Heritage Hill Homestead

We have been blessed

with lots of produce this fall and we are thankful for it! 

Last month we were able to go into town and pick some grapes for free.  I made grape jam out of them and got 18 jelly jars.  I prefer jam to jelly and think it is easier to make anyway.  At the same time a friend called and offered peaches, I intended to go and pick some of them for jam, but about that time it started raining and raining and I didn't make it.   We had purchased 2 bushel of peaches also just a few days before she called and I needed to get them taken care of first.  I mostly made frozen pie fillings out of them, and saved some out to eat fresh, today I made some peach butter out of some of the ones left.  I should say am making peach butter as I type............that takes a long time!   Our neighbor has apple trees that he told us to just pick what we wanted, he wasn't going to use any of them.  We have picked some and I have made apple crisp and some things, but we need to go and see if there are more as I would like to make some applesauce.  Yesterday we went to some friends house that have a CSA to pick green beans.  They sent out an email the evening before stating that their fall beans were going strong and they needed help!   They were guessing there were about 1000 pounds of beans to be picked and they couldn't keep up...........whew, I think he was right.  We picked a little over 50 pounds and didn't make a dent in them.   So, yesterday afternoon and evening we snapped beans!!!  Today we canned enough for us for the winter needs.  We will take some to Farmers Market, give some to Mom, and eat some fresh.  As we do many times, this spring we sold too many from our garden and didn't end up canning enough for us.  We planted a couple of rows this fall thinking we would can more, but the geese ate them.  So, we were thrilled when we were able to get these.  Today we pulled up some of the tomato plants.  I was surprised at how many ripe ones there were or at least starting to turn.  So, I believe that I will be able to do one more batch of salsa yet too.   We dug the sweet potatoes a couple weeks ago and sold most of them, but I kept the small ones for us to eat.  So, with the chickens and other meat we have in the freezer we are pretty well set for winter.  The only thing we will be short on is potatoes............we eat a lot of potatoes!  Some friends plant a ton of them and sold at Farmers Market.  We called them the other day to see if we could buy some to store for the winter and they had sold them all.  We really need to plant more next year.  We are planning to enlarge the garden area so we can.

This week we moved the little pullets into another house that has an outdoor pen.  They had been in the brooder house the first 4 weeks.  They are so cute out running around, they really think they are grown up. We imagined little chickens running everywhere, but it went very smoothly.  We made a little alleyway with boards from one house to the other and just herded them along.

A friend of ours went on a little goat buying trip, so I went over and did chores for her 2 days.  The first day hubby went along and everything went smooth.  The second day he stayed home to snap those beans......and I got there to find that the cattle were out and a goat also.  Luckily the bull was out also, but in a different area and he didn't even see me coaxing the cows back in with range  cubes......  I really don't know what I would have done if he had been with them as I would not have tackled the job of getting him in by myself!  He was away from the road and safe so I just left him alone. 

We have been enjoying the most perfect fall days.........I am truly Thankful for those too.  Today the sky was so blue and the breeze had a little cool feel to it, with the sun shine, just perfect.  Thank you Lord for spoiling us.

The folks with the CSA gave me a couple of tomatoes to try. Nebraska Wedding and Georgia Peach.  They are heirlooms so I am saving the seeds.

I got some extra milk this evening at the local dairy and plan to try to make some cheese.  I have wanted to do this for a long time.  If I don't get to it, I can freeze the milk.  We go through spells of using a lot of milk and then times when we use very little.  We are not milk drinkers, so unles the grandkids are here, it is just what I use in cooking and baking.

There are so many things that need done outdoors these nice days, I sure hope we have some more of them.  Sheds to clean, painting to do, garden to finish up, windows to wash.........I am sure a few more things as well.   I did cut some flowers this week to root and keep over the winter.  I am afraid we will have an early frost and I wanted to be sure and get them in.  I still have some geraniums to bring in, but I can do that when they predict the frost, there are only a few of them.  I also have saved some seeds, I probably have enough Hollyhock seeds for everyone!  Here is a picture of them this summer, I sure enjoyed them.

Tomorrow is son Ryan and Edye's 10th wedding anniversary.  Happy day to you both.  How in the world can 10 years go by so fast?  They are the parents of Alexis, Nicholas and Madelyn that I talk about on here quite often.

Country Blessings,

Marilyn~at Heritage Hill Homestead