Happy Halloween

Well, so the moon isn't full this Halloween -- we'll have to wait until 2020 for that -- but the traditions and history of the day are fascinating.  Trick or treating is a town event in our area so Lara and Ed and I usually make our own fun.  I'll read Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti and make traditional Indian Pudding served with a scoop of Schwan's Autumn Treat ice cream for a treat.  And after I put the kids to bed, maybe I'll go outside and wake the dead with some whirling and foot stomping of my own to Tulans Magic Drum.  Whee!  Now where's that Headless Horseman when you want to dance? 

Projects and More Projects

The Full Hunters Moon was really pretty this year.  I almost felt like howling at it.

I'm really trying to get as much as I can done before the ground freezes.  St. Luke's Summer went by too fast!  The warm weather has vanished and the wind has been howling for several days now.  No more leaves on the trees; even the tamaracks are turning brown.  I finally made it to the lumber yard and bought the wood for several of the projects I've been wanting to build like

Broom Closet

building shelves and putting up organizers in the broom closet so nothing falls on top of you when you open the door, and

New garden box

the new garden box I've been wanting.  (OK, so I still have to fill it up with dirt -- why do you think I want to get things done before the ground freezes?)

Then there is my basement pantry shelf unit.  I'm really proud of it.  Finally I'm able to put all of my canning jars up and off of the cold cement floor and there's plenty room to spare for more jars and pantry items. (I'm still looking to buy about 40 pounds of cranberries.)  It feels really good to be organized.  I have just enough wood left over to make my warping board so I can measure the yarn to string my floor loom.  Hurray!

Pantry Shelves

I have half of one log cabin quilt cut out.

But my biggest achievement this month has been overcoming my fear of and buying

my very own Savage Model 93 .22 W.M.R. rifle!  It has a cool scope and an accutrigger.  I'm taking it over to Dad's tomorrow for some pointers on using it.  Now I won't have to wait for someone else to dispatch chicken eating varmints.  Thanks to Marjorie Wildcrafter for giving me encouragement on the topic of using guns in a correspondence with her a while back.

Today I scrubbed the floors before the aide came to give Lara a bath, then finished butchering the chickens and canned the broth (I'll make a pot of gumbo tomorrow with the meat), baked pumpkins for puree to have for Thanksgiving pumpkin pies, and I cleaned and saved the pumpkin seed for next year's planting. 

With all this work it's no wonder my back hurts!

October

It's October.

Steel gray clouds cry cold tears;

to barren trees the wind laments.

Weathered stands the coop

Empty

Silent

For chickipoos are gone.

No eggs till next year.

Apple Time

Yep, it's that time of year again.  I just love apple time!  Yesterday I headed up to Bayfield for some of the good stuff.  It rained off and on, and a lot of the color on the trees had already peaked, but it was a nice drive.  There was even a rainbow in the sky at one point, but the picture I tried to take of it didn't turn out; it's kind of hard to take pictures while driving on the highway. 

The first place I went to was Erickson's. 

But nothing they had appealed to me this year so I headed on down the road to Bayfield Apple Company where I bought two bushels of apples, a bottle of hard apple cider (I've always wanted to taste hard cider), and a jug of regular apple cider for Lara and Ed.  By the way, if you have ever been to Bayfield Apple Company, you can no longer go into the old building -- the one where you used to be able to watch them make the apple butter.  You shop in the new store and they'll get the apples you want for you.  Be prepared to squeeze your wallet.

Next stop was Hauser's.  I love this place!  While I didn't buy apples today, I was able to get some pears.  Yay!  The folks here have some great views of Lake Superior and a lip smacking selection of apple wines.  This year they offered apple "seconds" and "thirds" for sale.  I think that's a great idea.

The apple dumplings I made for supper were snarfed down right quick.

And you know what I did all day today . . . .