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Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen,
yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!
[Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,
long years numberless as the wings of trees!]
--Galadriel, in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring It's upon us already. It seems as if there was hardly a summer this year, the weather was so strange, but the birds are starting to flock in the trees. What was an occasional stray leaf on the ground has already multiplied into about one per square foot here. Some maple trees seem to be kindling into color very early indeed, and the sumac at the top of Marengo Ridge has gone crimson even before the goldenrod is finished blossoming. We still have hummingbirds daily, but no way to know whether they are the same ones that were here all summer. Have those been replaced by transient birds, already starting their migration? It seems possible. Acorns are falling, squirrels are busy gathering them. So are the chipmunks, scurrying about and stuffing their little faces, then running off into their burrows. The very belated pole beans in the garden have finally begun to blossom. With luck, the frost will hold off long enough for us to get a few beans out of it, but I'm not counting on it. The approaching season leaves us with much to do. Yesterday I ordered a new blanket for Tess, so she can be out for short periods even if it is windy and cold. Hopefully wading in the snow will keep her hooves from drying out as badly as they did the last two winters. She won't like it much, but sometimes life is hard. Tomorrow will mark the second week of the new school year that classes have been in the library on Friday for stories and to check out books to read. Banned Books Week is almost here, and the wildflower beds outside the glass wall are no longer a riot of purple, pink, and white. The remaining flowers are all yellow as egg yolk: goldenrod, prairie sunflower, compass plant. What I really notice though is the oak leaves falling at home. Oaks can develop intense color when the weather is just right, but I've never figured out what the ideal conditions are. In an ordinary year, the oak leaves just turn brown over a period of weeks and then flutter to the ground. We already have brown leaves strewn over the grass. I don't know whether to wish for a hard frost that might turn the oaks to brilliant reds and maroons, or to hope for a long, slow autumn without a frost, so that we may yet get something from the garden and the apples and fall raspberries have their full five weeks or so of glory. I do know one thing, though. This weekend I am going to find some apple cider, from fresh apples, somewhere. Tags: apples, autumn, farm, horses, seasons, weather
Current Location: Home in the oak grove
Mood:  peaceful
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When I took Tess out to the pasture this afternoon I detoured past the garden on the way back. As I suspected, there were more peas and beans needing to be picked, and tomatoes ready too. Also, the depredations of a tomato hornworm were evident. I'd hoped I had escaped those disgusting pests this year, but their damage is obvious once they get past a certain size. Large bites out of green tomatoes, whole upper stems denuded of leaves, and frass (caterpillar droppings) on the ground below that are bigger than mouse turds. After I finished my barn chores, I grabbed a large colander for the harvest and mentioned to Gary that I had a hornworm. "Ah ha!" he said, "Time for an expedition." So he joined me, and brought the aluminum ladder too so we could pick our lonely four apples, all of which were just out of my reach. Filled the colander with beans, peas, and cherry tomatoes, and started tying the straggling tomato stems up to the trellises. Gary spotted the culprit. We've had larger, but this one was about six inches long. They camouflage well, and there may be more than one, but that one was "terminated" immediately and, well, messily. They squirt when squashed. We got the apples down. I thought that tree was Cox but he pulled an old diagram out of his files and it is apparently Esopus Spitzenberg. This is the first year it has bloomed. One apple had a large rust spot, so I cut it up as soon as we got inside. More than half was OK, so we both got to try it. Just barely ripe, in spite of the bright red exterior, it had cream colored flesh that was quite firm with an intense flavor. I tell you, those modern commercial varieties they have at the supermarket are pale ghosts of apples when compared to the old antiques. Spitzenberg dates to the 1700s and was Thomas Jefferson's favorite variety. He had many trees planted at Monticello, and wrote about his orchards frequently. This would be a powerfully flavored cider apple, and is not too tart though it has a definite edge that would have been sweetened by mixing in another variety such as Graniwinkle. In Jefferson's day, hard cider was the everyday beverage drunk with all meals and whenever one was thirsty and didn't trust the well water. We lost a great deal to the prohibition movement, and fine cider making was one of the largest things destroyed. Some varieties of apple actually became extinct because the temperance rioters burned orchards or uprooted the trees. Last time I checked, no known specimens of Campfield or Povisham could be found. Harrison was still hanging by a thread, but in the 19th century it had more acreage than any other cider apple. Spitzenberg is a good keeper, so we'll hold onto the other three for a few weeks to see how they develop. Tags: apples, gardening
Current Location: Home in the oak grove
Mood:  predatory
Music: Art Garfunkel - Bright Eyes (from Watership Down)
