September 24, 2007

•  Fall is a beautiful time here is Central New York.  It is harvest time.  The apples are ripening and so is everything else.  The minds of all the farmers turns to filling barns and silos in preparation for the chill and privation of the winter season. 

  

  Even here on this not so farming farm we thing of the winter season and begin the fall harvest.  Our minds turn to filling the barn that is left with feed for the pigs so they will be happy in the coming cold months of winter.  Matthew has been working hard cutting and loading corn to feed the pigs with while we wait for the men to come with the picker so we can really begin the harvest.  Our pantry is full of the bounty of the garden and we have begun to plan for butchering and the apples call to us to get out the cider press and the grinder to make apple sauce and cider to store away for the coming months.

  

  Matthew and I went to the Hop Fest that is held in Oneida each September.  We learned about the growing of hops and how their production was a big business in this area for almost 80 years.

   

  We purchased two hop plants and hope to see them grow tall and enjoy their beauty and fragrance for many years to come.  I would like to endeavor to brew my own beer also.

  

   The annual chicken barbecue at the feed store was this week and it was a perfect time to renew old acquaintances and make some new friends.  We got to see Elizabeth there and had a nice visit with her.

  She really missed “her Matt”.

     The cooler weather and the changing of the leaves and even the different activities that we enjoy only at this time of year make me think of slowing down.  That is the reason for the picture of the slow-moving vehicle sign.  I really enjoy the autumn of the year.  It is a time when I deliberately make myself stop and enjoy the bounty of sights, smells, and textures that Our Good Lord has put out there for us to celebrate.  We are always aware that it is important to slow down and notice what is around us but now is the time that I take to really try.  There is a stretch of highway that I have to travel everyday when I go to get Mary-Kate from school and it is beautiful in fall with all the maple trees changing.  All my life I have loved that stretch of road.   But now it is dearer to me than ever because the trees are dying and I realize that is not going to be that way forever.  It is a gift that was given to us but it was a finite one, just like this life.  I must not waste it.  So, as I drive down the street to get Mary-Kate each day this fall I will thank God that that beauty has always been there for me.

   

   

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