Winter Arrives at Acworth Village Gardens

A Mountaintop Experience

Since he had the day off on Monday, Joel had been wanting to hike up a nearby smallish mountain to camp on Sunday night. I had reluctantly agreed, knowing that it would be pretty cool to see the view by the sunset, full moon, and sunrise. However, he was gone all afternoon at a music practice, so we didn’t have anything packed and I wasn’t too disappointed when it started looking like he would get back too late to still go (by my estimation). I knew the sun would set at 7:15, so when Joel came rushing in at 6:35 excited to get going, I thought he was a little crazy. Especially when he went out to the barn with his dad, digging around for their little propane stove. (I found out later his dad thought it was crazy, too.) I did my best to send subtle messages that there was no way we could fit all the stuff he was wanting to take, that our tent and sleeping bags would be impossible to hike with, that if we were going to do this we at least needed to forget about the stupid propane stove and get out of here so we wouldn’t be hiking in the dark. That really wasn’t my idea of what this little outing was going to be, and a big part of why I had agreed to go was, as I said, to see the sunset from *already on top of the mountain.* Also, those of you who know me know that I really don’t do last-minute, ill-planned, rushed adventures. Joel wasn’t going to give up though. He was determined to give me a fun time no matter how much I protested.
I have to give it to him though, we made it to the top with a little bit of light and color to spare, and didn’t forget or overlook anything (except of a spare pair of socks for Joel). I even did eventually have fun.

Heading out. Like the chivalrous man he is, Joel insisted on carrying most of the load. The flash made it look darker than it really was.

I saw this with my flashlight at night. What animal would be up here that would make a poop that large? All we could think of was a bear...I was a little nervous after that. The next day, Joel suggested it was probably actually a moose. Wish he would have thought of that the night before.

The view from our campsite. It is literally the top of the mountain; you can see around all sides (except where some trees are).

The sunrise. It was worth it.

Morning coffee (I had tea). Hot drinks were worth it, too.

In the daylight we could see that the whole trail was lined with blackberries!

Yum!

APPLE CIDER! (VLOG)

Thanks, Apples. Thapples.

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You may be wondering, “What are those Eatons up to? Aren’t they doing any escapading these days?”

Well, my friend, the answer is that we have been busy! Last Friday and Saturday evening were the two nights of the play. That went until almost 11 each night, and then on Saturday night we were at the cast party until 1. On Saturday afternoon, also, we played our first paid gig. An accomplished Irish flute player we have been playing and going to sessions with had friends of the family getting married, and the three of us played for their ceremony and cocktail hour. It was a bit intimidating to have to get about 2 hours of music ready — it helped that Grant and I eached played some tunes on our own, so we both got breaks. Joel didn’t, though. It was great experience as a musician to have to practice in that way. I hope we can get some more gigs in the future.

This and next week Joel is between jobs, so he has been busy stacking wood and mowing the yard, since it has finally dried out. (I think there is about nine hours’ worth of mowing around here? Something like that. A lot.) I have been trying to keep up with the zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, and beans, and also with the blight on the tomatoes. It seems that demand is increasing for my bread, so I am excited about that. Also, I just sent an email to a couple Weston Price foundation chapter leaders around here, who will hopefully be able to connect my bread with a few more people.

Rachelle

A Veritable Schmorgasbord Orgasbord

My garden-fresh offering for tonight’s potluck–cucumbers, broccoli, young green beans, green peppers and cherry tomatoes (which look a lot better in real life) with a homemade cream cheese and sour cream dip with chives, oregano, parsley, basil, and garlic.

After that, the opening night of the play! Hope I don’t forget any of my three lines, one of which often gets accidentally skipped anyway!

And the harvest begins!

Credit for this absolutely beautiful photograph, despite its subject matter, goes to Joel.

Completely unconcerned (except for the potatoes) by the presence of late, or early, or right-on-time blight on the tomatoes, all the other plants are happily producing fruit and vegetables for us to eat.

The blueberries and raspberries were enjoyed atop locally made Maple Walnut icecream. I am sorry that those who planted and tended these bushes are not here to enjoy the berries, but we are certainly reaping the fruits of their labor. (I mean, literally. Like, even if we didn’t eat or enjoy them.)

I also made a blueberry pie, but since the blueberries for that came from a different farm, I didn’t feel it deserved a picture on the blog. (Also, I just didn’t think of taking one and I don’t feel like getting up to take one now, either.)