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Gary had his gig at the farmers market this morning, so take care of the animals since he leaves early for that, then do some laundry and make up a shopping list, go to the bank to deposit paycheck, to grocery store to buy food for the week, home to put away food, then to the farmers market to meet Gary for lunch and help him get all his stuff back to the car. Come home, put Tess out in the pasture for the afternoon, weave on Argos' shawl while Gary takes a nap to make up for getting up so early, then while he goes out to clean stalls (today being his day) think about all the apples sitting here and make an apple pie. Wind the rest of the dyed cotton into balls so I can finish knitting the lace scarf from it. Oh, and check e-mails and LJ, respond to whatever needs it, bring Tess back in and give her grain and hay, fix dinner using as much stuff from the garden as possible, now back to weaving or maybe knitting since that has the earlier deadline. Whew. Made the pie using Cortland apples. Those are a tart, crunchy cooking apple that's pretty good in pies and excellent for apple sauce or baked apples. They also happen to be, well, rather large. I started with three, and thought "That can't be enough" so I peeled and sliced four of them. The pie ended up five inches high in the center and I could barely get the crust sealed around the edges. Of course, they cook down as the pie bakes, but still, a whole pie from just four apples is kinda amazing. I guess you could make a pie from just one if it was a Wolf River (they are the size of small pumpkins, but have little taste really.) All the local orchards have their signs out, and it's amusing to watch the sign wars. "Not Just Delicious Orchard" puts out signs beside the road, and "Woodstock Country Orchard" comes along and puts theirs right behind, with prices on it, only to be hidden by a larger sign from "Year-Round Orchard" (which isn't open year round, but only in September and October.) Soon it will be like Burma Shave signs, with contradictions on each one. I guess last weekend was rained out for most of them, so they have a lot of apples to sell right now. "Prairie Skies Orchard" used to sell other people's apples because their own trees weren't yet bearing, but this year I understand they have their own apples. I don't know what varieties they planted, but the Red Delicious is finally in eclipse. No one wants it any more, thank goodness, so I'll bet they have something else more interesting. Maybe even Prairie Spies. Those would be nice to have. Empires come in next week, but unless we use up what we have I may not be able to justify buying them. The Melrose or Melreuge are the last ones, first week in October, and worth the wait. I still wish for Northern Spy and Winesap, but no one seems to have good trees any more. Oh, and while I was getting ready to go shopping this morning, the doorbell rang, something that happens about once a year out here. Both dogs started barking, I looked out the window and there was a sheriff's car in the drive. Uh oh. Quick threw on some sweats because I had been getting into the shower and went to the door. It was a deputy all right, quite a young one. He wanted to know if I was missing a dog. No, I told him, I have two and you can hear them in the house barking at you. He explained that he had just seen a smallish dog out in the road, and when he stopped to see if he could catch it, the dog ran up our drive and into the woods behind the barns. I nodded, and told him it likely belonged to the neighbors to our west (the Brits) since they let their dogs run loose all the time and they are frequently nosing around in our barns and pasture. He apologized for disturbing me and left. Being nosy, I watched out the bedroom window to see if he would go over to the Brits' to ask them, but I guess he didn't. Too bad. I don't think their dogs are licensed either. Tags: apples, knitting, weaving
Current Location: Home in the oak grove
Mood:  busy
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Equus, what a long day. On the plus side, the weather was nice, and I even took a lunch break sitting outside in the staff area behind the building, looking at the butterfly garden. And there was a big joint board meeting last night (that I dodged attending) and there was leftover food. Boo, I had to restrict myself, as I don't want to eat so many excess calories. Met Gary for dinner in Woodstock because he was on his way to a meeting and a performance. On the way home, there was a beautiful crimson and purple sunset, but it was fading just as I pulled into the drive. I dashed into the house, grabbed the camera, and rushed out to the pasture where there's a fairly open view to the west, but too late. It was faded by the time I got there. About a mile or two from the house it was spectacular, as I drove west on Collins Road where there are nothing but open fields in sight. Apples are coming in, my favorites. Gary went to our nearby orchard and got Honeycrisp and Cortland today. The first are really good for eating out of hand, the latter make grand pies and are so huge you don't have to do a lot of peeling. We still had some Ginger Gold and Royal Galas left too. Now back to the weaving. Gotta get Argos' shawl done so I can move on to other things, like his feet. I'm thinking I'll try making felt boots for myself, and then build up his toes, nails, and pads on the outside of that using the fur fabric and filling. Tags: apples, weather, weaving
Current Location: Home in the oak grove
Mood: busy
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So I studiously avoided stitching the hems in those two towels all day. Went grocery shopping as usual, then went down the road to the orchard because the late variety apples were to be available today. They had Yellow Delicious, which are OK but not as strong flavored as I like. However, they also had the variety I was after, Melrose or Melreuge. This is a scarce variety in the US, and it's a pity. They are a huge apple, as big as both my fists together. The skin is crisp rather than tough like a Macintosh, and the flesh is pale yellow and crunchy, with lots of sweet yet slightly tart juice. They leave an after tingle in your mouth that suggests a little tannin if you'd had wine, but I suspect is malic acid. Anyway, they are nice to eat though a bit large. Made into pies or apple crisp though, they are spectacular. I bought a full peck, and Mrs. Rash insisted on adding a few more to the top of the bag so that it was overflowing. Nummy. Ice cream was on sale at the grocery