Harvest Time on the Farm

Harvest time has officially come to the Farm–the apples are all in and put up–some sauced and some dried and some just eaten right off the tree. The squashes line the far cellar floor–all kinds– buttercup and butternut, acorn and pumpkins. Now, just the pie pumpkins of course. The cutting-kind are outside–you can see them in the picture above.

The Rhubarb has just been brought in, most of it frozen for making pink drink and fruit leather all winter long. But some was turned into jelly, into the two types the Farmer’s Wife likes: Pink (studded with rose petals and hips) and Red (filled to the brim with that spicy Thai pepper that the Farmer loves so much).

Speaking of peppers, they’be been fried and measured and frozen–to find their way into a chili or soup sometime this winter.

The herbs that line the back of the Farmhouse have been dried and stored and set in mason jars in their various mixtures, the favorite being the sage/celery/shallot combo–to be sure, that will find its way into many a stuffing, chicken pot pie, and whatever else the Farmer’s Wife can come up with.

But why? You might ask yourself. Why do all that work when there are markets and stores right down the street?

Yes, all could be bought at a store, and there’s nothing wrong in that, but the taste of the Farm is so lovely, so missed all winter long, that the Farmer’s Wife just can’t help herself.

Life Lesson: Hard Work is twice blessed–first in the doing and then in the partaking of what has been done