Nikki & Cole close another beautiful September day on the boat (see the moon overhead)
With fall almost here, our homeschool year off and running and the leaves starting to change and drop (lots of raking in store for this family) we turn back to our "busy" schedule and so I ask you to stick with me over the next few months, I promise I will post updates at least twice a month. Nikki will be riding outside until about Thanksgiving (providing the snow doesn't fly) and then she'll be taking her riding indoors for the winter months - the horses don't care for riding in several feet of snow - can you imagine why? The kids started violin lessons for the year last week, Nikki is finally finishing J.S. Bach's Minuet 2 and will be moving on next week to Minuet 3 and Cole is maintaining pace with her and will be finishing Minuet 2 in another week or two. We start swim team for the year this week so three nights a week we spend our evenings at the pool - which means lots of uninterrupted knitting time for me :-) And not to forget, ski team is just around the corner, the kids start the first week in December. Amidst all this we try to squeeze in trips like we took this weekend - to Boston - the kids really love the Museum of Science there and trips North to see family in Montreal before our weekends are filled with ski team practice and racing.
On the homestead front we are finishing our preparations for the colder seasons ahead. The wood is ready for the cold when it arrives but George always likes to chop and stack just a little extra for insurance. I tested and cleaned the woodstove this weekend so it's ready whenever Mother Nature decides it's time for her resting season. George's weekends will soon fill with hunting, which is just fine by me - meat in the freezer and lots of fall weekend canning, baking, sewing and knitting time for me :-) I have canned much this summer from our garden - nearly 100 jars! However, I'm not quite done. It's time for apple season bliss- 1 full bushel awaits it's way into the jar as we speak - applesauce, apple butter and apple jam are all in store this year - yum! It's hard to believe last year's 25 jars of apple yummies are all gone, but that little fact reminds me that that it's so worth the effort. Turning to the garden our pumpkins are almost ready and I must clean out the summer garden this weekend and plant our fall cover crops to enrich the soil for next year and the garlic too - a trip to the feed and supply is in store en route to the orthodontist tomorrow (yes we have that too). I also have to section off the garden area with our winter carrots so I can dig them up from under the snow - nothing quite like fresh carrots in January - if you haven't tried this you really should!
Sometimes our schedules can seem so full and the tasks at hand seem impossible to complete. But if we take a step back I think we can see that our full days give us moments of relaxation within and leave us with a feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction - bliss! When are hands are busy the heart is full - these are the busy days of life and I couldn't imagine it any other way - even if I only get to take a shower at 11p.m. - Erin
Sounds like a busy year for you guys. Mike loves to chop wood, too, and we use our fireplace all winter long (really cuts down on those heating bills). Lots more canning for us, too. A trip to the apple orchard will certainly keep us busy with canning sauce and jelly (may have to try some apple butter, too).
ReplyDeleteMike plans to hunt a lot as well and loves to can soups for us. We still have a lot of jars from last season that still need to get eaten up. Annie loves getting Daddy's soup in her thermos for lunch:) It was embarrassing though for her to come home to tell us that the lunch lady had to fish out shot from her pheasant soup. I'm sure the lunch ladies got a good laugh about our hillbilly family.
Jen good to hear from you. We actually heat 100% with wood so we really depend on it to keep us warm :-) Since 26 of our 27.5 acres of land is standing hardwood forest we fortunately have plenty of "free heat" - we're so thankful for this. Don't you just love canning - it's easy and fun. If you like I'm happy to pass along our apple butter recipe - great on toast in the morning! It's super easy - just put it in the crockpot while you sleep, then puree, can and process in the hot water bath - let me know if you'd like it.
ReplyDeleteAnd about the hunting - definately not hillbilly - quite the elite sport here in the northeast. George shot a boar last year (yes we are the only state that still has boar) and several geese, duck & pheasants - know what you mean about shot! This year he hopes to get an elk and a deer along with one of the members of our resident backyard turkey flock - can't wait for turkey season to start since they're at the garden everyday! Hey hunting is environmentally friendly, at least I think, does that make us hillbillies too? Take care, Erin