October Sky

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Enjoying the Apple Harvest

As apple season nears its end in our area, I spent some time going back through my recipes to make sure I’ve gotten a chance to enjoy them all with fresh apples.  Since I grew up with an apple orchard right next to my house, apples have always been a big part of my life.  Snipping blossoms and arranging them in a big vase in spring time, watching the little apples grow throughout the summer, picking that first Macoun in early fall and polishing it on my jeans before taking a crispy bite, sampling all the different varieties, helping press the apples into cider, and of course baking apples into a pie.  Now that I no longer live on the farm, I’ve planted my own little mini-orchard of six apple trees, but it will be a few years before I get any apples. 

Here are some of my favorite ways to eat apples.  As you prepare any of these recipes, I highly recommend eating the skin that you peel off of the apples.  The skin smells and tastes wonderful, so don’t waste it!

Apple Tart

Apple Walnut Bread

Apple Raspberry Crisp

Apple Cranberry Crumb Pie or traditional Apple Pie

Cinnamon Cider Jelly (Reduced-sugar version, too!)

Applesauce and Caramel Apple Butter 

Cran-Applesauce

What’s your favorite way to eat apples?

Our First Family Hayride

This isn’t a guest post, I’m actually writing a post myself!!!

It wasn’t really hayride season yet, but I knew if we showed up at the farm on Saturday that we could convince someone to hook up a wagon, throw on some bales of hay and give Joshua his first ride.  And that’s exactly what happened.

The view of the farm from the woods

Heading into the covered bridge; my brother Jonathan’s driving

The river that borders the farm

Ed looks out into the woods

My dad looks into the apple orchard

A stop in the pumpkin patch. Joshua was sleepy, so we’ll have to do more pumpkin pictures later!

Sunflowers

It seems that everywhere I look, Mother Nature is reminding me that autumn is just around the corner.  Even in the muggy heat of early August, it’s clear that cooler weather is on its way.  The apples are turning red, the hydrangeas are fading from blue to brown, and the sunflowers are beginning to open.

Glittery Pumpkins

Last year in December I took my remaining pumpkins and gourds and painted them to become Christmas decorations.  This year, I broke out the glitter and got started a little early.  I’ve had a couple of requests to post a tutorial for my Santa gourds, but I’m not quite making those yet.  I did take pictures today of how I made glittery pumpkins, which will serve as decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Start with mini-pumpkins, which also can be called Jack-be-Little pumpkins.  Choose pumpkins that are nicely shaped and without soft spots, and try to get ones with long stems, since they’ll be easiest to hang on to.

Spread craft glue on the pumpkin with a paint brush.  You can paint it all at once while you hold the stem, or you can do it in two or three different sections.

Hold the pumpkin over a bowl and sprinkle it with glitter.  Today, I used gold, orange and maroon glitter to make pumpkins in fall colors.

*Warning: If you need to sneeze, turn away! I sneezed right over the bowl and glitter went everywhere.  I can only imagine how messy this project will be when I have little helpers.

Let the pumpkins dry completely while sitting on newspaper.  Use them for decoration around the house, but check them regularly to make sure they’re not rotting.

Do you have a favorite way to decorate pumpkins?

Autumn in Orange

Sunday Stroll

To see who else is strolling today, visit the Quiet Country House.