If you said "Christmas," dear reader, your mind was, well, elsewhere. The augurs are all around and about that autumn is rapidly approaching the farm. The days can still be warm (although it struggled to reach 71F on this rather gloomy day) and some nights are rather warm but the smell of autumn is oft in the air of the morn.
The maple and gum trees have been particularly receptive to the suggestion and their leaves are becoming the most fetching colors of yellows, reds and retained greens. Hickory nuts are showering the ground round and about their mother trees (the walnuts, however, stubbornly cling to their branches). These nuts are in great abundance this year, a sure sign say many locals, that the winter promises to be cold.
The apples are gaining a wee blush, signifying their perfect state of maturity for the harvest. Today Mr. Fuzzy picked
a half-bushel basket of apples, a half basket of tomatoes from the raised bed garden and another half bushel of tomatoes (red and yet green) from the lower garden. Mrs. Fuzzy required the green tomatoes for a tomato and apple chutney recipe. She has slaved throughout the day, drying and preserving the bounties of the farm for future needs.
Last Sunday, the Fuzzys spent the entire day, 8:00 until 5:00, attentively attending a hunter education class held at the county rescue service building. Neither of us has sat so long in many a year and between the physical inactivity and the constant mental stimulation, we were totally exhausted by nightfall.
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4 comments:
Well, I didn't really "slave" today... I'm just a bit wired after a few days of rest courtesy of a blissfully short lived cold. Nearly three whole days of the gunk! I think that hunter ed class is what did it to me... definitely NOT my favorite activity. (Nine-hour classes, that is.)
Anyhoo- Today's activity led to a year's worth of pear chutney, three quarts of dried apples, dried bananas, about half a year's supply of tomato sauce, and the preservation of the prized gift of some apple cider. Tomorrow I'll make that tomato chutney and my grammie's vegetable relish. That relish is why i learned to can things in the first place, it's THAT good. (Recipe in a slow period, K?)
I'm curious at what solution you reached regarding a food dehydrator.
Many posts back you were trying nobly to work with sun, the vagaries of humid weather and the like. Did you get or build an electric food dehydrator ? I found one at a yard sale for 5 dollars and my only complaint is that it only came with 5 shelves...I am sorely tempted to order 5 more so that I can use it more efficiently for large harvests of fruit and herbs.
What nefarious, naughty deed would I need to commit to acquire that vegetable relish recipe? I discovered recently that while I hate pickle relish, I really love vegetable relish, and you know, it's pretty hard to find.
And now, I have an image of you in a you-sized orange jumper, tracking through the woods. I'm not sure what you're tracking but you look fabulous in your orange jumper. =)
I love autumn and the vibrancy of the leaves is divine! So much color and so much beauty in autumn!
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