Summary-Chapters 16-19

Brende is now experiencing the fall season on the farm. The first chapter mentions Brende noticing that his pumpkins have almost completely ripened. It is the end of August and they weren’t supposed to be ready until October; perfect time for selling them. They had to keep them safe and dry for a little while until they could sell them during the halloween season. The pumpkins were one of two cash crops Brende planted to sell. The other plant was "sorghum," they would get the juices from it, and make a sort of molasses out of it. By the time the Halloween season comes, most of the pumpkins are in healthy shape and ready to sell. He ends up selling 400 at full retail price of 15 cents a pound, and 450 wholesale at 7 cents a pound. He totaled up about $1000 from the pumpkins sales and sorghum; he planned on using the money to pay Mr. Miller for rent. The next chapter talks about the down time after fall and that a farmer has to constantly make himself busy in order to stay positive and sane, considering the gray sky and shortness of light during the daytime. He ends up helping to dig a drainpipe in the cow pen, and works with Caleb and gets to know him. Brende then talks about his wife and her delivery of their baby that will come up very soon. He is questioning whether they should spend time in a hospital to make sure everything for the delivery goes well. Ultimately they decide to keep to their goals of not using technology and give birth in their Minimite community. Everything with the delivery ends up going well. Brende looks back and notices the moment of danger wasn’t the delivery, but more of the way he was driving the machine (his car) to get the neighbors for help in the delivery.