission is $6 for Adults and children over 1 or a $20 Family Four Pack.  On Saturday, 10/10, the farm will be closed to take part in Rome through Richmond Town, a FREE Columbus Day weekend celebration, from noon-5.  For info, visit http://www.historicrichmondtown.org/decker-farm  

The NYC Parks Department, as part of the Green Neighborhood program, is seeking volunteers to remove invasive plants and dig in perennial wildflowers at Jones Woods Park at the top of Franklin Ave. and Arnold St. this Saturday, 10/3 at 9.  Contact Joseph Kurtz at 347-971-0975 or e-mail him at joseph.kurtz@parks, nyc.gov

Enjoy the fall colors on a hike on Saturday at noon at Clay Pit Pond State Park, 2351 Veteran's Rd. West, or the Haunted Hike at 2.  For more info, call 718-605-3970.

Attend the Carnival to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis at the Commons Café at 2 Teleport Dr. on Saturday from 12-4.  Hosted by the Delta Epsilon Beta sorority of St. John’s, there will be games, food, prizes, bouncy rides and all proceeds go to CCFA. 

Saturday from 11-5, don’t miss Staten Island Museum’s 65th Annual Fence Show on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, where you will meet friends, make new ones and possibly purchase original art.  Also at the same time, you will experience the Open Air Music Festival hosted by Musical Chairs Ensemble.  Rain date is Sunday. 

Some of my favorite days were spent at the Port Richmond Library working as a Page during my high school years.  For years, I could name the author of every book I returned to the shelves.  I watched and learned about the Dewey Decimal System from the Librarians and can still remember the smell of the cards in the wooden drawers. Visit the Spotlight Gallery in Horrmann Library, Wagner College, One Campus Rd. for an exhibit—“Alternet” by Carla Rae Johnson.  Miss Johnson found just such a cabinet and invited creative individuals to create 3” x 5” cards to fill the catalog drawers totaling more than 300 cards.  Viewing and reception will be Saturday, 10/3 at 6:00 p.m.

On Sunday, 10/4 at 2, join the Walking Tour of Moravian Cemetery in the Atlantic Ave. section, 2205 Richmond Rd. You will experience a fascinating part of history of Staten Island and New York.  Call 718-351-0136 for more info.

Join Staten Island OutLOUD for a FREE reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, concluding with Chapters 8 and 9, on Sunday at 2 on the beach at Fort Wadsworth’s waterside picnic pavilion outside of Bldg. 120, New York Ave.  For additional info, call 718-907-0709.

I pray the Tropical Storm Joaquin passes by Staten Island.  Stay safe, my gentle readers but of course, stock up on bread, milk, candles and flashlights. Lol!

If you would you like to share photos starring YOU at events on Staten Island, I’ll post them in next week’s blog. You can call me at 646-258-9696, leave a comment below or e-mail me at joan.coogan@gmail.com

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