Our sunflowers have been very productive this year! The heads are drooping under their weight, and our tallest one comes in at about 10′ 4″.
A very happy bee.
This one is almost ready for drying. We’ll have to keep an eye on it and claim it before the birds do!
I’m only 5’4″ – it’s fun to know the tallest one is almost TWICE my height!!
There’s nothing better than getting a day off from work for a snow day! I admit to being pretty lucky to be able to avoid driving on the roads on days like today.
We’re up to inch 17 right now, and still going strong. I made my first round of shoveling this morning, followed by a snowy hike into town to get my taxes out in the morning mail. Few people out and about, only those of us cleaning up. So, until my husband gets home and we make a round two of the shoveling, I’ll be relaxing with a hot bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup and a book.
It seems as though everyone but those of us in the Northeast’s has been getting snow this season. But yesterday, we finally got a respectable helping of it yesterday, just about a half a foot here. Although that always means cleaning up after it, I think we’re all pretty pleased with what we got. So, with a hot bowl of soup in our bellies, my husband and I went out about 6:30 last night to clean up. After my task of getting my car cleaned off and moved, shoveling the porch, and cleaning the steps, I took off into the back field while my husband finished the driveway. There I sat, surrounded by darkness and snow, just taking it all in.
I felt each snowflakes as it kissed my face, melting on my nose, my lips, my chin.
Wisps of wood smoke swirled with the snowflakes in the air. It wasn’t that sharp, shallow, cold middle of winter smell, no. It was warm, full-bodied, earthy and sweet.
The wind whistled, slightly muffled, as it moved through the yard and the trees. Snow crystals collided, resulting in sharp, crystalline chimes. A winter melody.
Very little of the porch light reached the field, but what did found its way by reflecting off the snow. Though no spotlights on a stage, the glow silhouetted a neighbor’s pine. Here it performed for me, its branches swaying, waving, all part of an interpretive dance. Plant stalks, leftover from fall, rise through the snow and take part in the show, bowing low then rising up again.
Alone in the dark and snow, I was warm and wished to be no other place.
This year was the first time we’ve ever had a garden and it’s the first time we have ever tried canning. Both worked out pretty well and I thought I might encourage myself (and others) by listing what exactly we ended up harvesting and preserving this year. And what’s really exciting about all of this is that all of it came from our backyard or from local growers.
Garden:
*2 lbs. zucchini (not too successful)
*3 lbs. tomatoes (no thanks to the blight)
*4 lbs. cucumbers (very successful)
*3 lbs. carrots (most successful vegetable)
*5 lbs. turnips & greens (very successful)
*Handful of swiss chard
Of those, the cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, and swiss chard were eaten fresh. Most of the carrots and turnips were as well, though we have blanched and frozen a good-sized bag of both to add into soups and stews. We realized the soil is lacking in nutrients, so we have had my father come expand and deepen it with his rototiller and in the process of getting the soil tested so we know what needs to be added next spring. We already have next season’s seed catalogue from High Mowing Organic Seeds and have already begun dreaming about next season. I’ll put the catalogue away until the end of January when I will be in need of warm season dreaming and figure out next year’s plot then. And as a side note, everything that we grew this year was done so “organically”.
Herbs:
*Oregano- fresh use all season long plus more dried and put away
*Basil- fresh use until it showed signs of bolting, then made a decent sized batch of pesto which lasted several meals
*Cilantro- fresh use until is showed signs of bolting, then made some salsa
*Chives- beastly things that are still being used fresh, though I have some frozen to experiment with this winter
Having herbs around caused me to use more of them, teaching myself more about their flavors in certain dishes (especially how amazing fresh oregano is with eggs), and really appreciate having them around. They will be planted again next year.
