Our own applesauce!

Today we had so much fun making our very own applesauce, from our very own apples, grown in our very own orchard, on our very own farm!

Thank you for letting us borrow your apple press Mima and Papa!

Freshly grated cinnamon from India- thank you Thomas!

 

Child labor!

Naturally pink!

Trinity wasn't any help but enjoyed the excitement in the kitchen!

Success! 9 quarts of applesauce! The whole process is quite messy and long but also lots of fun!

Soak up the sun!

It's almost October. The leaves are falling off the trees, the fall harvest has begun and today...we wore shorts and the children played in the sprinkler setting of the garden hose! Ahhhhh, maybe winter won't be six months long this year! We are spending all day long outside and postponing indoor projects for the short days of winter with little sunlight and cold winds.  

A little TLC

Nothing helps you get over an illness like snuggling up with a kitten under a quilt made by your grandmother... along with antibiotics and ibuprofen! Feel better soon, Pickle!

Homemade apple cider

Our orchard is full of apples and pears. Sadly, no cherries this year!

Farmer J and I started making our own apple juice and cider (kiddo friendly- maybe some hard cider next year!) 

This guy did 99% of the picking!

The boys helped a bit!

The goats and sheep LOVE apples and will eat them out of your hand like a horse...just watch out for their sharp bottom teeth (they have no upper teeth)!

Apples into the juicer!

The sheep, goats and chickens liked the apple remnants.

Fresh apple juice to share.

Fall Harvest

Birthday Mum

I bought this beautiful, fall colored mum for my Farmer J on this day of his birth!

Happy birthday to the man who loves whole heartedly, forgives easily, and listens more than he speaks. 

You have given me the gift of JJ and Pickle and welcomed me to the world of farming and living close to the land.

Shepherd in training

Pickles's teacher asked him to draw a picture of one of his home chores! This is what he made! I heart kiddo (farm) art!

It looks like his arms are on fire but he is really carrying two bales of hay! Strong boy!

Gotta love Norwex

Pickle left some Sharpie marks on our kitchen table after his art project! Farmer J thought the table would be forever marked up! I knew my Norwex would get it out! And it did!

Cleaning Paste and blue dish cloth got it all out!

Fall apple crisp

Sheep and Wool Fair

So much fun... and informative. This lovely fair was only 10 minutes from our farm. We were blessed with a beautiful day and beautiful weather. 

Farmer J's highlights: BBQ shredded lamb sandwich and shearing class

Pickles' highlights: baby lamb pen and cherry pie

Jonas' highlights: sheep dog herding trials and the cherry pie

My highlights: being with my happy family on such a beautiful day, seeing other beautiful Tunis sheep, fresh cheese curds, tasting fresh sheep's milk cheeses and eating French Silk Pie

Sheepdog herding trials

What a beautifully shorn and clean sheep!

Tunis beauties!

Boys playing old fashion games

Jonas bought some bright blue Merino wool! We also connected with a buyer for our Tunis wool!