Sunday, September 25, 2011

Autumn

The Autumn Equinox occurred on September 23rd this year.  We've turned a corner.  It's been raining a lot, thankfully, although it's more humid than cool.

Leaves are just beginning to turn color.  It's a very subtle change.

We have a bumper crop of figs ripening.  I picked a big bowl today and am looking around for recipes on the Internet.  There are quite a lot of intriguing ones.  For today, I'll peel and cut up the last of the apples and mix in some chopped figs, cinnamon, and maybe a little sweetener with vanilla, although the figs will likely add all the sweetness you'd want.  The mix will go into a casserole and in the microwave for as long as it takes to soften up the apples.  After it cools, I'll freeze it in pint sized containers.  It will be a lovely applesauce for wintertime or an ingredient for cakes and other desserts or an accompaniment for pork or chicken.

Something tells me I'll also be canning some fig chutney during the cold months, as there are many containers of dried and fresh figs in the freezer.

We said goodbye to six prime young breeding goat does today.  They will be the start of a new herd for someone in the area.  Our herd is getting thinned out a bit before winter sets in.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Cool and Gray

It barely got up into the 60s yesterday.  Today looks like it will be rainy.  It will warm up a little next week, but I'm enjoying the cooler weather.  I can get more physical work done.

Fat green walnut pods are dropping onto the ground in all the pastures.  The goats are munching some acorns and we are mowing and cutting the stupid, useless stickweed that is taking over.

I'm picking the last of the apples and lots of nice red tomatoes.

We are definitely on the last days of summer.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

It's Been an Interesting Year

Yesterday afternoon, I drove through a pasture to our cabin to do some general clean-up outside and pick up a load of old wood. 

Overgrown bushes beckoned.  I was pruning a forsythia when something caught my eye.  I turned and looked at the path to the cabin and saw what I first thought was a black heifer ambling up the path.

"What the h...?" I said aloud when I realized this was not a heifer.

The big black bear looked startled to see me and turned to run into the woods.

Another first.

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

September -- Relief!

Today is the first cool day we've had for months.  I wore a sweater all day.  It's been raining pretty much steadily since yesterday.  The parched earth is absorbing all the moisture and things are already greener and less crunchy.

The cows seem relieved.  The goats are bummed because they do not like to get their feet wet.  Some of the braver ones were on the hillside this afternoon.

Our ponds are getting refilled, which, naturally made the geese happy.  I am happy, too.