I had separated some yogurt into cream cheese (not curds) and whey last week in preparation, and today the lacto-fermenting began in earnest. I made a jar of dill pickle chips with some fresh dill flowers from the garden, and some beet kvass, which is a traditional eastern European/Russian drink. Right now the lactobaccilus bacteria are doing their thing and on Thursday morning both will go into the refrigerator. I have had mixed success with lacto-fermented vegetables. Dill pickles are one thing that have turned out to my liking in the past, so I have high hopes for those. As for the beet kvass, I am not entirely confident that I will like it even if it is successful, but it’s supposed to do wonders for your health. Its very pretty, anyway.

This morning I spied a good-sized zucchini in the garden, threatening to get bigger. Fortunately, I have adapted my sourdough blueberry muffin recipe to zucchini bread. Bring it on, zucchini. I’m ready for ya.

How to catch a skunk

We had been finding digging at the chicken tractors every morning for quite a while. A skunk was suspected, and we kept intending to set out a trap, but it wasn’t until last week that we finally got around to it.

We got out the Have-a-Heart trap, which captures the animal but does not kill it (I personally think one that kills it might be easier, especially with a skunk!). Joel put some tuna inside, glued down with peanut butter, which was suggested to him by the guy he works with at camp. When the animal moves the platform with the food on it, two panels of metal fall down on either end and a wire arm also falls down and holds them in place.

Then we covered the trap with an old tablecloth, to block any skunk spray from reaching the chickens or us when we approached the next morning and cut a hole for the trap handle.

Joel scattered some grass on top for good measure.

We woke up the next morning and put on our “skunk clothes” with eager anticipation to go check the trap. It was empty! BUT–the food was gone! How could this be?

We decided to try another approach. That night, Joel tied a piece of bacon to the platform, the idea being that the skunk would have to pull on it and be more likely to trip the trap mechanism.

Well, he tripped it all right. The next morning, the trap was closed but there was no skunk (0r any other animal for that matter) inside. What a mystery! We got busy with other things and the trap and tablecloth (which the skunk, or something, had pulled off and flung aside the second night) remained on the ground for a day or two.

On Friday night, we went to the potluck dinner and sat next to our neighbors, who happened to ask us why there hadn’t been any eggs to buy recently. I told them that there were some, but they were being bought very quickly. Then we told them about the skunk. Scott asked us, “How big is your trap?” Joel motioned with his hands. “You probably need a bigger one; if it’s too small it won’t close fully and the skunk can just back right out.” Mystery solved!

So Scott and his two little girls brought over their much bigger Have-a-Heart and set it up. The next morning, sure enough the skunk was there. Joel said it was a small one, but I didn’t want to risk it to try to get a picture (sorry). Joel approached the trap holding the tablecloth up in front of him, to fool the skunk. (Personally I think I big square white thing with no legs or wings coming towards me would be a little scarier than a person, but I guess that’s why I’m not a skunk.) Here he is carrying the skunk in the trap.

Gotcha!

Hints of harvest to come

red onions

beets

carrots

cherry tomatoes

cucumbers

and more cucumbers

beans

broccoli

turnips

bell peppers

red cabbages

apples

While I was taking pictures, I heard this snake behind me.

It’s some kind of conspiracy!

It’s been a busy week! We came back from a restful visit with my family (pictures on Facebook) and dove right in. By ‘right in’ I mean Joel had to go to work an hour after we got back. On Monday I spent a lot of time getting ready to launch my new business. I am selling 100% whole wheat sourdough bread and bagels from the shop. I make them the day before and let them have one rise, then shape them and put them in the refrigerator overnight, so I can bake them as soon as I get up and have fresh baked bread available in the morning. So far bagels have not taken off, but I have sold 3 loaves of bread! I have also taken some to play practice and the church coffee hour and people really like it. I don’t think there is very much potential in the way of income because of rather limited facilities and demand, but I am enjoying it for what it is. I also plan to expand my line to include frozen pizza crusts and dried pasta soon, once people are aware of the benefits of sourdough for the taste and nutrition of whole wheat products!

Here's my little display in the shop. Signs on the right explain "Why Sourdough?" and product availability.

Another fun thing that happened this week was harvesting garlic.

Pull!

This year's harvest. Apparently it's a good one, but I can't take much credit for that, since all I did was weed it a little.