Fall Term

 Apparently it's been a long time since I last posted. 5 months to be exact. 

School certainly has taken a lot of time and work fills in the other days, so between those two things and whatever moments I have to work on things around the farm, I don't have the mental or willpower to even think about writing a blog post. I was thinking that I could be posting all the papers that I've written for classes, but it would have to be a show-stopper and not some quickly thrown together excuse of an assignment that seemed to be the theme of this last term. I was ready for the term to be over before it even started because of how tired I was. Yeah, it certainly has been a long haul the last 10 weeks. But it is almost over! I have my last final tomorrow, and then I'm free until January. Well, free to catch up on all the things that I've put off. 

My fun class this term was a fall flower arrangers garden. Just about every week we did some sort of an arrangement featuring different techniques used in the floral industry to bring home. My mom loved Tuesdays because she never knew exactly what sort of creation I would come home with. Because the class was smaller, we were also able to cover other topics that the instructor had researched such as the flowers of Jane Austen's world. I nearly died of happiness when my number wasn't called for jury duty, so I would be able to go to that class.  

One of my other classes (food harvest) did a farmer's market with produce harvested that very morning by the students in the class. The leftovers from the market were up for grabs for those that helped with the market clean-up. I was just hanging out at the college waiting for my next class, so those days I was able to bring home all sorts of vegetable goodness. Mom loved seeing what stocked the fridge after I came home from class. The day before Thanksgiving, the instructor essentially let the class loose on the farm site at the school and we divided the spoils between everyone to supplement the meal the next day. Fresh brussel sprouts, cabbage, salad mix, chard, butternut squash, cauliflower, bok choy and more were brought home that day. We pretty much didn't have to buy any vegetables for Thanksgiving because of all that I brought home. 

This last Saturday, I had a workshop that featured different herbal products that you could make yourself and use as gifts. 12 ladies sat around the tables in the classroom, and we just had a blast. We made an herbal tea, spice blend, a fines herb mix, diffusers, sprays, wreaths, and more. I was in heaven, and I can't wait until the actual herbal products class that they'll be having next term.

An herb wreath on the left and a Christmas wreath on the right 

Until next time!

SG

Family Pictures

It's high time that we did this. It's been seven years since our last family portrait session, and grandparents have been asking for pictures. So we asked my friend Christi if she could do some family/farm photos. We love the result. But, shh. Grandparents don't know that we did this. Don't worry - they won't see these until Christmas. ;)

I love my boots. Just saying. 

Poultry Products

Well, we're down to the laying hens, the turkeys and the little pullets. Chores are done in mere minutes now. ;) 

One of these things doesn't belong with the others. 

Strut your stuff

I think she wants out. 

What is that circular thing in our run? I think it's looking at us.

Hello, handsome. You look big and tasty. 

Di Uve Da Vino

I heard it from the grape vine...

Fine, I'll stop it with the puns.

Dad's grapes have ripened. 

And no, these aren't the wine grapes that are going in the South field - those are still the stuff of dreams. 

Until then though, we shall be enjoying fresh table grapes day in and day out! :D Yummy!

Harvest Party 2012

Yeehaw! It's time for a hoe down! 

Getting ready for the next dance! 

Miss Sonia 

Trying to figure out the dance or making introductions. Take your pick.

We'll just call this an action shot... ;)

Squash toss! 

:toss is announced: "I don't think that I'm going to do this." "There's homemade apple pie on the line."  :joins the toss:

After a couple of dances. ;) 

Getting Ready!

Oh, we're just getting ready for the Harvest Party. :D 

We helped move nursery tables (complete with pallet-fulls of cinder blocks), cleaned out the entire area, and strung up all the lights. Me thinks that 'tis time to party!

How many people does it take to hang lights?

I'm trying to think of some creative caption here, but it's not coming...

Pumpkins!

Dang it! The frame cut off his head. :sigh:

But you're trying to figure out what we're doing. I'd like to hear your guess!

