Harvest Blessings

There has been a lot going on around here
as there has been for many folks.
I'm not entirely sure just where to begin today.
My last post included a partial to-do list
some of which has occurred.
Today I found my kitchen floor.
You know, I think it was under there all along
and was just playing hide & seek.
At least we can walk across it without
it pulling our socks off now:)
The forests are open so we have brought in,
split, and stacked a couple trailers of wood.
We probably need one more good load or a couple small ones.
That's quite the workout, but is so rewarding.

A few days ago as I was picking 'more' plums, and
this nearly hit me in the head before I noticed it.
This whole limb will be pruned off 
so I am going to rescue it and bring it inside for the mantle.

The river is low but still sounds beautiful as
my head hits the pillow at night.

Tomatoes! Wow!
They leave me speechless.
There were a bunch that came up volunteer (in the potato patch.)
They are a little later than the ones we planted intentionally.  But look what they are doing.  The vast majority of these little ones go on the dehydrator to become 'sun-dried' tomatoes.  The ones in the upper right bowl are all from volunteer plants.
This year in addition to 'real' tomatoes,
we had little purple tomatoes and big orange ones - both good.

If you have never canned pears,

first let me warn you.

And second, 

you don't know what you're missing.

I have canned as much as we will eat,
gave away six big grocery bags full to some friends,
and they are still falling.
My neighbor was over today and asked if I wanted any pears.
I just laughed.
A good year for pears evidently.
Some folks don't realize that they fall from the tree green
then ripen over the course of about a week.

This was fantastic thought on God's part since they
are too tender, would bruise, and directly turn to mush
if they fell when ripe.

They are easy to can (one of the first things I learned to can.)
Just peel, core, slice, and top off with syrup.
Hot water bath for 8-10 minutes and presto.
I prefer a light syrup so use 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water.
Bring it to a simmer so the sugar dissolves before
pouring over the fruit.

And last but not least...
evening before last we fiiiiiinally had a little shower
move through, and as we looked out our back door,
this is what we saw over the mountain.

I hope each of you is finding your own form of blessings
and enjoying the tail end of the harvest season.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Sensing the Season

The race is on...

lately there have been some beautiful autumn posts and pictures.

(out by our gate)

What goes through my head is

"Waaaaiiit! I'm not ready yet."

The pears are on,

The tomatoes are on,

The plums and cukes are still on.

(one day's worth)

All of these need preserving.

The dehydrater is going full bore.

The canning pots are standing ready.

The pantry shelves are still receiving.

The tree with eating apples is not quite ready yet.

The celery is taking its own sweet time.

We had about 6 weeks of 100 plus degree weather

this summer and had to keep things alive through it.
I want to reap and preserve as much of the bounty as possible.

There is still so much to do.

We still need to:

begin pulling and cleaning up the garden

as certain things begin to fizzle out,

get firewood,

as trees finish up, prune them (this is their year,)

clean chimney / ready wood stove, and

deep clean kitchen after harvest which isn't finished.

Yes, I realize this just seems like some

crazy person's to-do list,

but really it's about living with nature.

I don't want to rush it.

Don't get me wrong, I love autumn,

the rich warm colours,

and the crisp cool nights.

If we take our cues from nature

and the critters,

late summer is for squirrelling away our winter store.

The chipmunks have been busy,

the quail nesting earilier in the evening,

the bear foraging on fallen fruit of all sorts,

and birds soaring to warmer climes.

This is where we find ourselves.

I mean really find ourselves.

It's living right with nature:

it's just what is here now and

making the most of the gifts we are granted.

It's not rushing forward into the next season.

Our society forces this upon us by putting

Christmas decor out in October

and St. Valentine's candy out at New Year etc.

Neither, is it grasping to what is gone.

You might try swimming in the river,

but you won't last long - the water is cooling down.

All of this said,

maybe just appreciate the sense of season,

the now season.

It's an in between season with no real name,
no longer summer and not quite autumn.

It's the gift of today,

and isn't today just beautiful?

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches