The farms are officially open for pumpkin picking. Last weekend, Bill and I decided to go out for a drive and visit the nearby farms to see what they have for us this year. The kids had other plans and wanted to stay home and rest. They will probably go with me at a later date to get their carving pumpkins. It worked out great for us to have some time together on a little excursion even if it was just out looking for pumpkins. We had country music playing on the radio as we talked and had great conversations about things. When we arrived at the farm, it was still early in the morning and the fields had not been disturbed. I could see the different colors scattered throughout the fields, and of course my eyes went directly to where the blue, gray, and white pumpkins were growing. We had the whole field to ourselves. Each pumpkin was just as beautiful as the next one. I had the hardest time deciding which one to pick. We walked through the fields and wondered back and forth many times. After two hours, our wheelbarrow was full. It was a successful trip. We came home with over 150 pounds of pumpkins in the back of the truck. They were cleaned and trimmed of extra vines and leaves before I placed them inside the house.
Ms. Ellie has been living in our house for the past few months. Still not sure what is wrong with her, but she is doing better. I have been trying to get her back with the flock, but not quite there yet. I am very hopeful, just one of the chickens still likes to peck her {any advice will be greatly appreciated on this subject}. She does go out and mingle with the other chickens during the daytime and at night, her home is in the our house. The first time I forgot to bring her back in, the search began with a flashlight and calling for her {I don’t think that helped} just to comfort my anxiety. She was nowhere to be found. Finally, my daughter Hannah called me to look out the back door to see Ms. Ellie waiting patiently to come inside. I haven’t had any problems finding her now.
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Although it’s late in the season, I finally started to clean the garden. These little green pumpkins are just some that I’ve collected, not sure what to do with them yet. I will keep you posted on that.
It’s time to pick the last remnant of apples for my applesauce and put away my favorite old rickety ladder.
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Already made four batches of applesauce, one more to go and I will be done. I put a little twist on the recipe the last time I made it and substituted 1/2 pound of cranberries and added a little more sugar. It turned out great. {find the recipe Here}
It’s moss season, actually it’s moss season year round… just more now and into spring time. These branches are simply beautiful to look at, the variety, colors and textures in one area. I think a wreath may be a d.i.y. project in the near future. I love using them in decorations, but not so much when they completely take over the yard like unwanted weeds.
A drive around town to see the fall colors.
A view of farm lands and mountains in the distance.
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Ideas are stirring in my head while putting this post together. Can’t wait to try them and if successful, I’ll be sharing with other things this November!
Pumpkins are here! Every year there is a temptation to buy just one more pumpkin and add it to the growing collection at home. And I give in, one too many times! There are many varieties to choose from at the grocery stores and local markets. At this time of year, the local farms are bursting with fresh fruits, vegetables, and pumpkins. Out in the fields is where I love to go in search of pumpkins and squash, especially when they are still attached to the vines and ready for picking.
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This beautiful Cinderella pumpkin {Rouge Vif d’Etampes} peaked out from beneath the vines and dead leaves to reveal its bright orange/red color.
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What a sight to see, Green Goblin Pumpkins {Marina Di Chioggia} with knobby skin are quite a unique squash with yellow/orange sweet flesh. They are great for baking and a source of vitamin A.
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Have you ever seen a yellow pumpkin as bright as this one!
The Blue Hubbarb Squash is teardrop-shaped with a hard outer shell and orange sweet flesh. They are great for pies, and soups.
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Fairytale Pumpkins {Musque de Provence} originated from France, they will start out green and gradually turn brown/copper in color when ripe.
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The striped pumpkin {Kakai} is popular for hull-less deep green seeds. The seeds have a wonderful nutty taste for snacking and for oil to be used in cooking.
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A field full of orange pumpkins is a sight I never get tired of at this time of year.
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Arrival of the fall season brings with it pumpkins. Place them outside at the front door {see it here…} or scatter them throughout the house. A large bright pumpkin could stand alone as the center piece of the table or on a mantle. Group similar color/size pumpkins together in a bowl, platter or other containers to brighten a room. Here I’ve gathered some simple and easy ideas to decorate with pumpkins.
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Kim at Simply Domestic used little white and striped pumpkins to decorate her kitchen and dinning room . {see more…}
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A few orange pumpkins placed in the middle of the kitchen island gave this neutral kitchen a nice pop of color.
A collection of pumpkins and squash with other items of similar green color brought cohesiveness to the display on the shelves.
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This large wooden cake stand with two pumpkins stacked together created a wonderful display.
Have fun finding pumpkins and decorating with them!
Blueberry Buckle is an old-fashinon single-layer cake with a streusel topping. This is a wonderful and versatile cake that’s also great to serve for breakfast, brunch and anytime {with tea/coffee}. The consistency is like coffee cake but not as sweet.
Before going any further about Blueberry Buckle, I want to share where these plump blueberries came from. Everyone in the family was busy except for my son Caleb and me so we decided to go blueberry picking at a nearby farm. Bybee Blueberry Farm is situated at the base of Mount Si offering incredible views while picking these sweet blueberries.
So ready for picking!
For about an hour of picking {and a little bit of eating}, we got almost 9 pounds of blueberries.
These blueberries have been washed and ready to be eaten in these fun snack cups. Blueberries are one of the best snacks. They are rich in antioxidants, full of vitamin C, manganese and fiber.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter {room temperature}
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
5 cups blueberries {can use frozen blueberries}
STREUSEL TOPPING
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter {room temperature}
Heat oven to 350°. Butter and flour springform baking pan {ten-inch round}.
STEP 1. In a bowl of an electric mixer cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.
STEP 2. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
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STEP 3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Reduce mixer speed to low, alternate adding reserved flour mixture and milk to mixer, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
STEP 4. Gently fold in blueberries {all 5 cups}. If using frozen blueberries, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the berries and mix gently to coat each berries with flour before adding to the batter mixture.
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STEP 5. Pour batter into prepared pan {butter and flour springgorm baking pan}.
In a medium bowl, mix together all the streusel topping ingredients with a fork to form large clumps.
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STEP 6. Sprinkle streusel topping directly onto the cake batter.
Place the springform baking pan on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This will help to contain any leakage from spreading all over the oven. Bake 60 to 70 minutes until cake tester comes out batter free. Remove cake from oven and let it rest on the cooling rack for 10 minutes.
Cutting down a Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving has been a tradition for us since our kids were little. It’s a fun time to be together as a family and we always look forward to it every year. A week before that, we had some of the big pine and cedar trees (6) taken down on our property. It was amazing to watch the crew members climb the trees and cut it down section by section. To put it in perspective, in the time it took us to drive to the Christmas tree farm, find a tree, cut it down, and bring it home, they would have finished most of the work and began the clean-up. They made the whole process look effortless on a rainy and cold day. Here are a few pictures from that day.