Preserving:
*Jam:
-12 (4oz.) jars blueberry jam- blueberries from the Blais Farm
-12 (4oz.) and 2 (half pint) jars strawberry jam- strawberries from Wellwood Orchards
-12 (4oz.) and 2 (half pint) jars black raspberry jam- black raspberries from Cherry Hill Farm
-12 (4oz.) and 3 (half pint) jars red raspberry jam- red raspberries from Cherry Hill Farm
*3 (pint) jars of peaches- peaches from Wellwood Orchards
*7 (pints) frozen strawberries- strawberries from Wellwood Orchards
*9 (quarts) homemade spiced applesauce- apples from Wellwood Orchards
After our first batch of strawberry jam, the jamming and canning bug had definitely bit us. Not only is it fun, but it will bring us much joy this winter as we yearn for warm days. The jam is better than anything you’d ever find in the store, and we’re very excited to share a large portion of it with our friends and family this holiday season.
Despite many of us wanting autumn to stay with us forever, winter is fast approaching. We awoke this morning to find our world covered under a thin blanket of snow. As I’m sure most of it will melt away over the course of the afternoon, its a reminder to us that winter is knocking at our door and it will not be long until we’re buried in snow.
It’s been almost a week since we’ve turned our clocks back, and I’m starting to get use to driving home after the sun has set. It seems like only minutes after I get home and start supper, it’s pitch black out. No time for leisurely evening strolls, those will be kept for weekend afternoons. Nights are colder and after cocconing myself in the blankets last night, I’ve realized it’s time to put the thin cotton sheets away and pull out the heavy flannel ones in addition to an extra blanket. And, as Turkeycookies reminded me, I’ll dig out our microwavable rice bag that my Grandmother made for me and put that near the night stand for those really cold nights in need of a little extra warmth under the covers for your toes. Grudgingly, I’ll even force my husband to help me switch out our shorts and tank tops for pants and sweaters this weekend.
One more day of work at the lab until the weekend work of warmth, crafting, and baking arrives. What a busy work week it’s been, and interestingly enough, it’s due to the opening of hunting season in just over a week. I thought it unusual that all of our wastewater operators were coming in with their monthly samples all at the same time this week. So, after the third operator in a span of less than an hour showed up, I thought to ask. With hunting season is opening soon, and many of them have vacations coming up, it’s time to get it all done this week and next. The puzzle was solved, and now that I know exactly who’s hunting, I’ll be sure to follow up with them next month in hopes of scoring a free pound or two of venison. 😉
This blog always shows me how busy I keep myself. In the past two weeks I’ve been working on my autumn “to-do” list and so much more!
Our harvest of carrots this year! A handful got roasted, another batch blanched and frozen for soups, more used for a pot roast, and one final batch given away to my father in exchange for his time spent helping us to expand the garden.
One of my favorite things to do with squash- cooking it until tender then melting it with apples and some brown sugar to top over some brown rice. Mmmm-mmm!
My father with his rototiller which he graciously brought all the way from Maine to help us expand our garden to twice its size. We already have potatoes, winter squash, and pumpkins on the brain for next year thanks to the expansion. During his visit he also helped to fix our front door and replaced the old weather-stripping with new stuff that actually works. Our door shuts tightly now and lets less heat out.
I’ve figured out the secret to pumpkins- halve them with a serrated knife, scoop our the pulp and save the seeds (for roasting of course), half again, throw into a pot and boil the pieces until you can stick a fork through the skin side of the pumpkin. Drain and let cool. When cool to the touch, gently use a spoon to scoop the flesh away from the skin and you’re done! I ended up making pumpkin puree for cooking, using an electric hand mixer to get it smoother than I could by hand.
And I found the best recipe ever to make the best pumpkin muffins! The perfect way to enjoy a Sunday morning? Hot cup of coffee, Sunday paper, pumpkin muffins.
And this is what I found when I saw my husband off for work at 5:30 this morning- a snow-sleet mix covering our porch. It’s all gone to rain now, but the slush is still everywhere. Not what I expected for the middle of October.
All the leaves are past their peak now, with most trees retaining less than half of their leaves. The cold nights and mornings are here, and today isn’t suppose to get much higher than the mid forties. I’m sure there will be a warm spell again soon, that familiar Indian Summer break of a few days in early November, but for now, it’s our signal to get things in order, put your garden to bed, get your storm windows in, and prepare for the cold that’s ahead.
It’s the last day of September and I can’t believe how fast the month has gone by! We’ll welcome in October tomorrow, the month where autumn is at its peak and the days get shorter, colder, and darker. In the interest of community and curiosity, I take turkeycookies’ approach and ask, what do you have planned for October?
