Happy Anniversaries

Twenty-two years ago today we closed on this farm...and each other.  Technically it was the 23rd, but I liked the idea of the fall equinox (possibly my favorite day of the year :-), so our anniversaries are a floating holiday, depending on the year.

This has been a horribly long, hot, dry summer so I'm especially celebrating that we got some much needed rain and cooler temperatures today, just in time for the fall equinox.  The farm is celebrating, too.  

I actually enjoyed walking out to our oldest pear tree this afternoon to gather some fruit to try to make a pear tart. I tried to set up a photoshoot with the freshly baked tart resting under the tree, but the rain pushed us back to the porch.  That's an okay trade.  I brought the tree to the porch :-).

Twenty-two years ago my mother looked at that pear tree and said it was very old and she didn't think it would last much longer.  That old tree outsmarted the spring freeze that took all the rest of the pears and apples here and at the local orchards and it was loaded with pears this year.

This is a very dear little farm.  Thank you.  For everything.

Help!!!

The hardest working little peach tree. Our favorite tree on the entire farm. I love to see it bloom in the spring, watch the baby peaches start growing in the early summer and by midsummer you can almost smell the peaches from the side porch. If you go stand in the branches, you feel like you too could be a peach.



What's wrong??? We noticed that several of the peaches were getting bad spots before we left for the Midwest Fiber and Folk Fair. Didn't think too much about it because we don't use any pesticides and just accept we have some bug damage. Today over half of the hardest working little peach tree's beautiful fruits are fuzzy gray and shriveled up.



I don't think they are just over ripe. What's left are all hanging on tight and still feel pretty hard. They go from that to ruined pretty much overnight. Now that I think about it, I think the same thing happened with our plums this year.

Is there something wrong in our little orchard?

Can anyone help???

Stocking Stuffers

Hopefully everyone had a great holiday with friends and family and traveled safely, got everything they wanted, ate too many cookies and are looking forward to the new year. We had a very nice Christmas and Santa does read my blog! ;-)

Aside from that fabulous gift, all our gifts were either home grown, hand made or purchased locally. It turned out not a bit hard and I encourage everyone to give that a try for the upcoming year. You've already seen the jars of honey and peach preserves. Here are some other handmade stocking stuffers.



Some handspun and hand knit mittens for my mother.



A Jacob wool hat for my dad. I did another one for my BIL, but forgot to take a picture.



A miniature horse blanket (table runner) woven for a friend.



This was spun from her guardian llama Andy. I had thought he was truly brown and white, but found out there was quite a bit of gray undertone - I always learn something, no matter what I do - yet another gift for me :-).

And the winner of the jar of Frog Pond honey is Tammy! Please send me an email with your mailing address.

Merry Christmas! (And remember, there's no reason why every day can't be Christmas.)

Eat A Peach!

So, we've established that there are good days and there are bad days, but I'm pretty sure that no day is ever so bad that it can't be helped by a fresh, sweet, juicy, right off the tree, peach.



The hardest working little peach tree has just outdone herself this summer. We've eaten sink peaches (where you have to eat them over the sink to keep the juice that runs down your arm off the floor), peach fritters, peach cobbler and my mother even taught me to make peach jam last weekend. This evening neighbor Stella is making homemade peach ice cream.



I cannot wait!

'Round The Orchard

Definitely the hardest working peach tree. Brushy and Weaslie? Not so much.

Plum beautiful.

Apple pie anyone?

And what do we have here?

The end of Stage Two of the Tour de Fleece :-D.