8 Months

During this time each year, garden work is down to a minimum, daytime is shorter, work largely moves indoors, and we find ourselves being drawn to the corner of the house where the wood stove now glows at the end of each day.  For the first time since March, I find the time to write, despite my best intentions to be consistent with this space, year-round.

Today, I simply want to say, "Hello," and, "I've missed you," and "Here's what we've been up to and here's what's coming to the blog."

One of our two homesteading classes.

April
Planting the garden and milking twice daily dominated this month. We welcomed a new brood of pullets (future laying hens), and I co-taught two Intro to Homesteading workshops.

It's been such a pleasure teaching various classes with my friend, Lauren Dahl.  We have covered several gardening topics, home detoxing, non-toxic skincare, among other things.  I've wanted to share notes and recipes from the classes all year, and I plan to do just that throughout the next month!

Gigantic spinach!

May
Jeremy and I traveled to the Carolinas where he officiated his aunt's wedding on the gorgeous, Ocean Isle coast. Back home, the garden started to explode with springtime goodness.  Peas, parsnips, lettuce, carrots, and the biggest spinach leaves ever to come out of our garden!  Lauren and I taught an organic gardening class in my garden, mainly using the Back to Eden method. Be on the lookout for a post on what we shared at the class.

June
We wrapped up a beautiful year back to homeschooling and started planning for the following homeschool year. The days grew longer and I found myself in the garden every spare chance I could get. There was a dance recital, birthdays, a second family wedding that Jeremy officiated, our sixteenth anniversary, and our oldest daughter started rehearsal for the new Bethel Music Kids music video (BMK)!  I also taught a food preservation class, where we covered four methods (canning, fermenting, freezing, drying), and notes from this class are coming right up!

The big watermelon and the 3-year-old's new camera face.

July
Our girls all rehearsed for a summer musical, on top of Bekah's continuing BMK video rehearsals.  Family from Georgia visited for what felt to be way too short, but our time was precious with them. The garden was producing full speed ahead, and the majority of what we ate came from it, including a huge Moon-And-Stars variety watermelon!

Tartine's spelt sourdough! And an intoxicating Bavarian cream cake.

August
The girls' summer performance was amazing, filming began for BMK, and, because of the extreme August heat, the garden all but stunted for six weeks. Autumn planting began.  We took a family vacation to San Fransisco before school started. I made the pilgrimage to Tartine Bakery, voted the best sourdough in the country, and several of their loaves are 100% whole grain.  Oh, it was amazing.

September
School was full speed ahead, all the kids' extra curricular classes came back, filling up the schedule, and the van felt like a second home to us all.  We started pulling pumpkins, yams, and Brussels Sprouts from the garden and I officially caught the Autumn love-bug, even though the highs don't leave the triple digits until November.  I had the privilege of speaking at the Flourish Health Summit in Napa and was so happy my mom could come along!  We shared the best meal of our lives at Bouchon Bistro and I wanted to officially live in Oxbow Market.

Heirloom Boer Pumpkin!

October
Lauren and I taught a year-round gardening class and I can't wait to share all the info with you! The only thing is, our planting timeline will only apply to our area, but I'll try to find a place to search for your area's planting guide.  The milking goats were dried up and then bred.  We are expecting about six kids the beginning of March, and more milk than we'll know what to do with. I'm determined to be a consistent, avid cheesemaker this go-around. We celebrated more birthdays, surprised our animal-loving ten-year-old to a birthday trip to Wildlife Safari where she said it was the best day of her life.

November
My favorite month of the year is here.  The trees are gloriously red, yellow, and orange, the mountain tops are once again covered in blankets of snow, and cold weather has prompted baking to re-commence here in the kitchen, making the home constantly smell like heaven. I turned thirty-six, and am filled with thankfulness for being alive during this time in history.  There are people to love, foods to eat, a roof over our heads, and plenty of work to do, because, I am determined to do everything in my power to make this world better than before I entered it.  I say let's all get thinking, find out what we want to be about, follow our dreams, and work hard at it, starting now and never stopping.  Happy November, friends! It's good to be back.

Autumn At Our Porch

Today is the first time it has rained on this parched land in over five months.  The smell of rain kissing the dry earth is beyond heavenly.  Morning chores are done, and the smell of brewed coffee fills the quiet house before the rest of the family wakes up.  If you were here, we would slip on sweaters for the first time this season, hug a mug of steamy coffee or tea to warm our hands, and we would sit on my porch, drinking in the sight, smell, and sound of this first rain.  Autumn has finally come!

