Seed Fall 2017

Seed Fall 2017

We’re just finishing the month of Seed Fall.  It’s been a very busy time wrapping up one season and preparing for another.

last autumn greens from our garden

The garden beds all have a nice layer of mulch on them and are ready for their winter rest. The garlic has been planted for next year. Wood has been split and stacked and the leaves have been piled to  await next year’s garden needs. The only thing left to do outside is to mulch the strawberry beds. We’re waiting for the ground to freeze before doing that. Otherwise it just makes a nice cozy winter home for mice…

I’ve been busy threshing out the beans that you saw in the last update. I’m nearly finished.  Just two boxes left to do. I’ll show you the results next time.

threshing our dry beans

Bob has begun work on the future downstairs bathroom. He’s poured concrete pads for the supports which will go underneath the bathtub, 

support under bathtub

and he’s begun demolition on the wall that is next to the current toilet. That space is only twenty four inches wide. If we weren’t both slim, we couldn’t use the facility at all! 

Removing plaster wall

Plumbing to the upstairs bathroom. Lovely, eh?

I will begin stripping the old wall paper off of the other walls, and then need to prepare the woodwork for painting. I plan to begin this weekend.

peeling paint

We had a nice Thanksgiving.  We enjoyed a couple of nice meals and the three of us went for a walk in our woods. The wind was a bit brisk, but Lunette really had a lot of fun.

Wild rice with shiitakes, cranberries & hickory nuts

Mrs Murphy-San's pie (with tempeh)

 In the afternoon, we made our annual fruit cake. This isn’t your normal stuff that everyone jokes about . We start with a sourdough batter and add a nice amount of dried natural fruits, like dates, apricots, raisins and prunes. Then we add crystallized ginger and dried pineapple. To this we add English and Black Walnuts and our own Hickory nuts, and spices like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. After baking it’s wrapped in cheesecloth, which has been soaked in brandy, and placed in an airtight tin. This sits in a cool place, being splashed weekly with more brandy, for a month. We’ll open it on Christmas. It’s good stuff!

Making fruitcake

We hope that all of you had a nice Thanksgiving and that the upcoming holiday season will be all that you want it to be. Whatever you celebrate, do so in the way that means the most to you. We’ll catch up with you again after the New Year.

Until next time,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Bread rising by the fire