apple sauce, apple pie, apple bread, apple fritters...it's that time again

This picture says it all. It was past time to pick apples! Butterflies, bees, worms and obviously the deer have been having their fill of delicious appleness and before everything hits the ground it was time to get our share in. We picked 5 big contractor's pails and a large recycling bin full and now have them sorted for usefulness in the garage. Three batches of applesauce, 2 pies and some delicious fritters later we haven't made a dent. We plan to attend the Apple Festival once again at Albemarle Ciderworks in November and have decided that this year we will plant 3 more trees. Maybe a few more if work picks up - smiles. At least this time we will know what kind of apple we are planting - if even we can't pick them for three years. We have come to think that currently we have Pippins, Arkansas Black and perhaps a Rome or McIntosh of some sort. We also need to get up to speed on organic pesticides and see if we can't make "prettier" apples. But in the meantime, Bon Apetit!

Simplicity: a picture is worth a thousand words

One of my favorites from the wedding so far. What one word describes this picture?

oh bummer!

OH BUMMER! Along came a storm and knocked out the pear tree. Changes the look of things and it was such beautiful shade. Many a picnic lunch was eaten under the shade of that tree in the short time we had it. Oh Bummer!

Check out my blog two blogs back to see what these beautiful flowers looked like a few weeks ago. Good thing I had the sense to set up with a vendor for the wedding because these sunflowers aren't gonna cut it! too hot, not enough rain and not nearly enough attention from me! maybe next summer?

Community Supported Agriculture...CSA

a few samples of the weeks' bounty

I am so glad I have had the opportunity to be part of a CSA this summer - especially since it is nearby and it has been too hot to head to our own farm to do much of anything. I joined Stoney Lonesome Farm in Gainesville as a "Harvest Helper" and in spite of related back problems have really enjoyed the weeks spent harvesting and packing up food for the CSA. My main goals were to learn and to try new foods and both have been accomplished. Swiss chard, baby bok choy and different greens have been part of the "new" harvest over the weeks since May. The whole idea behind sustainable agriculture and organic growing methods has really been an eye opener. The farmer's market in Manassas on Thursday nicely supplements my Wednesday package.

This week I received tomatoes, cucumbers, blue potatoes, red onions, garlic, beets, leeks, herbs and fresh flowers and a huge zuchinni which will become a chocolate cake soon.

A few new cookbooks grace my counter and I am eager to try some new things with fresh veggies. My most adventuresome to date was swiss chard gnocchi. Not only was it delicious but also surprisingly easy.

Someday soon, perhaps my own farm will support my "new habit." Afterall the watermelons we picked last weekend were the best we've ever had (of course)!

too hot to handle

Can't believe it's been six weeks since I blogged. My how time flies when you are planning a wedding. We've been to the farm several times but it has been just miserably hot this summer. The garden is officially (at least in my book) dead. I brought two watermelons home and they are super sweet and juicy but most everything else has dried up. Sadly the flowers do not look like they will make it for the wedding. They were gorgeous last week but pretty much gone this week.

This weekend we had a birthday party for Hayley who had turned 13 the previous week. I thought the girls would be miserable but they seemed to have a great time. ATVing, tractor scoop rides (who knew they were like a roller coaster) and tubing on the James River were all a hit that almost made us forget the heat. The shower on Sat afternoon that brought the temp down by 25 degrees helped too. Camping in the heat is not my cup of tea and it seemed that every few minutes we blew a fuse with the a/c but a good time was had by all.

long distance gardening

due to some complications, I had to stay home this weekend and John Deare and #1son went down to check on my garden and do some other chores. This is what they found - YIKES

Lots of growth - but not necessarily what we want growing - the grass is taking over the flower patch. But my menfolk did me proud and things were looking good by the time we left and a lot more was planted to so next weekend I plan to check out their handiwork in person.

it is difficult to garden from a distance

the weeds seem to know when you are not going to be around for a while - kind of like kids when mom is not around - hmm what can we get away with?! It took me 6 hours to get my home garden in order after being gone for 10 days - and that was just the back yard.