We would sit between the mums and I might bring the partially-finished cowl and crochet hook out to appease the yarn mania that consumes my thoughts this time of year.

I have Trader Joe's to thank for the mums and autumn wreath, and I might mention how I want to grow those little pumpkin things next year that I don't know the name of.

The two hay bales I accidentally bought for the sheep instead of alfalfa after a sleepless night with a teething baby found a new home outside the front door.  I have plans for them year-round and I might babble on about what we'll do with them for each season.

After a night of prowling and hunting moles before they hibernate for the winter, the kitties would rest on the bale closest to us, all cuddled together for warmth in a huddle.

We would chat a bit, or maybe even just sit in silence to let the rain do all the talking. Then I would remember the apple corer/peeler/slicer that was delivered over the weekend and the bushel of apples waiting to be processed.  We would venture back indoors to serve breakfast to the family, prepare the older children for school, and start Apple Day with the two littles.  You would be welcomed to stay and help or just sit and keep me company, or I would send you on your way with a slice of chocolate chip banana bread that just came out of the oven.

Except no one actually comes a'callin' at five o'clock in the morning.

It would be fun, though.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to enjoy the rain with my coffee and crochet for a small moment before the children wake up and breakfast finishes baking.

I'm sharing this at Simple Lives Thursday.

Understanding Autumn

Autumn means waking up when it's darker, and never missing a firey sunrise that completely glistens over the frosty ground.

It means soaking up those few sunny days outside (and maybe saving school lessons for later in the day when the temperature starts to drop again).

Autumn means roasting lots of root veggies and winter squashes (and scrambling for as many different recipes one can put persimmons in).

It's a time to collect raspberry leaves to dry them for a lovely labor-prep tea down the not-so-distant road.

Autumn means walnuts!  And realizing gathering them is most of the fun and a fraction of the work to prepare them.

We quickly run back outside as we notice the day is fading sooner than we're used to and we do the last of the outdoor sqramblings. We soak in the glorious colors and outrageous sunsets as we gather the night's firewood for the stove and we shell as many walnuts as we can until it's too dark to see.  It's time to make dinner, anyway...

Autumn means tucking ourselves in bed earlier, thinking about the rapidly approaching holidays to come, and calling to mind with affection the loved ones we create little treasures for.

As I learn to dance with autumn, I love all it brings more and more and realize how very fleeting it seems to be.  If only the trees could hold their brilliant leaves a little longer.  If I could just get one more pumpkin in the oven before dinner.  And I could never make too many apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies before the joy of them wears off.  It might be a short season, but I drink in every last ounce I can with each changing, colorful, cozy day.

I'm sharing this at Gratituesday, Farm Girl Friday.

Pumpkining

Over the weekend, we spent a day at the local historical family farm.  Every October, they pull out all the stops for every pumpkin hunter.  We look forward to visiting every year.

This year, we made new friends,

carefully looked for the perfect pumpkin,

took a hayride behind a 1940's tractor,

and placed the day's findings by our front door, waiting to be made into all things pumpkin.

Do you see that one on the front?  That one's mine.  Today, we learned that it's kind is called Jarrahdale.  They are said to make good pumpkin pie, so naturally that's the one I looked for.  They seem to be very similar to my beloved kabocha, and I very much look forward to comparing the two.

How do you end a day at the pumpkin patch?  By going home and baking a pie, of course.  Our favorite recipe is found in Nourishing Traditions (topped with raw whipped cream).  How do you process a pumpkin?  Well I'm glad you asked.  I wrote about it just last week.

Autumn has come, and with it, it's lovely rhythm.  I find myself stepping to it's beat as an urge to collect and preserve all I can delights my days.  They are filled with smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  We pack up the summer clothes and unearth the cozy ones.  It's a time of jolly preparation and anticipation.  I do so love this season.

Applesauce Day with my Eldest ~ And a Slow Cooker Recipe

We might not have come home with bushels of apples from apple-picking day, but the week's CSA box included a dozen gorgeous Granny Smith's and we were hankering for some applesauce.  My eldest wanted to help make it, which was a delight to the ears.  I was hoping for some quality time with her, and the other kids were either swimming (yes, it's still hot enough for that here) or playing with building blocks.  She decided to leave the peeling to me (the little darling), so I listened to her read out loud while I peeled away.

The grapes honestly have nothing to do with this post, but they just keep showing up in the pictures.  Silly grapes.

After peeling all twelve apples, we sliced away and dropped them in the crock pot,

added the juice of one lemon (for no real reason outside of wanting the tartness.  The apples will be brown from all the spices so we really didn't need to protect the coloring),

and stirred in the spices that are the very scent of autumn, in my book.

