So as I approach late flower, I am confused about ...

First grow very nice. The breeders use week estimates so always go by the trichomes color. Try not to jump the gun and flush too early it does happen. Just a guess you probably have at least 2-3 weeks to go. The buds continue to bulk up the most in the last few weeks. Typically When about 50% of the white pistils have turned orange I start checking the trichomes. If you have mostly all clear trichomes you can still give her a few more feedings. Once you see more 1/2 cloudy trichomes than clear trichomes you can start to flush her. Typically 10 to 14 days is more than enough. You will get better with this after a few grows. She's ready when she's ready. If you have a TDS or PPM meter run 7 to 9 gallons of water through your pot or until your runoff from the pot is within a 100-150 ppm of the flush water. You want to let her dry out before you water her again and keep up this wet/dry cycle until your runoff ppm are close to the flush water ppm. Typically within 7 days you will see it starting to steal nutrients from the lower leaves. If possible try to lower your temperature to 80 F or less to preserve the terpenes and lower your humidity to under 45% then 40% or lower. At 70% it could cause potential mildew issues. Most growers harvest with about 5% to 30% amber trichomes depending on what type of high you like. The main cola will typically be ready a little sooner than the lower buds. You can harvest in stages as they ripen. Think fall your trying to mimic the stress plants and trees go through to survive their environmental changes. You can also cut back on your lights the last couple of weeks to 18-20 hrs which will allow a nice nighttime temperature drop to pull some nice colors out of her. 👍