Harvesting round up chitchat!
I always post pictures of my garden in its early stages, and then lose steam due to being out there with dirty hands and a sense of things getting quite, quite out of control!
So a few harvest photos — veggies stashed in the freezer not included. I do share more on Instagram. As with everyone else’s garden, I had some ups and downs. That’s life!
First, a serendipitous harvest of crabapples, that came about in this wise:
Two of Auntie Sue’s (now grown up) young lads took down a tree for us that was up next to the stable. They cleared a few other little saplings and then more work was done up there to beat back the brush and brambles.
The tree was here, below, right next to the stable (you can see the stump in the photo above) :
All that clearing revealed what my friend Benedict (a super knowledgeable gardener) told me is a crabapple tree (it’s really an overgrown bush?). This surprised me, as I didn’t know that some crabapples are tiny.
I have a vivid memory of my Egyptian grandmother visiting my father’s house in Branford, CT, and of her making the most delicious crabapple jelly using fruits we found on a tree at the beach there. Those crabapples were more apple-sized and the tree was more apple-tree-like, and that’s what I think of.
My grandchildren picked what they could reach, including by dragging a stepladder up there. You need three pounds for the recipe I have, and we’re almost there.
If I have to throw in a regular apple, will I spend all my time explaining to everyone who wants some jelly on their toast that I did so, that it’s not completely crabapple? This threat of OCD twitchiness is incentivizing my husband to see if he can reach more:
I hope I can make something as revelatory and memorable as what my grandmother (after whom I’m named) made for us that day, but I will be happy with edible and jelled (I’m not that good at jelly, for some reason — tips appreciated!).
The squash are curing inside on the radiator and out on the porch in the sun. I cannot remember what the pumpkin-like ones are called! I have no record! They are supposed to be sweet and good eating. I am a little disappointed that I didn’t get more, but I think our lack of rain at the end of the summer really did them in.
Even these late, somewhat damaged tomatoes (with more to come outside) will make a fine sauce:
And I did get many tucked away in the form of salsa, dried tomatoes, and roasted and/or boiled sauce:
Along with dried zucchini you see there (and some grilled slices in the freezer for lasagna) and also in powdered form (dehydrated and then popped in the blender):
This powdered zuke is surprisingly good in soups and works as a thickener too!
I stashed the super big hard ones out in the garage and I will feed them to the chickens later in the year. I planted some variety that I can’t recall (or find) now (apparently my record-keeping is terrible), but I think when it comes to zukes and cukes I need to plant the tried-and-true and not go into fanciness.
I have been preserving eggs and now have over 8 dozen stashed away:
Below is the “in progress” jar (1/2 gallon)… with dried medicinal herbs behind. The hens are definitely slowing down in the shorter days. I think we need to put the solar-powered lights back out!
The garlic harvest was on point — 100 heads, which is a lot for the two of us… and yes, this is the toilet paper holder from the last decade that is no longer useful for this decade’s giant rolls, but demonstrates the importance of never throwing anything away lest it come in useful for something else, as per my motto:
That may not seem like 100 heads to you, but I fermented a bunch already (and fermented a jar of garlic with honey as well):
And dried a bunch too (see the process here):
The onions were not what I had hoped. I seem to have gotten no red ones at all, boo. Next year…
I hope you enjoyed this round up from the garden! I probably forgot some things (asparagus and green beans in the freezer… ) and maybe your garden was better — in fact, I’m sure it was! But I am content!
bits & pieces
You know how I have written and talked about the absolute necessity of beauty in our ordinary lives? I think this short film, To Last a Thousand Years, about the Fairfield Carmelites’ building project is inspiring in just the way we need, and makes the connection between the beauty of the foundation in the monastery to the beauty of the lives of those it touches (even if no one realizes their existence) — the spiritual connection in the very real liturgical economy that I try to reference. Every commitment to beauty has an effect in saving the world! I love that they are quoted as saying, “if it looks like a stone wall, it needs to be a stone wall!” Note how the contractor’s life has already been changed by the chance to realize a dream of fulfilling his seemingly futile ambition to build something with stone, to last a thousand years!
This Instagram account fits in with the “Pattern Language” way of looking at building, and has accessible information for older children interested in such things.
I thought this was funny (and a sweet painting): The Internet Has Been Left Baffled By 162-Year-Old Painting Where A Woman Appears To Be Holding A Smartphone
Thank God: Vanderbilt To Pause Gender Transition Surgeries On Minors Following Bombshell — and may the rest of these hospitals that are engaged in this horrible practice follow suit: Medical Groups Ask DOJ to Investigate Critics of Hospitals’ Gender Surgeries on Children
The real reason vaccine (and any other medical procedure and/or intervention) mandates are wrong.
My friend Peter Kwasniewski has put together a list of recommended traditional books for parents. I’m honored to have two books on it!
from the archivesSibling rivalry and how to fix it (well, it’s never going to go away, but maybe my thoughts will help)Give your children what really matters
liturgical living
St. Pelagia and St. Hugh of Canefro
follow us everywhere!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
My new podcast can be found on the Restoration of Christian Culture website (and you can find it where you listen to such things) — be sure to check out the other offerings there!
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We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram, Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
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