We turned the slow cooker on to low, put a lid on it, and four hours later...

a quick push or two with the potato masher, and we had six cups of delightfully spiced applesauce, just like that!

Our taste testers took to it right away and didn't want to waste any time finding a table to eat it on.  It was a hit!

It's so nice when there's time enough to realize that doing life with the little ones is what's important.  More important than getting the job done fast.  Even more important than getting the job done without a  mess.  Applesauce day with my nine-year-old ended up being quite the special day, and a very good reminder to slow down and remember that sharing life with the kids is the sweetest life there is.  It's poetry, I tell you.

Simple, Spiced, Slow Cooker Applesauce

Yields 8 cups

• 16 apples, peeled and cored
• Juice from 1 lemon (optional)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup grade B maple syrup or local honey (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and stir.  All spices are optional.  Pick and choose; use all, some, or none.  Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until the apples are puffy-looking with small splits.
2. Use potato masher to get the applesauce to the consistency you'd like it (it took us about 5 seconds, the apples fall right apart).  Store in glass mason jars and keep in the fridge, or maybe even put some away in the freezer if you don't think you'll mow through it in two days like we did.  It will keep for about 10 days in the fridge.

Enjoy!

~ Browse more Riddlelove recipes here. ~

This post was featured on

I'm sharing this at Barn Hop, Traditional Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday, & Pennywise Platter.

Apple Picking with a Raspberry & Cider Harvest

Everyone was looking forward to apple picking day.  We enjoyed a trip to the apple orchard with Nana and Papa last year so we held to this tradition over the weekend.  The weather was perfect!  Crisp, sunny, and breezy.  As we walked up to the stand to buy our box to fill, the boy told us that a late-spring hail storm destroyed all but a bit of the entire crop.  They harvested what they could salvage and some were for sale in bags and to make cider out of, but the only you-pick produce available was raspberries.  We all love raspberries, but little hearts were set on apples.  After the grown-ups did a bit of recovery prep-talking to the littles, (We still get to pick some treats!  Look how gorgeous it is today!  We will still be able to press cider.  Let's see how quickly we can fill our basket up...) off to the raspberry rows we went.

There were many honey bees enjoying the sweet, ripe berries and my youngest didn't like sharing with them so much, but she pushed on (for the first half)...

It really was a beautiful day, and the surroundings were simply detoxifying.

After we filled our raspberry basket and devoured a lovely picnic lunch, we made our way to the cider mill.  First, the apples were washed.

Then, my oldest took the job of crushing the apples very seriously, while the other three filled the hopper as fast as their little hands could.  It was quite the assembly line.

It was time to press the cider.  The oldest two used their muscles while the little girls looked forward to getting big enough to reach the handles and help.

Out came the cider!

Through the strainer the cider went, into our jug to take home and relish.

Sometimes, we get thrown a curve ball.  Everyone with children knows that last-minute changes can be hard for them to recover from.  It might have taken a while for disappointed little faces to point away from the ground and towards the raspberry canes filled with ripe, red berries, but it happened.  The picnic still went as planned though.  The much-anticipated treats were brought out and enjoyed.  There was an extra surprise of a petting zoo that really brightened the day of my five-year-old lover of all animals, and we still came home with a gallon of fresh, raw cider and a 10-pound bag of jonagold apples, perfect for snacking and cooking with.  Not to forget the large basket of raspberries that we'll do something yummy with tonight (perhaps a recipe post will follow).  

Regardless of the missed apple-picking experience (and feeling so very sad for the farmers), the trip signified the arrival of autumn, and made us all the more excited to plant some apple trees of our own this November.  Happy autumn!

I'm sharing this at Barn Hop.

A Season Ends

We gathered walnuts today.

Walnuts are the last harvest we bring in before everything rests for the winter.

One season ends, another one begins.  In eight days, a new season begins for us.  As much as I can hardly wait to get my hands on our little ranch, leaving this season in the trailer is actually bittersweet.  We'll miss seeing our amazing mountain friends every day.  Going from one good time into another is a happy problem.  As I begin to let go of one season, I embrace the other.  We'll have walnuts aplenty from the season before to enjoy along the way.

And walnut shells will make great kindling for the wood stove that sits in the center of our little cabin that will keep us snug.

 ~Read the archives of this journey here.~

Serene Autumn Afternoons

Sitting in the forest,

watching the kids play,

while I work on a Christmas present.

Serenity now!

I'm sharing this at Wordless Wednesdays listed here, This Moment,