Equinox

With the official turning of the seasons toward fall, there is much to enjoy and be thankful for around here.

The woodshed is filling up with the last of my firewood I cut and split last year, and a load of wood we had delivered. It is mostly thanks to my hard working mountain man, working diligently to get all our seasoned wood protected from the torrential fall rain in spare hours here and there. After doing the entire firewood process all on my own last year, these efforts are most appreciated.

We rang in the wet, chilly Autumn Equinox with the first series of small fires to season our new woodstove. The warm, cheery flame was a welcome edition to our home.

The farm cats are all fat and sassy, doing a great job keeping the rodent population down so we can have our garden, and following us faithfully every day to do the chicken chores.  They need to make sure there aren’t any mice marauding in the chicken feed, after all.

The chickens have been enjoying lots of fall treats, including marigold flowers. I read about the idea on Fresh Eggs Daily (a lovely blog for chicken fanatics like myself) as a good supplement for overall health and yolk color: Marigolds for Orange Egg Yolks and Chicken Health.

We’ve been harvesting the last of the Asian pears and plums off of our trees, and I still haven’t gotten over how good it feels to finally have fruit trees to call my own. We have a few apples too, and I even discovered five bonus apple trees in the brush below the driveway for our upcoming cider pressing! It will surely feel strange to not have to go gleaning all around town anymore. With all that effort saved, I see cider pressing parties in our future.

I am enjoying these little tomatillos. This variety, Aunt Molly’s are also known as “ground cherries” because they are small, sweet and the perfect little snack. Someone suggested making pie with them, so I have plans to give it a whirl.

And last, but not least, I am deeply grateful for fall mushrooms. We have been enjoying Chanterelles, Lobsters, and Chicken of the Woods recently, and every meal is feeling like a royal feast in this house. I’m eyeing that big Cinderella pumpkin out in the garden and planning all sorts of good things. As I look out at the hillsides and see the leaves beginning their turning with the season, I’m feeling like there’s nothing so wonderful as to gather in all the bountiful things around us, hunker down and be cozy in our homes like squirrels preparing for winter.

Happy Autumn Equinox to All!