This summers Improvements

No more skating or skiing down the sloping tarmac path

Our room with no walls, well maybe a partial wall on one side.

Stone steps to the Shop.

Looking back down from the shop onto the room with one wall.

Panoramic Morning view

From the sunrise deck

Fall

SunChoke Flowers in the Morning

Some of the last flowers to bloom each season are the Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes).  It seems that to make up for their late arrival the grow extra tall.  The burst of bright sunny yellow flowers is a bit of cheer in the midst of the rust and orange tinge that all the green leaves are now taking.

SunChoke Flowers in the Morning

2016

This year's garden has multi colored corn

Collard Greens

Home

Happy Solstice, Happy Winter!

The latest improvement at the place is this barn that is going up around and over the chicken coop.

Our micro-barn/chicken coop
Still under construction but functional.
The chicken wire behind and above the picket fencing is there, but not visible.

In the past we have just been putting tarps over the pen and the coop during the winter months to keep it clear of snow and a bit warmer, but it has always been ugly, wet anyway, and awkward to work under.
With this structure we have plenty of head room to walk upright and it will keep the area dry.  The barn, as I am calling it, is made from all reclaimed materials and a few posts of downed trees from the woods here, except for the roofing material, which is corrugated fiberglass, which I purchased new.
It's is way expensive but I love the light it lets in.  We have been using it for years around here and so far it has held up well to the heavy snow loads and falling acorns and branches and the UV.
Another nice thing is that the LED rope lights that I have hung in there, solar charged, have their light dispersed and reflected by the fiberglass, so the whole place glows at night.  It helps when we go in there after dark.
We are thinking of using the glass panels from reclaimed sliding doors to close up the sides this winter.  Eventually I think drop down fabric shades will be the choice for the walls.  These can be easily raised and lowered seasonally.
I still have some finish work to do on the barn but it can do it's job as it is.  The mild season so far has allowed me to enjoyably get this job done even though I started it late.
Happy Solstice.

That's my Pie kitty!

This year is the first that we have had enough apples from our trees to really be in good stores.  I think I am on my 5th pie of the season.  One a week might be about what I am making but I could be eating more than that.  The apple trees, a granny smith and two winesaps, that are bearing right now really produced this year.  There is yet another tree to reach an age that it might bear fruit, maybe next season.

Apple pies, a constant in our kitchen this year!

When I was young and going to college I used to spend a good portion of my mornings sitting in my Grandmother's kitchen, drinking coffee and eating apple pie.  The pie was store bought, but the quality of the company made up for the quality of the pie.  Now, after she is many year's gone, the pie is compensating for my missing her company.  It's not the same as having her around, but it helps.
My pies are simple:
peel and slice up about 5 or 6 medium apples
marinate in a bowl overnight if possible w/ cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, teaspoon of vanilla extract, half tablespoon of lemon juice, and about a table spoon of brown sugar.
Non of these ingredients is absolutely necessary since fresh apples are plenty flavorful on their own.
The crust is 2 cps flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3-4 tablespoons milk or water
one stick of butter
Baking is for 10 minutes at 450, then 45 minutes at 350, and usually turning the stove off and letting the pie sit for another 10 minutes.