My husband calls it Squirrel Sickness....my frantic, erratic desire to can, dry, preserve, press, save up all manner of foodstuffs! It's the time of year where I find that last year's efforts have been mostly eaten up and the empty jars are calling to me!
The garden is, well, sort of a mess. I've got lovely raised beds but the weather or the general growing season seems a little weird this year and some of my plantings have gone to pot. I may have gotten distracted from the weeding, as well. The broccoli AND the cabbage plants bolted (no, they didn't leave, they went-to-seed too early) so none of that for us this garden season. We have been picking sugar snap peas, Walla Walla onions, blueberries and potatoes and enjoying them immensely. The Marion berries (a type of big blackberry) shriveled on the vines and the green beans look like the last picking, rather than the first, but there will be some. I'm determined to be a good steward of whatever does produce a crop, so today I canned 11 pints of dill pickles and 7 pints of green beans - Yesterday was 40 pints of Apple Butter from our newly discovered Transparent Apple tree on this old farm! I've also been drying herbs - so far I've got the Thyme, Oregano and Peppermint dried and tucked away; still have Rosemary, Sage and Basil to collect and dehydrate.
We've put about 20 rabbits in either the freezer or canning jars now. It's amusing to see the reactions of people if you suggest to them that the 'chicken' in the salad is actually rabbit. Some are anxious to try it....others look at you and wonder what kind of monster eats a bunny! My three year old granddaughter watched me get a few rabbit carcasses cut into serving pieces for the freezer and announced that SHE wants to eat those bunny rabbits, lol! Gotta love kids who live on (or visit Grammy & Grampa) on the farm!
The chickens I hatched out this Spring are starting to lay (finally...) and I'm putting a few of those away in the pantry - waterglassed. Actually, they are in a solution of pickling lime and water and will keep for almost a year that way. When the chickens slow down this winter, hopefully I'll be able to supplement my baking ingredients with my own waterglassed eggs!
Hubby pulled the 'keeper' onions and they're outside in the shade curing out on an old gate we keep just for that purpose. In a week or so we'll cut the tops and store them away!
No doubt I have what people now call ADD or ADHD, though back when I was younger we called it a Type A personality, lol. I flit from job to job (not always finishing one before the next one catches my eye!) but I LOVE all the work on out little farm and harvest time is my favorite! I just picked the first ripe tomatoes tonight and tomorrow we'll eat the first of the green beans!
A sweet almost-daughter who leads VBS (Vacation Bible School) needed a Suit of Armor for this year's theme. We talked and brainstormed about how to acquire one....and then I said a person could just make one! She looked at me in horror, lol...so I volunteered! He came out pretty decent and enjoyed his couple of weeks at the church!
In my 'spare' time (ha!) I still run Etsy and Ebay stores, making and selling primitive craft items. It keeps me hopping, but I've enjoyed crafting since I was a child (looooooong time ago..) We also took a few days to follow the grandkiddies down to Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon for a little camping adventure and enjoyed the time with them immensely. Just today lil grandaughter asked me if I had any more of 'those long red things we had when we were camping'. Took me a couple minutes to realize she meant Red Vines candy!
Chores are done for the evening - the rabbits are fed & watered and the chickens won't go in until dark so can't lock them safely up for the night yet. I'll settle in my chair for a little reading with a mug of hot peppermint tea and some homemade toast and some of that apple butter now.
I'll close with a lovely passage from the Bible that always warms my heart and encourages me greatly - I Thessalonians 4:18 says 'comfort one another with these words' as it talks about being reunited with those who have gone before us when Christ returns. I still greatly miss my sweet mama and other beloved friends and relatives and this passage makes me ever so happy!
Now, on to my toast and tea.......