Pumpkin Milkshake

Note: When it comes to the spices, you will want to do it to taste. Since the pumpkin mixture is going to be very diluted once it is in the milkshake, be sure to put a little more than tastes good at the moment. You can always add some in the blender, but you can't take it away. 

You will need:
1 ½ cups of pureed pumpkin
Pinch of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice to taste
Sugar
Vanilla ice cream and some milk

First, put your pureed pumpkin into a small mixing bowl. Then add just a slight dash of sugar, and the various spices to taste. Be careful with the ginger and cloves though! They are quite potent. Then you will mix the pumpkin mixture so that there aren’t any clumps of spices or sugar left in the mixture – those don’t make good eats. Now put the ice cream in the blender along with the pumpkin mixture and some milk. Blend until completely mixed. Enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon on top.

This recipe is by Sarah G; it was inspired by Burgerville’s seasonal shake that she can never get enough of. 

Fall and Friends

Some refer to us as sisters. Others say that we were triplets separated at birth. Three peas in a pod. All I can say is that I have some awesome friends. And a brisk walk in the Hoyt Arboretum is the perfect place for some fun pictures of us together! 

If we look strange in this picture, it's because we had quite the laugh fest trying to get the picture. :)

So many pretty trees! I love fall.

And if you want to eat Dave's Killer Sin Dog, you have to make a face. :P Love you, Sonia!

We're sitting in a tree if you can't quite tell from this picture

Can you tell now? ;)

Oh, Hai. 

The Changing of Seasons

God's provision, grace and blessings are clearly seen in all the seasons. Winter is a time of quiet - a time of rest after the craziness of all the other seasons. It's a time of getting ready for the next year. In Spring, we see rebirth. Emerging from once lifeless ground, sprouts push towards the sky with all their might. The most vivacious, vivid green is everywhere you look; the first blooms are preparing to greet you. Babies are everywhere it seems - baby plants, sheep, goats, birds, cows, deer, coyotes, chickens, etc. Summer is a time of golden hues, growing, maturing, bare feet, weeding, gardening, fresh fruits, veggies, fields of wheat gently swaying in the breeze, a refreshing drink of lemonade, a siesta in the hammock, and watching the long, lazy sunsets, each custom painted by the Creator.

Autumn seems like a rushed blur after those dog days of summer, but it is a time of storing up for the seemingly harsh winter that is quickly approaching. Bringing in the harvest is simultaneous with school starting again (why do they have to do that?). Cool, crisp air is a relief after the muggy summer atmosphere; heavy dew settles on whatever it touches in the dark of night. The breeze shifts directions, becoming more of a wind instead of a breeze. Trees retreat down to their roots, leaving once green leaves shades of orange, yellow and red. Squirrels are busy hiding their stash only to be forgotten by midwinter; flocks of birds by the thousands are flying in formation to warmer climates. The aroma of baking, canning, and cooking wafts through the house. Crunchy leaves are underfoot and under car - you open the car window just to hear that wonderful sound. The last pieces of produce are brought in from the garden as once healthy, vibrant plants wither back to the ground. 

As much as I love all the seasons, autumn has to be my favorite. Sometimes I wish it could stay this way forever, but if we were stuck in one season all the time, wouldn't it get a bit boring? Now, you'll have to excuse me - I'm going to go jump in that pile of maple leaves. 

 

The Pumpkin

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)

. . . Ah! On Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,

From North and from South come the pilgrim and guest,

When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board

The old broken links of affection restored,

When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more.

And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before,

What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?

What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?

Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! The days recalling,

When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!

When wild, ugly faces were carved into its skin,

Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!

When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune,

Our chair a broad pumpkin, our lantern the moon,

Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like steam,

In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats for her team!

The thanks for they present! None sweeter or better

E're smoked from the oven or circles in platter!

Fairer hands never wrought at a pastry more fine,

Brighter eyes never watched o're its baking, than thine!

And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express,

Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less,

That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below,

And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow,

And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky

Golden-tinted and fair as thy own pumpkin pie!