Welcoming November

Enjoying Fall’s Masterpiece

We feel as though we haven’t been able to truly enjoy fall the past couple of years. This year, however, has been quiet wonderful! The gold and crimson painted trees surround us everywhere we go, and the weather is cool. We’ve had a couple of days with rain, which always makes for a cozy autumn aesthetic. One that comforts the soul ~

I’ve let the garden rest for now, because we had our first light frost midway through October. I didn’t realize it would warm back up for this long. Last year it did the same if I recall correctly; being warm (70’s!) up until New Year’s Eve, then dramatically dropped to the teens until April. Very odd!

I’ve been dabbling in the world of knitting, and finally bought a new sewing machine. I’m currently working on some knitted slipper socks, which is a very simple pattern for a newbie like me. I say I’ve improved a lot since my last attempt to knit (thankfully) lol I can crochet many things, but knitting is a whole other ball park for me.

Trying New Recipes & Methods

Here recently I’ve been delving into some kitchen shenanigans. I’ve baked granola bars and brownies from scratch for the first time, made some quick pickled items (not actually canned), trying my hand at another sourdough loaf, and have successfully made my first ferment!

The “quick fridge” pickled items were some pickle spears and pickled eggs. It’s simple enough to just throw together and throw in the fridge without having to process it like canning. Pickled eggs (this technique anyway) doesn’t last very long though, due to them not being shelf stable. The regular pickles though seem to be fine for a while.

I will be posting these recipes soon to share the deliciousness with you all! The granola bars were easy to make and is a perfect little snack to bring with you. The texture of the brownies turned out great – a good medium that wasn’t too cake-like or too fudge-y. I’ll be posting my Pumpkin Pie Bar recipe as well! I’ve been meaning to make some this season, but I’ve been enjoying trying out new recipes first.

Another thing I made for the first time is some hand apple pies! It took forever because I wasn’t use to it (and they’re mini’s instead of one normal pie), but they turned out wonderful. I used a sourdough pie crust recipe and made the stuffing like most would. Will definitely make this again – but as a regular pie lol

I finally did it peeps! My very first ferment (even if it’s something as simple as baby carrot sticks lol). I’ve never tried anything fermented, aside from sourdough goodies of course. The taste of this ferment really surprised me, and I’ve been munching on these all week. It’s almost like a pickled taste, but in its own unique way (for those of you who have never tried any either)!

It’s very simple, especially with the fermentation kit I bought off Amazon a while back. It came with glass weights, the air-lock lids, and mashing stick. I feel like it will be my go-to way of preserving now, and can’t wait to try a variety of combinations.😍 Plus, it’s good for your overall gut health and immune system.

Some Garden Treasures

I haven’t been in the garden as much as I usually am, but decided to take a stroll through it the other day. Found out that our Blue Oyster Mushroom bed had fruited and some of the radishes were ready to be pulled.

I’ll be honest, the mushroom beds have been a struggle so far due to Rove Beetles infesting anything that pops up. But I’ve managed to pick some of the oysters before they got to them – even if it meant breaking off individual pieces. I’ll be getting some DE soon and see if that helps at all. If that doesn’t work I may need to get a bit creative and make some sort of enclosed, bug proof, raised bed lol

The radishes put a smile on my face because I’ve struggled so much trying to grow these friggin things! The White Icicle and Easter Egg varieties did amazing. I noticed sowing them an inch or a little over an inch deep, they actually grew properly. So if you’re having trouble as well, you might wanna try sowing deeper too.

Little Raptors Update

Our flock of hens are still doing great! They’re getting closer to egg laying age, which we’re so ready for. Eggs from the store (along with everything else) has gotten ridiculously priced! And the quality is always poor of course. With as many eggs as we go through, we buy the box of eggs.

The ladies are 5 months old now, and their combs and wattles have become bright red. I plan on buying them some nesting boxes within the next couple of weeks. In the photos above, I made them little leaf piles and they didn’t hesitate to jump into them lol. They have been such lovely companions so far, each with their own personality.

We found out that we have an owl (we’re thinking Barred Owl) lurking around. We have woods that surround us, and we noticed one morning that there was one perched up in a tree watching us. I’ve noticed a few instances where I’ll go out to tend to the girls and they won’t come out of their coop. Like they know something’s out above them.

Luckily our flock is in a big enclosed pin that protects them from not only owls, but possums and coyotes that roam around.

Overall, it’s been a busy season so far but we’re enjoying what autumn brings. Hope everyone is doing well!

🍁 What’s your favorite activity to do during the fall season? 🍁

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