No fall is complete without a good old-fashioned cider pressing. This tradition started for me in college, when the Horticulture Club gathered up boxes and boxes of apples from the school orchard to press in our huge, industrial sized cider press. I think the gallons of cider we produced ended up in the hundreds, and I always had some in my fridge this time of year. Hot mulled cider became an ...
Homesteading
Pumpkin Harvest
With our first frost came some hurried harvesting this week. Since October is well underway, we decided to harvest the pumpkins. What makes this pumpkin harvest so special is that we didn't have to travel to another farmer's field to do it. We grew these pumpkins right here in our own field. For many years I have dreamed of having my own pumpkin patch, so this was a big deal! I planted ...
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
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Like a Squirrel
This time of year, when I see the busy squirrels scampering about with their cheeks bulging with acorns to store away in their hollow tree for the winter, I feel a sense of camaraderie with the little critters. Right now, the harvest is ON! Late night canning escapades, baskets of fruits and vegetables everywhere you look, and a pantry that is rapidly filling up. The leaves are finally starting to ...
Canning Local Food With Relish!
If you're going to can, you may as well do it with relish! I kicked off my weekend with a trip on Friday out to Riverbend Farm to get peaches and corn. Every year I go and get their distressed, or "seconds" peaches for half price. Then I can feel better about getting a couple of big boxes full. The corn was for making corn relish, a favorite canned treat in my house, and since we didn't grow wild ...
Oh, the Possibilities of a Freshly Plowed Field…
Lavender, a pumpking patch, more room for corn..... ...
First Harvest
Garlic braids are hanging in the pantry, a big bowl of potatoes is ready to eat over the coming weeks, green beans are all picked for pickling, and I won't have to buy another onion for a good long while. It was a wonderful feeling this weekend to harvest some of the fruits of our labour. All summer long we've been picking some peas here and there, gathering a bowl of cherry tomatoes every couple ...
What We Have Here is a Watermelon!
Five, to be exact, and more coming on. I LOVE growing food! ...
Little House on the Prairie Camp
Anyone who has ever read and loved Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books has probably daydreamed about frontier days gone by. I remember reading those books as a child and wishing I lived on a homestead, and then reading them with my children and realizing I STILL wished I lived on a homestead. For many of us in America, these books are an integral part of childhood. ...
Got Wood?
We've got wood! And for this, I am feeling very grateful. I really can't take any credit for it, and my husband is due some serious thanks for keeping us warm this coming winter. One of the first projects we took on after moving into our house last year was installing a good, sturdy Jotul woodstove. We had always wanted wood heat, and the house had no other heat system in place, so it pushed ...