It’s that time of year when all the fruits are ready for picking! At least that’s how it is here in New England. It seems to be that from mid-August through the end of October there’s nothing but picking going on. We’ve got pumpkins, peaches, pears, apples, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. And I’m sure I’m leaving someone out!
It was a hot late-August morning last summer, when I woke up at 5:30 a.m. as usual to start my day with Charlotte. She was almost 8 months old and I was still waking up with her at least once a night. Sometimes we nursed, sometimes I would rock her back to sleep, and most times I would do what ever it took (even if that meant bringing her into my bed) to get her back to bed so I could get a few more precious hours of sleep before we started our day. I remember that particular morning because on that morning I decided to try sleep training.
Since being a stay at home mom I’ve discovered that the one thing I miss the most was my so-called social life at work. Granted, my colleagues and I weren’t having parties over our desks but we did experience a somewhat daily schedule of social activity. When you are working or going to school you are with the same people day in and day out for extended period of time. Ultimately, you end up building communities and relationships within those communities. I admit there were people whom I worked with that drove me absolutely crazy. Still, more often than not friendships were formed. Over time, I would learn how each colleague liked their coffee, what perfume they wore, how they communicated and so on. In a sense, work was a home away from home.
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Out of all the seasons, Fall is by far my favorite. The cooler days that allow for longer walks, lit fireplaces, along with the sights of brightly colored leaves falling from trees always lift my spirits. And I haven’t even begun to talk about the harvests of apples, pears, pumpkins, and of course cranberries. While the cranberry harvest is still a few weeks away, pears and apples are just starting to make they’re way off the trees. This past weekend my husband and I, with Caroline in tow, visited several local apple and pear orchards. I couldn’t resist the temptation to load up our car with all sorts of goodies including blueberries, blackberries, apples, pears, and cider.
John and I decided to do our first weekend project – build a clothing line. John did all of the heavy lifting – he dug the holes, put in the posts, filled the holes with cement and tied up the line! And now we can start saving money on the dryer and enjoy the smell of fresh, clean air dryer clothes.
Marty setting up an experiment using light traps.
This year the UMass Cranberry Station celebrates it’s 100 year anniversary. For those outside of the cranberry industry, this may not seem like super exciting news. But for those of us who are, the Station has been vital to our survival. I know first hand the critical role the Station has played in helping to maintain not only an industry but with my own life. Here’s my story:
The day I came home with my driver’s license, my father looked at me and said “Well done, kid” and handed over the keys to my first car; a red, 1988 Ford Festiva. As we got in the car and began driving down the driveway, myself in the driver’s seat and my father in the passenger seat, life as I knew it was about to change.
We ended up at the UMass Cranberry Station, a place I had been to a thousand times before. I had often come with my dad when he went to ask the researchers questions about a bug or some strange phenomenon he had discovered out on the bog. As a child, I had spent hours lounging in chairs in the Station library reading books, waiting for my parents to finish a meeting or whatever they were there for. Honestly, I knew the place was super important and that the people who worked there were on my parent’s “favorite” list, but other than that I never gave it all a second thought. So here I was: seventeen, a driver’s license in my wallet, my first car, and my father telling me, “now you walk in there and ask for Dr. Anne Averill and tell her you want to work for her and that you’ll do anything she wants you to do.” Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly what he said or what happened. But to my sensitive teenage memory, it was close.
I first wan to apologize to our readers for my late post. For some reason I went through today thinking it was Wednesday (of course it wasn’t and today is my day for posting)
Last night Charlotte and I had a sleepover at Auntie Abbie’s house in Boston. Even though we weren’t at home we still stuck to our bedtime routine and Charlotte got to sleep in between Abbie and I in Ab’s king size bed!!! A key element to our bedtime routine is story time. I LOVE story time and so does Charlotte. Each season (summer, fall, winter and spring) I take Charlotte to the book store to buy a few “season themed” books for under $10 (total). Spending $40 a year on books for Charlotte seems like a great way to spend $40 – the books bring us endless hours of enjoyment. On the rainy Monday night, Charlotte and I went to Barnes and Noble and she choose a few great fall reads.
Lacto-Fermented Roasted Tomato Salsa
For those who are unaware, I am into food. I adore real, wholesome, straight from the land food. Though I’m by far a chef by any means of the definition (my list of failed kitchen experiments is proof), I do enjoy cooking and learning new, especially frugal and healthy, recipes.
So when the combination of our little gardens’ harvest and the CSA pick up sat on our counter last Sunday, I knew I was in for some adventure. What in the world was I going to do with 20 lbs of tomatoes? Even after several batches of spaghetti sauce and tomato hummus were cooked up and stored away, more tomatoes were still looking for a home.
This week I’ve decided to add a recipe I modified from on of my husband’s favorite summer dessert dishes – Vanilla ice cream drizzled with warm blueberry sauce. I love to make this recipe using both blueberries and cranberries. The sauce can tend to be slightly more tart so you can always add more sugar to sweeten it.
What are some of your favorite summer treats?
Pentwater, MI is located in the south west of Michigan. It is a small, quaint town with summer and year round residences. John’s family has for 50 years vacationed in Pentwater at their summer cottage right on lake Michigan. The cottage with its 80 steps to the beach is the perfect place to relax, spend time with family and long afternoons on the beach.
