Sunday, September 9, 2012

To everything there is a season...


I love fall.  It is a time to reap and that is what I have been busy doing.  I picked my parsley and sage and have it drying on the porch.  The peppers and tomatoes will find their way into salsa.
We had to pick some apples early, as our resident matriarch deer, Croppy,  started eating them.  We chased her away 5 times and she just followed us back to the tree.  She was determined, so we picked as high as she could reach.  She was not pleased.
 The problem with picking the apples early was that I already had a peck of peaches to prepare.  (I know I know, it should be a lug.  That wasn't as fun to work with).  This week I canned peaches, made sweet rolls, peeled apples and froze them for pies.  I made raspberry/chocolate jam and buffalo berry jam.  I trimmed my parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and chamomile for drying. 
 Out of that big pail of apples I got three bags for pie filling.  The sweet rolls were a birthday present for a friend's 40th party.  I haven't baked all summer due to the heat, so I must say it felt good to bake on a cool fall day.  The house smelled of apples and bread.  Is that fall or what? 












Then to top off our day the beekeeper came by.  I was excited to find out if the hives were healthy and how much honey they had produced.  He said the bees were healthy and they must be happy because he figures there was about 150 pounds of honey.  Below is a photo of one of the honeycombs. 
 
It has been a fruitful fall for this family.  I enjoy seeing what everyone else is doing with their harvest.  Hope it was as productive a weekend for all of you.


17 comments:

  1. Wow you have been so busy. You will have so much fun this winter when you are buried in snow to take out those wonderful gifts of fall and have such great food.
    Our apples won't be ripe for a bit longer. We are still having 100 degree days.
    I like the idea of your house smelling like apples and bread. Lovely shots of all of your work.

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  2. you are super busy! and all that honey! im so jealous. fall is my favorite time of the year. the smells, colors, long sleeve shirts, harvest and all there is in between! take care!

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  3. What a great harvest that I know will be enjoyed in the cold months ahead!! I'm especially glad that your bees are doing well, I'm hearing that some hives had a hard time this summer because of the heat and drought.

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  4. Id's say in the least Holly Toledo have you been busy ! Everything looks and sounds soo YUMMY ! We are just beginning to have cooler weather , but the drought and heat destroyed so many crops of all kinds it's sad ! I can smell the apples and breads that you described in the kitchen MMMM lovely ! Have a good evening !

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  5. Wow...you have been busy! I love the smell of the house when canning and baking!

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  6. You have been very busy, I love the look of the pantry full of all the hard work. I have been canning tomatoes.

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  7. Wow, you certainly did a lot of baking/cooking/drying. It will be nice to have those goodies next winter, and I applaud you! It is still pretty hot here and I'm not ready to do much baking yet. However, I have been harvesting lots and lots of tomatoes. I've given them away, even sold them to a supermarket and restaurants. I am not preserving them-I still have some frozen from last year (I use them for chili). My flowers are still looking good and I too am enjoying the fruits of my labor. I do look forward to the cooler weather and baking again.
    Beth

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  8. What a nice harvest. I haven't made bread all summer, but have had some good artisian loaves.I got a real nice cinnamon chip loaf yesterday.

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  9. Oh I so want to come to your house and smell the bread and apples and watch Croppy with a cup of tea with fresh honey. That sounds heavenly to me. B

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  10. 150 pounds of honey!!!! Man, I am super jealous! That is really awesome. So, about the deer...are you telling us the deer actually follows you back to the apple tree??? So, he/she is not afraid of you guys...if so...that is amazing...and cool...and awesome...but not good for the apply supply..LOL! But really, that is so neat!

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  11. I don't have the excuse that's it's been too hot, but somehow the summer has flown by and I only did some strawberry and peach jam, which is way below my usual. The peaches have been particularly good and I'm thinking maybe, this week I might pair them with pears for a jam. It is fall and I'm looking at all the leaves that need raking already...I'd much rather be baking like you, XOXO

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  12. These are busy days, are they not?
    I'm juicing gallons of plum, apple and pear juices today.
    Hoping to get some chutneys made as well. Maybe.
    Your rolls looks yummy!

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  13. So impressive... just look at your harvest! Is drying parsley as simple as just hanging it out to dry? I've got quite a bit I could snip to dry...Would love to know more! Thanks!!!

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  14. Wow! You have been keeping busy this summer. I can relate to your apple problems. Birds get many of mine before they're ripe each year. Your sweet rolls, apples, herbs, and tomatoes look fabulous. I haven't been brave enough to turn on my oven in a while, but I do look forward to it. Have a productive week ahead.

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  15. It's so wonderful to be able to fill the pantry with all these good things from the earth and keep them through the winter months to feast upon. You do good work!

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  16. Loved reading about all of your hard work. Look at all that honey! I can almost smell the aroma of baking from here. Our vegetable garden was non-existent this year due to the drought, but there's always next year, right?

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