An Abundant Harvest

 Several years ago, we planted 2 young apple trees. Over the years, we've gotten some apples. At some point, Mike decided to prune the trees for the very first time.  (We can't agree when it was, but it was before summer. :-) I wish I had a picture, because the pile of branches that he removed from the trees was a bit shocking. Apparently a harsh pruning was just what the trees needed, because we had a record harvest this year! 

 Many of the branches were sagging under the weight of the apples. We had virtually no worms in the apples.  We're not exactly sure why that is because we've never sprayed our trees.  Most of the rejects were ones that a bird or a gopher had "snacked" on. We picked conservatively--rejecting apples with any significant flaws (I like to leave those for the critters to enjoy)... And we still picked nearly 180 pounds of apples! 

We were overwhelmed!

We gave away many of them, and then kept a few for eating,

and saucing.

Yum!

A couple guys down the street got word that we were making applesauce...

And so they showed up on our doorstep to devour some . . . peels.

Ha!  Who knew that apple peels were a delicacy?  :-)

I would say I still have about 25 pounds or so remaining for apple dumplings...and apple crisp...and apple muffins...and apple bars...and maybe some apple oatmeal... 

Any other ideas?

Movin' on Up!

 The other day, we went for a ride in our van... Somebody didn't know where we were going. And when we arrived at our destination... somebody was very contentedly reading a book in the back seat and was completely oblivious to where we were. This greatly pleased her daddy who loves surprises. We picked up a little something for our little somebody that made her very... VERY... happy. 

Can you tell? She had outgrown her first bike, and was sorta hoping maybe we'd get her a new bike for her birthday. But her birthday is in October... So, we thought we'd make her wish come true while she still had some good riding weather. (And when she wasn't expecting it.)  

 

Welcome to the family "Eva". 

A neglected blog. A new season...

 Wow.  It's been awhile, hasn't it? We're still here. I thought I'd blog a lot over the summer because I'd have more free time and more fun stuff to talk about. But I had no desire to sit in front of the computer for most of the summer. Maybe in the next few weeks I'll post a little about some of the indoor and outdoor projects that we did... But for now, I'm gonna dedicate this post to a new season.  I love seasons...don't you? I love the change of seasons.  I especially love fall. I love the colors, and the crisp air.  I love warm sweatshirts and hot drinks and "study dates" in coffee shops. Seems like I was just posting the first signs of spring on the blog... Today is a classic fall day--breezy and overcast...and absolutely beautiful. So, I thought I'd share some first signs of fall:  ~ Pampas grass blowing in the breeze ~

~ Remnants of an abundant harvest ~

 ~ The garden's final blooms ~

~ Leaves kissed with color ~

 

Mmm...  Welcome to fall.  I love it! I hope you're getting out there and drinking it up.  If not, find a little time to immerse yourself in the season and delight in the One who created it for us to enjoy. I love the change of seasons, in nature and in life. God has opened some new doors for our family this fall as well.  It's always so encouraging to see how He uses us from season to season. Maybe you'll hear more about that in the weeks to come, too. But I better save something for later. So, check back soon!  This blog is officially active again.  :-)