summers end

Saturday September 22nd is the Autumnal Equinox, otherwise known as the first day of fall, Mabon or autumn .  The leaves are beginning to change colors The days are getting shorter, and the vegetable growing season is all but done.  As the crisp fall air greets us every morning, we are beginning to wind down the harvest activities around here.  I still have tomatoes and banana peppers in the garden and I plan on finishing them up by the end of the weekend.   I believe that this is the last of our preserving we will be doing this year, vegetable wise anyhow.

Early bow season starts the last weekend of this month and all harvest activities need to be wrapped up so we can start processing our venison for the year.  Aside from the venison we hope to stock the freezer with, we have also split a 1200lb beef cow with family.  We should have some meat soon, it has been at the butcher for a week now.    We made it through this past year fairly well.  We still have a few roasts and a few packages of stew meat left and a decent amount of deer burger, some fish, and pork sausage.  We do not however have any beef burger or steak of any kind.    The local school has a meat processing class and the students make the best sausage around.  With the county fair coming up soon, they have been working hard making the sausage, and hopefully we can store at least 10 lbs of it this year too.  There is another local farmer we always buy ground pork from and make our own sausage, however, we don't season it quite as good.   It is also time to spend some time on the lake to stock the freezer with good fresh water perch and walleye.

This little fella comes in under the apple trees, but somehow seems to know when the start of hunting season comes in, and disappears deep into the woods.  

I must admit that this is one of my favorite times of the year.  Fresh apple cider, warm sweaters, crisp air, and football.  It is the time of the year when you can enjoy the fruits of your labors so to speak and start enjoying the foods you worked all summer to make.  Since the weather is a little chillier, I don't mind baking and warming up the house with the oven.  Not to mention filling the house with the delicious aroma of homemade breads and desserts.

It is also time to start planning those winter house projects and craft projects.  I have always loved to find ways to re-purpose items, and now thanks to Pinterest I have found tons of ways to reduce reuse and recycle.  I hope to share some of my successful projects with you over the winter.  For now however, I will just be content in saying goodbye to summer and welcoming in the fall.