store, so I think pie a la mode is in the offing. I also like apples with sharp cheddar, and I have two pounds of that coming with the co-op order on Tuesday, hopefully. Put Tess out in the pasture and did the barn chores, cleaning stalls, putting down new wood shavings. Then fed everyone just at sunset and came inside to make a pot of chili. Gary called and is having a good time up in Wisconsin. Sounds like he won't be back until Monday morning. While cleaning up the boys' yard after putting them away for the night, I picked up a very flat chipmunk. It had obviously been stepped on by a horse, probably more than once. It was not where it could have fallen out of their hay, and seemed much too fresh for that anyway. I suppose a cat might have dropped it in there and the horses just stepped on it by accident. However, a friend of ours had a horse who used to deliberately squish mice in her stall, so I wonder... In between all this I was monitoring the six machines that are running BOINC in their idle times. About six work units completed for SETI@Home, and their server was down all afternoon and not taking results. However, that logjam seems to have cleared now and all the results went through, only to be held as "pending" while they await confirmation from another machine that will have run the same set of data. Consequently my scores are in for a big boost when all that gets approved. Two or three work units for WCG also completed, and the first (slow) Alpha that I started on Tuesday night is probably going to finish up its results before midnight. I'm still juggling projects around trying to figure out which machines can best handle them. The two Alphas have to run SETI, as it is the only project with a client that runs on the Alpha processor, but the other machines can run a mix or a single heavier project if desired. My home machine turns out to be the fastest, by a little bit, but I'm reluctant to load it down with something like CPDN that I can't cancel later without losing the credit for a long run. That chili should be about ready now, so I'm gone. XD Tags: apples, cooking, geekery, horses
Mood:  pleased
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Soooo... Suddenly the lovely clear, cool fall weather is gone and we're back in the heat and humidity of July. It hit 90°F with 90% humidity or so this afternoon. We closed up windows and restarted the air conditioning, which has been off for a couple of weeks. Mosquitos are back in force after being stunned but not killed by cold nights and dry breezy days. Two confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in the county in the last month, as well as a horse and a dead blue jay. Gary skipped T'ai Chi tonight and we peeled and sliced pie apples for the freezer. Empire, one of the better pie varieties, and Gary got a full peck on Friday. Eight quarts went in the freezer, leaving nearly a half peck for eating and fresh pies right now. We made applesauce out of the scraps. The Honeycrisps are about done, but I plan to go back for Melrose this weekend. Apple season is my favorite time, I think. Too bad it's so short. Colors are blooming on the trees overnight too. The cool weather over the weekend started to bring them out more, and in any wide vista now (and we have lots of them, living as we do on the side of a fairly high ridge) you see color on about 10% of the foliage. If it continues at this rate, we could have some stunning colors in a week or two. Assuming of course that we don't get a lot of rain and wind to knock the leaves off the trees prematurely. There was a 70% chance of thunderstorms tonight last I checked, though no sign of them coming yet. This will be the first post I try to double between LiveJournal and GreatestJournal. Let's see... Tags: apples, geekery, weather
Current Location: Home in the oak grove
Mood:  hot
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Uh, no, the mice aren't going in the pies... yet. Wednesday I saw a mouse in the kitchen, so we got out the live traps. Thursday we had two mice, and took them out behind the barn and dumped them in a brushpile. Friday we had one in the trap, and yesterday two more plus we each saw one that got away. This morning four out of six traps had mice in them. Gary tried drowning the Thursday catch, but the mouse swam and swam and he felt so sorry for it he fished it back out. I'm beginning to think that five hundred feet away with two barns full of hay between them and the house isn't far enough. Two resident cats aren't doing much. One is too old to catch mice I think, and the other is too fat and lazy. It's apple time again. We went down the road to the nearest orchard this morning and brought back two pecks: Cortlands and Honeycrisp. Because of the heavy rains, the apples are huge and very juicy but the flavor isn't quite as strong as it would be in a more dry year. Anyway, I'm making pie, apples mixed with black raspberries from the freezer. Cortlands are usually very good for pie and applesauce. Honeycrisp is very crunchy and they're nice for eating. Unfortunately, I guess Oprah declared them to be her favorite apple a few years ago, which means they now command a higher price than the others even though orchards have planted them everywhere as a result. Also available this week: Gala, Jonathan, Jonamac, Jonagold, and Senshu. Next week the Empire, another of my favorites, and Al says there aren't a lot of them this year so we should get there on Friday. At the end of the month, Melrose (also called Melreuge,) which is a big red apple with crisp flesh and tart flavor that I love to put in pies and apple crisp. They will also have Golden Delicious and Red Delicious, but neither of those has any appeal for us. Compared to many of the other varieties, they seem quite dull and tasteless. I wish there was a good cider mill around here, but there really isn't. Since cider sold off premises is required to be pasteurized, we can't get really tasty apple cider here. It's something I really miss from back when I lived in Michigan. Tags: animals, apples, baking, cooking
Current Location: Home in the oak grove
Mood:  bouncy
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tired