Elk-a-holic

 My elk hunt was done much faster than I anticipated.  It was a 3 day  adventure.  

I didn't shoot a monster, though my husband and I were almost run over by one.  We saw lots of bulls.  The highlight was seeing two bulls in the trees.  My husband cow called and one turned and ran straight at us.  He was absolutely huge, but I had no shot.  I thought he was going to run us down.  He came at us with a full bore charge.  At the last minute, he veered off and disappeared into the dark timber without a sound.

A few days later I called in a decent 6x6.  He wasn't all rutted up, so his meat is delicious.  I have been butchering for four days.  My husband smoked a tenderloin.  It melted in your mouth and was so flavorful.  

I've sealed and frozen countless roasts, canned stew meat, elk stew, stuffed summer sausage, sausage, and maple breakfast sausage.  There is still jerky to make.  Ella, of course, got a bone.

My 'vacation' has been exhausting.  Not only do I have a giant elk to contend with, but my apple tree has added to the fray.  We were supposed to get moisture and here you never know if that means a wet heavy snow.

As you can see, the branches were loaded despite the fact we had already picked a bushel.  I was afraid it would snow and break the branches, so we picked the rest.
I'm giving apples to everyone I see.  The bee keeper just left with a bag full.  It was a good exchange, as he brought honey from our hives.  He said they didn't do very well this year.

I made some pumpkin biscotti to celebrate our harvest and enjoy with coffee on the porch. 

I love autumn.  The feeling of preparing to settle in for the winter.  We are getting close to the end.  I have one more batch of tomatoes from the greenhouse and some banana peppers.   If I have enough jars some jelly, jam, and preserves as I still have berries in the freezer.  

Are you ready for winter?  What was your favorite harvest this year?