*Another round of apple picking, complete with a visit to the petting zoo this time
*Hopefully can another 6 or so quarts of apple sauce
*Play more with pumpkins- I’ve figured out the secret to pumpkin cooking thanks to habitsofamouse
*Bake more delicious pumpkin muffins made with real pumpkin and enjoy countless batches of pumpkin seeds
*Enjoy the crisp nights and smells of wood smoke on evening walks
*Find and experiment more with root crop recipes, including various squashes
*Make lots and lots of soup and homemade bread
*Carve pumpkins and dress up like Star Trek (TNG) officers for Halloween
With the arrival of the equinox, today we welcome autumn to the northern hemisphere. It’s crazy how fast time flies the older you get. September is quickly coming to a close and yet it feels like the month just started. The last few weekends of late summer have brought us plenty of happiness. We marked the arrival of September with a trip to the Rutland Fair, enjoying the day with great company- visitors from the north, my Mom and Step-Dad (Hi Tom!). My husband took second place in the amature art show and all four of us spent the weekend catching up and celebrating. The weekend after that marked the passing of my Grandfather. Unable to make it home, we spent a day up at VINS exploring and learning in his remembrance. And last weekend was our first trip to the orchard for apples, picking up squashes and filling the weekend with batches of applesauce. This weekend will be a wedding, working on some final harvesting in the garden, experimenting with pumpkins, and more cleaning and buttoning up as October is fast upon us.
Day and night are equal, and we can feel the sun weakening. The sun is setting earlier, the mornings are colder, and even in midmorning and early evening we can feel that briskness that is upon us. Leaves are changing and the final harvests are approaching. Nature is readying itself for the rest of the long cold months of winter. Today is a great time for all of us to take a moment to reflect upon the great days of summer- rainy days and all. Now is a time of harvest. Take time today to give thanks.
It’s something we all need to remember to say- thank you. All too often we forget, and so today, in honor of Mother’s Day, I bring you flowers for Mom.
Happy Mother’s Day! To all of my Moms, I say thank you for all the terrific things you have done for us. 🙂 And now, your flowers.
All flowers are tree blossoms that I took from where I work. I love New England in the spring time. 🙂
This past weekend I took a short trip back to the town I went to college in. I went to visit a good friend. Since I graduated, we have made sure to meet up atleast once a year. Each visit is relaxing but energizing. My friend is full of passion, energy, love, creativity, and joy. Being around her opens my mind and heals my soul. She’s great. We spent the morning together enjoying a delicious early morning breakfast of fresh eggs from the college farm and tea from herbs she collected last year. Our conversations were rich and we quickly found our way strolling around the farm. As the morning left and the afternoon approached, we were joined by a few other friends that were good to see. One of them now had a 1-year-old son that I finally got the chance to meet and what a joy! He is the happiest, most well behaved child I have interacted with in a long time- a real breath of fresh air. Come noon, everyone was clammoring to get a light lunch going. Someone left to go pick up some juice and yogurt while the rest of us pulled a pile of vegetables from my friend’s small fridge. Everyone started chopping and tossing, talking and laughing, and before long we had a huge salad, yogurt, fruit galore, homemade kimchi and sauerkraut, juice- it was wonderful. The amount of genuine happiness and hospitality floating around the room was so unusual and refreshing, I can’t explain it. I had nothing to give money or food wise, but instead I worked and cut up salad ingredients and helped put it all together, and that was okay. It sounds a little sad, but I’m not use to this. Anytime I’ve ever been in a spontaneous meal situation, it’s always expected for everyone to contribute cash toward the final product. If you don’t have it, you find a way, promising to pay someone back or else you just don’t eat. Never does someone just donate cash for you or accept another means of paying- doing dishes, the cooking, cleaning up, etc. And if you don’t have cash to contribute and still take part in the meal, people look down upon you, feel offended, and are generally disgusted with your behavior. But why? I understand the idea of equal contribution (think the story of the Red Hen baking her bread) but why does it have to be money? Maybe it’s just something our society has impressed upon us over the years. I guess the whole concept is difficult to explain, but the experience left me with a greater understanding of what true hospitality is all about. There would be a number of experiences like this through the day.
