Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! Enjoy all of the little ghosts and goblins in your neighborhood!

Ripe Plums in October

We have so many ripe plums, now! Ripe now! In the middle of October a tree that was nearly cut down because it has not produced a single plum in four years ripened with so many plums in one season, that it made up and then some for the plums that were gone for all those years. We were convinced for two years that it was a late frost that killed the blossoms and the potential for fruit. Then two more years of nothing and we planning to replace the tree. There must have been nearly 700 pounds of fruit on a single tree. The tree is bowing with the weight of these plums that sure took their time ripening this season. So we picked and washed and sliced and chopped and cooked and baked and dried and froze and ate these little beauties! There are plenty left for friends and family, so come on over to the farm!

Getting ready for the dehydrator. The plums dry up so nicely and can be used in oatmeal, as a quick snack or rehydrated for anything you like. They also add a very nice flavor to soups.

These plums are about midway through the drying process. It takes 12 - 14 hours for this fruit to dry completely. The dried fruit is stored in jars and ready to use or eat.

Plum jam! Our daughter and son-in-law make plum sauce and it starts with plum jam. We finally have some jam to offer and we are looking forward to the pot stickers that go with the sauce!

Plum Upside Down Cake and Walnuts! This cake is a melt in your mouth kind of cake. It is made in a cast iron skillet and comes out a little thinner than if it was baked in a springform pan, but we like it thin. The edges are crisp and there is nothing so sweet as baked plums.

What do you do with your plums?

A Beautiful Fall Day

After the tiniest bit of rain to settle the dust over night, the sky turned blue and it was nearly 70 degrees again. The garden is still producing and our trip of turning on the sprinkler before the sun comes up has kept the frost from burning the tomatoes, basil, peppers, and squash! It was a more relaxing, but productive day on the farm.

Remodel

We lived in musical rooms like the old game we used to play with kids called musical chairs! The bathroom fixtures were moved to the kitchen, the kitchen was moved to the living room and dining room, and the dining room and living stayed where they should be even with the stove and dishwasher next to the couch! In a flurry of a month, the outside of the house was repainted, the picket fence was mended and painted, the shower was torn out and tiled along with the bathroom floor and the walls were painted and new lighting fixtures and trim finished it off. Then we said, hmmm, what about the kitchen? so we painted more walls, refinished the cabinets, and moved the appliance out and repair old sub flooring and put tile on top. Then we cleaned and dusted and put away or gave away the rest of the mess and we were finished just in time to beat the rush of harvest before the frost! Here are some before and after pictures: Outside painting of the house was completed by College Pro Painters. Outside clean up from painters and all fencing and detail work completed by Tim.

The Bathroom: There were two major leaks. One was evident at the shower, the other one was not so evident at the toilet. Both were repaired, sub flooring replaced, sheet rock, shower wall, and plumbing repaired and fixtures replaced. The bathroom project took one week. The toilet was out of order for 24 hours of that week! Phew!!

Then it was time for the kitchen to be painted, refinish the cabinets, and repair and replace the floor. Initially, we just planned to paint so the appliances were moved out and then returned to position. Then we decided to change the flooring so the appliances had to be completely removed to another room while the work was completed. Tim and I painted and refinished the cabinets. Nathan Sheets did all of the tile work. It took 5 days to complete the kitchen and the appliances were out all five days. Don't worry, the essential item, coffee, was made accessible at all phases of construction!

At last the chaos of construction is over and we have settled back into the routine of harvest chaos! More of the harvest soon ~

Peppers

Peppers are so pretty at this time of year! We picked as many peppers and every other kind of vegetable and fruit that could be picked this weekend. Our peppers came on in abundance...in OCTOBER! We are just lucky that we had such warm and dry weather through September and early October. We expect it to freeze tonight.

Here the peppers have been roasted and are ready to freeze. Don't worry, they were enjoyed on a roast beef sandwich in between picking more vegies and peeling more fruit!

Autumn Dining on the Deck

It is such a beautiful fall in Southern Oregon. Our remodeling is officially finished for now, but we couldn't resist the fresh evening air to enjoy some corn on the cob, roasted chicken and vegies from the farm. Happy October!