To date I've put up chili sauce and spaghetti sauce, applesauce, and honey. I've stored potatoes and sweet potatoes and frozen peppers. The count so far is thus:
14 qts chili sauce, plus 1/2 pt
17 qts spaghetti sauce, plus 1 pt
6 pts grape jelly
15 qts applesauce (still have a bushel to be preserved)
~5 lbs each Kennebec and Yukon Gold potatoes stored
~3 lbs sweet potatoes stored
2 qt bags diced/sliced peppers frozen
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Camping: Part III
I just realized that I never put up a post about our final camping trip of the season, which took place the last week-end of September. First, and most obvious, it was chilly!! We were expecting this, so we took a down comforter with us and plenty of wood for the fire. A1 decided in advance she had no desire to accompany the rest of us on this trip, so she and B stayed home. K was brought out again to join us for the last trip she would have, so the members of this encounter were myself, J< A2, and K. With there being only 4 of us, I decided to take and put up our original, smaller tent instead of the big one. It was a short stay this time, we left Saturday morning and came home the next day.
We got to the camp site and set everything up, we started a fire and prepared a lunch. Then we got everyone ready and marched off hiking. The big girls led us to a trail that went around the lake to a small waterfall on the back side. We saw a mess of bees raiding the last of the wildflowers, we found a discarded snake skin, and we found a large black newt underneath a damp log on the side of the main trail. It was a lot of fun!
Later that afternoon we were all around the fire when a low roaring could be discerned coming towards us through the woods. It took several seconds for us to realize that it was rain moving our way! We had just enough time to grab all the chairs and pull them under the canopy when the drops began to fall. J was in the process of cooking bacon for our supper over the fire, but had to run out and grab the pan from off the fire and switch over to the camp stove to finish it.
Fortunately for us the rain was fairly short-lived. Everything was perfectly normal a mere hour or two later. We had some neighbors this trip, an interesting group with a couple of young boys who were about A2's age. So she and they were often running all around the woods and down to the creek. A2 went through all the socks she'd brought with her on this trip! And we'd brought extra for her!! Our neighbors had a very impressive blaze going with their fire that night, though when we visited them to see how they'd managed, I found they had put in a very large trunk, about 5 feet long and decided I wasn't so envious as to emulate their efforts! I'd likely be the one to set fire to the woods trying something like that!
We all slept in our bags on 1 air mattress with the down comforter covering us all. A2 and K were on the ends with myself and J in the middle. The next morning was COLD and J had managed to steal most of the comforter that night. So getting a fire going that morning was very important. J & K went out and hunted up several nice sized logs and we managed a very nice fire that morning. Though it wasn't long after I had prepared our breakfast that we had to get everything packed into the van to head home.
I'm not crazy about the short camping trips. It always feels like we just didn't have enough time. However, since it looks as though we won't be able to manage anymore trips this year, before the campground closes at the end of this month, I am very glad we were able to make that one last trip. I'm hoping that next year we can start our camping forays earlier and manage at least one trip per month throughout the summer.
We got to the camp site and set everything up, we started a fire and prepared a lunch. Then we got everyone ready and marched off hiking. The big girls led us to a trail that went around the lake to a small waterfall on the back side. We saw a mess of bees raiding the last of the wildflowers, we found a discarded snake skin, and we found a large black newt underneath a damp log on the side of the main trail. It was a lot of fun!
Later that afternoon we were all around the fire when a low roaring could be discerned coming towards us through the woods. It took several seconds for us to realize that it was rain moving our way! We had just enough time to grab all the chairs and pull them under the canopy when the drops began to fall. J was in the process of cooking bacon for our supper over the fire, but had to run out and grab the pan from off the fire and switch over to the camp stove to finish it.
Fortunately for us the rain was fairly short-lived. Everything was perfectly normal a mere hour or two later. We had some neighbors this trip, an interesting group with a couple of young boys who were about A2's age. So she and they were often running all around the woods and down to the creek. A2 went through all the socks she'd brought with her on this trip! And we'd brought extra for her!! Our neighbors had a very impressive blaze going with their fire that night, though when we visited them to see how they'd managed, I found they had put in a very large trunk, about 5 feet long and decided I wasn't so envious as to emulate their efforts! I'd likely be the one to set fire to the woods trying something like that!
We all slept in our bags on 1 air mattress with the down comforter covering us all. A2 and K were on the ends with myself and J in the middle. The next morning was COLD and J had managed to steal most of the comforter that night. So getting a fire going that morning was very important. J & K went out and hunted up several nice sized logs and we managed a very nice fire that morning. Though it wasn't long after I had prepared our breakfast that we had to get everything packed into the van to head home.
I'm not crazy about the short camping trips. It always feels like we just didn't have enough time. However, since it looks as though we won't be able to manage anymore trips this year, before the campground closes at the end of this month, I am very glad we were able to make that one last trip. I'm hoping that next year we can start our camping forays earlier and manage at least one trip per month throughout the summer.
It's Fall at Falls-Acre!