*Photo courtesy of Wikipedia*
And then there was straw. The friend with the small child and her partner invited us out to visit and spend a little time at their place a little later in the afternoon. So as time passed, we finally made our way out to the land they were living on. The land actually belongs to an older gentleman who has leased bits of his property before to a number of different college students. So when we arrived, I learned we also had a 15 minute hike into the woods to get to their home. How interestingly rustic, right? The path was narrow, windy, and heavily iced over, but when we got there, I discovered they had built a small one roomed straw bale structure – I’d call it a hut. No electricity, no running water, just a wood stove inside for heat, an even smaller old propane stove (obviously they managed to haul a propane tank out there), play area for the child, and a sink basin and storage shelves. All this was inside a room the size of my apartment living room. It would be a lie for me to say that I wasn’t a bit taken back by the rustic simplicity in which they lived- with a small child none-the-less! They had chosen to live like this for awhile and were as happy as could be about it. I couldn’t believe it. It was just so simple. Now, typically I have a scale in my mind of lifestyle and consumption. On the right end are your “fat-cat” overly consumptious individuals and on the left are your “hippie” homesteaders. On a day to day basis I think I fall pretty much in the middle, sometimes a little further off to the left because of some of my waste-not practices of food, electric, heat, recycling, etc. But put me on the scale when in comparison to this family, I was down there with the “fat-cats”. I felt genuinely embarrassed. I’m sure the thought never crossed their mind as they were more than happy to have company who understood and appreciated their choice. Again with the hospitality- offers of tea, juice, cookies, crackers, and I almost felt wrong accepting it. Why? Because in my mind, I didn’t feel right taking from those who had so little. Goodness, even that sounds selfish and snobby, doesn’t it? But they just kept on giving, all the while smiling and happy for our visit. We had a wonderful time out there, we really did, and when we left, they walked us back out to our car, gave a round of hugs, and we all went back on with our lives. On my ride home that day, I thought about their way of life, the overly simplistic choice of living, and realized that I couldn’t do it. Well, I suppose I could if I had to, though I wouldn’t choose to live that way. But to each their own, and whatever makes us happy, right?
My day of visiting was wonderful, filling me with joy, inspiring me to try new projects I’ve been thinking about, and encouraging me to keep learning and living my life happily. That tends to be my mindset for a number of months after visiting with my friend. 🙂 But the visit also gave me the opportunity to consider the topics of simplicity and hospitality. I do my best every day to take baby steps towards simplifying my life and reducing my negative impact on the world, and although it seems hard sometimes, it’s possible to make those changes. People like my friend who lived in the ultra-small straw bale home and the one I went to visit are magnitudes more efficient, simpler, and more environmentally friendly than I, BUT it’s those same people who encouraged and congratulated me on every little step I was taking. It’s those little steps that over time lead to a lot of gained ground. It’s those little steps that the world needs more of. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, each of us challenged in our own way, but we can all learn to make little changes. Simplicity is what we make of it, and it’s achievable on all levels. And hospitality- well, I learned a lot more what it’s all about. It’s about giving freely to guests, to everyone. Never did the hosts hold back anything, but rather gave and gave, even when they didn’t have much. I’ve always tried to do this in my home, in my life. My guests are welcome to anything and everything, I offer much, and I think I learn that from my mother. I laugh when I think about growing up, at one point having two adults and five children (my sister and I, a friend in a sticky situation, and two step-siblings) living in a tiny one bedroom house. My mother and stepfather turned part of the basement into their makeshift bedroom, despite it being a typical dank New England basement. There was at one point three beds in the tiny bedroom, with barely enough room to walk. And the couch, luckily, was a fold out bed. I know that it was probably really hard for my mom, but she always found a way to provide for us, our friends, visitors- everyone. Later in life, when things were less cramped, she’d always be able to find a way to stretch a meal for another mouth or two if need be. She’s always been incredibly giving. I know that’s where I learned hospitality from. But once in a while, now that my husband and I live by ourselves with few visitors, it’s easy to forget about the true spirit of hospitality and giving. But it is experiences like these that remind you what it’s all about.
Becoming A Sensible Vermonter 