Daily Harvests from the farm...

dried beans needed to be shucked,

gourds for fall display,

cherries for tonight's salad,

apples for cider hopefully and if not a pie,

and pears for perry! Phew!

Fun on the farm

It seemed a little relaxation was inevitable when a friend stopped by with this, but we have a lot of work to do...

Grapes continued...

Concord grape liqueur...and spiced grape liqueur.

and then we froze the rest of the washed grapes for Ed to make jam with at a later date. I had to go North to work so I brought the unwashed grapes for a fermenting project.

When I arrived I started crushing the grapes, seeds, stems and all.

I kept crushing

and pouring and mixing until...

I filled the container and all the grapes-except those I discarded because they were starting to rot, were gone! Believe it or not I had used all the grapes. Now I just had to stir and wait. Stay tuned in 6 weeks or so to see if this is drinkable or if I need a still to take it further into brandy and then to see if that's drinkable or not. 

You see I dont know what I am doing. It seems the reason Concord Grape wine is sweet is not because it comes out of the ferment that way. It comes out of the ferment bitter and then sweetener is added to get rid of the bitter. But I am willing to experiment, since concord grapes are what we have and I refuse to try to grow a crop that I need to spray fungicides all over just to make the same wine (or worse than) that comes from California.

Next week, I hope, pears.

Grapes and more grapes...

Yesterdays work was deciding what to make with all these grapes, and starting to process them. It may be hard to use them all.

But first most of them had to be washed,

separated from the stems and skins,

Fruit

Skins

We decided to make chutney. Even though both skins and fruit are going to be used,

we needed to separate the fruit and simmer it and push it through a strainer to get the seeds out.

Then we added back the skins spices and vinegar, and we used apples too because we had them, and Voila! Concord Grape Chutney. We tasted it with grass fed lamb and it was superb.

Tomorrow we need to use the rest; we still have 2 and half more containers.

What to do with yesterdays daily harvest...

We started to process the grapes tonight, but it was late and canning would have taken us into the wee hours. So we will make Chutney and maybe Jam tomorrow. I wanted to also make liqueur and maybe wine or brandy. Lets see what time will allow.

Early in the Fall

Earl early in the fall

Ivy turning scarlet

purple Pokeweed

and Concord Grapes harvested from neighbor's trellises and fields where they grow wild.

Daily Harvest...Picking Grapes

We have tons of concord grapes growing on our property, but they are in the trees and hard to reach.

So when a friend offered/begged us to pick his grapes we decided it would be a lot easier.

Do I know what I am doing and do we know what to make with these?

No, of course not. So check in this weekend and see what happens.

We have at least 3 of these.

Late summer sunset on the river

It started rather mellow

and then deepened

and brightened and even reflected mauve in the opposite direction

then lasted a long time fading slowly.

Late summer walk on the farm and a look at the bees

Midday shadows on the lane way.

Goldenrod, good late summer forage for bees!

Farmer Bill's jerusalem artichoke patch from a distance. The yellows are so prevalent now, and you can see it in the pollen on the bees legs as they come back to the hive.

We are taking a look into the brood chamber. Just after the pictures were taken the bees decided I was an intruder and backed me off. I heeded their warning and they didnt sting me.

Pizza!

Sourdough crust with topping from the fields and mozzerella from Narragansett Creamery.

Tomatoes basil caramelized onions,

skip the tomatoes add pesto olives and herbs,

Oh so good for a late summer treat.

Whats fermenting? Cukes and Cabbage

Pickles and Saurekraut

Daily Harvest from the kitchen garden...Labor Day!

A few more cukes for pickles, a zuke, beets, more beans and some basil,

a bouquet for the table by Jenny and Ezra picked yesterday,

and some purple dragon beans. We will eat these later with a chicken from Skinny Dip Farm and the rest throughout the week since I have to go back to work up North.

What is the farmer up to?

Haying

The hayfield is cut and bailed.

But he has to gather some left in the field for mulch.

Even though there is seed.

What are the bees up to?

Looks like they are hanging out on the porch, chatting, and showing off. But they are busy guarding the hive, checking out who enters, bringing in pollen, and keeping the temperature controlled inside.

Daily Harvest from the kitchen garden...beans

Daily Harvest from the kitchen garden...Peas

Yum!

What are the bees up to?

On one of the hives the bees are wash boarding. I am not sure if they are cleaning the outside of the hive or applying something to the surface, but apparently this is a normal bee activity.

 Wash boarding? What is it and why do they do it? I am not sure anyone agrees for sure on answers to this. On my observation, they are lining up on the outside of the hive and moving back and forth in place. Their back 4 legs create this movement. Their front 2 legs and their mouths are doing something to the surface of the outside of the hive. I was wondering if they were treating it with something that creates a scent. Some people believe they are washing the surface. Its very interesting to observe.