Today was the perfect fall day, a breezy and cool 65+ degree day. The perfect time to start prepping for winter. I actually started this last week-end by cutting and raking the weeds from the secondary garden. Today I took the Littles out with me and we dug up the potatoes and sweet potatoes from the garden. I pulled off any remaining peppers from the plants, and then turned the turkeys and geese out into the gardens. Their job now is to clean up the yard from any remaining vegetable matter and to fatten themselves up for the coming cold months. I also cut down and raked out the tall weeds from the top of the primary garden. I won't touch the bottom of that garden until sometime next month, when I'll winterize both gardens.
Today we also cracked open the bee hive to check on the girls and harvest any excess honey. To my brief disappointment, the honey super on top was completely untouched by the bees, so I removed it. However, the top portion of the second brood box was packed full of capped honey. From this I extracted a single full frame and replaced it with an empty frame. They survived last winter with only half a single brood box, so I think they'll be alright giving up one frame. I managed to scrape off the honey from the wax foundation of the frame into a pan, which I then drained through a wire mesh. The first side of that frame yielded a whole pint of home-grown honey! We'll scrape the other side of the frame tomorrow, then give it back to the bees to clean up.
The funny part of this particular endeavor occurred toward the end of our escapade when I was trying to take the full frame of honey away from the hive. I started by brushing the bees onto the hive, then took the frame across the yard to another area. I finished up my part with the bees and handed over my gear to A1 so she could also look and then close up the hive. When we were finished and went to get the frame of honey, several bees had been drawn to it and were checking it out! I had A1 go get the smoker to encourage the bees to leave, but she had trouble since there were bees on the smoker too!! When I finally got all the bees off, I had to practically run it to the house to keep them away. The smell was apparently too enticing for them.
In addition to our little homestead fun, J also had an engagement involving a major school dance. I was so proud to learn several weeks ago that she had been voted to be part of the homecoming court. Unexpected, but so proud! So she lounged around for awhile, then scooted off to her friends' house to have her hair fixed up, then back home for her dress, then off to the dance! She went with friends, no particular male involved. It lasted until midnight when D went to retrieve our Cinderella. It took mere minutes for her to return herself to her regular pumpkin-like state. When asked about the dance, she replied: "it was kinda boring, the DJ was old and kept playing music from the 70's and 80's!"
Incidentally, 'tis the season... knitting, crocheting, spinning, fiber!!! There will be 15 POUNDS of mohair arriving early this next week. Couldn't beat the price at which it was being offered, so I tried to buy enough to last the remainder of my life. Also put in an order to replace my size 17 needles that B drummed on the floor and broke. Finally I picked up a skein of 1/2 llama, 1/2 wool single-ply yarn to try it out. This first skein will likely be a hat. Depending on how it comes out, I may pick up more of that yarn.
Today we also cracked open the bee hive to check on the girls and harvest any excess honey. To my brief disappointment, the honey super on top was completely untouched by the bees, so I removed it. However, the top portion of the second brood box was packed full of capped honey. From this I extracted a single full frame and replaced it with an empty frame. They survived last winter with only half a single brood box, so I think they'll be alright giving up one frame. I managed to scrape off the honey from the wax foundation of the frame into a pan, which I then drained through a wire mesh. The first side of that frame yielded a whole pint of home-grown honey! We'll scrape the other side of the frame tomorrow, then give it back to the bees to clean up.
The funny part of this particular endeavor occurred toward the end of our escapade when I was trying to take the full frame of honey away from the hive. I started by brushing the bees onto the hive, then took the frame across the yard to another area. I finished up my part with the bees and handed over my gear to A1 so she could also look and then close up the hive. When we were finished and went to get the frame of honey, several bees had been drawn to it and were checking it out! I had A1 go get the smoker to encourage the bees to leave, but she had trouble since there were bees on the smoker too!! When I finally got all the bees off, I had to practically run it to the house to keep them away. The smell was apparently too enticing for them.
In addition to our little homestead fun, J also had an engagement involving a major school dance. I was so proud to learn several weeks ago that she had been voted to be part of the homecoming court. Unexpected, but so proud! So she lounged around for awhile, then scooted off to her friends' house to have her hair fixed up, then back home for her dress, then off to the dance! She went with friends, no particular male involved. It lasted until midnight when D went to retrieve our Cinderella. It took mere minutes for her to return herself to her regular pumpkin-like state. When asked about the dance, she replied: "it was kinda boring, the DJ was old and kept playing music from the 70's and 80's!"
Incidentally, 'tis the season... knitting, crocheting, spinning, fiber!!! There will be 15 POUNDS of mohair arriving early this next week. Couldn't beat the price at which it was being offered, so I tried to buy enough to last the remainder of my life. Also put in an order to replace my size 17 needles that B drummed on the floor and broke. Finally I picked up a skein of 1/2 llama, 1/2 wool single-ply yarn to try it out. This first skein will likely be a hat. Depending on how it comes out, I may pick up more of that yarn.
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