What a beautiful ending to a productive day. Cortney took these photoswith the camera she got for her graduation. She's been reading the
manual and learning the different settings she has to choose from.
This photo is the first in the series of three, keep looking it get more
beautiful.
Yesterday we canned applesauce, apple pie filling and got tomatoes ready to be canned today. I also made our weekly bread.
Here are a few of the apples we put through the peeler, slicer, corer
before canning into pie filling. I'm hoping to just can some slices for
other future uses.
A sample of our cantaloupe, but sadly we're disappointed with them. they lack flavor and are NOT very sweet this season. I think our cool
summer had something to do with this because normally they are
mouth watering delicious!
A close up of our dried Bocchia beans. These are a bush bean and are
eaten and canned just like a green bean, but we also dry some for
seed, as well as to cook with. Aren't they pretty?
Cortney diligently worked on shelling all these beans, the Bocchia are on the stove and the Kentucky Wonder beans are in the bowl. We also
have more pods drying on the front porch as well as on the vines. We
use the Kentucky Wonder dried beans ( keeping some back for seed)
as a substitute for navy or pinto beans. It is our goal to not let anything
go to waste.
Today our plan is to cut the remaining cabbage heads for freezer slaw
and possibly kraut. The cabbage being stored in the cellar will be
pulled up root and all, for better storage.
We received rain two days ago, and that should make digging the
spuds a bit easier. Cortney and I dug two rows( of the 10 rows) but
ground was so dry it was not fun. We still have carrots in the ground
as well. There are still lots of last minute preps to get finished up
before old man winter shows up for good. The parsnips have to be
cut back and heavily mulched for winter, we need to get our garlic
planted, manure spread and all of the garden areas tilled, hoses
rolled up, blown out and put away, the pump disconnected and
drained and some last minute caulking and painting done.
Okay we'd better get a move on it, or we'll not get our goals crossed
off for today.
May these Fall days be filled with productivity and blessings for each
of you winding down for a winter's rest.
8 comments:
Let Cortney know she took some beautiful pictures. WOW after reading all that you have to get done, I feel tired for you all. Love the beans and yes they looked lovely. I wish you all a great weekend and job well done.
i know, i know that i should get some apples and make up some pies, but not sure if i have the stamina! this is apple country, for heaven sake, and there are farms everywhere offering them for $15 a bushel!!!
photo #3 is awesome!!!
Those beans are pretty. Do you cook on that stove? We have an antique wood cook stove in our shed just waiting to be put to use. Hopefully next summer. Wood is a little limited here though so I do not plan to use it exclusively. To be honest we aren't even sure if we will put it in the house or the garage (that needs to be built) or use for an outdoor kitchen during the summer. I just know I want to use it somewhere!
Diane,
Cortney is grinning from ear to ear over your compliment. She's having such fun with this digital camera and she seems to have a good eye for great shots too. We're tired, but it's a good tired, I'm sure you know about that yourself.
Cyn,
Stamina is dwindling here, but I just can't stand to see waste and it spurns me on again. I know what a blessing it will all be this winter too*wink* There are orchards in our area, this used to be called "The Fruit Basket of Carbon County". Many years ago there were HUGE orchards of apples and pie cherries in this area. Sadly now many have been left to ruin and decay and then simply cut down. My Grandma and Grandpa used to make a day of it, pack of the kids(8 kids or more due to foster kids) and drive from the city to pick a tree of apples, they bought by the tree or half tree, and two trees of cherries. You can do it, you can do it, you can do it , rah, rah, rah!!!! *wink*, LOL!
Millie,
YES! we LOVE to cook on our wood cookstove, in fact we hate when we have to stop. We've discussed making a summer kitchen, and getting another stove to cook on in there. It's just to hot in the summer to fire one up, even a small fire.
Tomorrow, Mike is cleaning the chimney and I'll get the stove all cleaned out and then we'll be set for our first fire of the season, YEAH!
You'll like your stove , once you get used to it. I never burned or undercooked anything, you just have to pay attention. Good Luck and ahppy cooking, once you get yours hooked up.
Kelle,
I should have mentioned that I've cook on one before. Not this particular one. But as a teenager the house we lived in only had a wood cook stove for cooking on/in (and the only heat in the main part of the house). I was the main cook (my parents both worked to try to make ends meet). I made full meals including biscuits, corn bread and cakes. Looking back on it, it was an amazing experience. Of course then I didn't think it was so great. Now I wish to purposely recreate it! I guess I've come full circle.
What an inspiring site you have! I love all the preserving that you do. I am gleaning lots of great information from you.
Sorry for the loss of your cow, it is so hard to loose a friend.
I, too, remember all those orchards in your valley from when I was a kid growing up in Billings. We used to go out and pick cherries--that's what I remember most--although I'm sure we also picked apples. I even remember exactly where they were and I notice the spot whenever I come to visit you. Sad, those trees are gone.
Millie,
How fun that you can say you've come full circle. My family thought I was nuts for wanting a wood cookstove, my folks tell everyone I was simply born 100 yrs to late,*wink* We actually had this wood cookstove in my husband's shop in the city for 3 yrs before we bought this homestead. Mike found it at an auction just after
Y2K and it looked as if it had only been fired once or twice, bidding less than $200 and getting it! New, at the time, through Lehmans they sold for $995+ freight. It came with some odds and ends cast iron cookware, the stove strapper and a trivet. The only thing missing was the oven rack and I simply called Lehmans and ordered one from their source. I absolutely love cooking on this stove and it is our main source of heat, although we do have a natural gas furnace we keep it set at 55F in winter. The furnace has only run about a dozen times in almost 7 yrs.That was because it was sub zero with windchill and our house is a year shy of 100 yrs old. We still have old windows and walls have little insulation.
Rainy Day,
Welcome and thanks for commenting, we LOVE it! I'm glad you are gleening, we certainly are gleening from all the wonderful blogs too. You're never to old to learn, nobody knows it all. We look forward to hearing from you again and thank you for your kind words in regards to Bessie.
Linda,
I forgot you grew up in Billings too. I bet I know just the spot you are talking about, probably the same spot Grandma pointed out to us when she visited us our first summer here. I love the fact that she shared her memories with us about this area and how Grandpa and Grandma Huffman came down from Red Lodge and they made a day of it, picnic and all.
Post a Comment