Quote of the Day: Seasonal Change
“The season changed, from one hour to the next. She had gone to sleep in the cool balm of an Indian summer evening, and wakened in the middle of the night to the sharp bite of autumn, her feet freezing under the single quilt.
Diana Gabaldon in The Fiery Cross
Last week I was working in the garden in flip flops and a tank top, yesterday morning we woke up to a hard freeze and temperatures in the low 20’s. On my way home Saturday it was sleeting, yesterday it snowed.
I had read this quote in the book the night before, quite fitting indeed. We debated putting an extra blanket on the bed, but didn’t. Luckily, we didn’t wake up cold, but you can be we put the blanket on last night! Now we get to work with winter preparations. Chains and plows need to go on vehicles, stock tank and chicken waterer heaters need to be checked and cleaned, coops need cleaned and piled with lots of fresh bedding, and the garden needs a protective layer of mulch.
How’s the weather in your garden? What chores are on your list to get ready for the upcoming season?
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Quote of the Day: Autumn
“At this season, change was in the air itself, the scents of ripeness and death borne on the breeze, and the breath of winter in its chill. Still, they rhythms of the turning each brought change that was expected, ordained; body and mind met it with knowledge and–on the whole–with peace.”
Diana Gabaldon in The Fiery Cross (Outlander)
I hope you are enjoying the season, whether you live in a place with fall or not. I really enjoy the beauty that comes in this season before winter. The days are colder, the leaves are falling, the garden plants have pretty much stopped growing. It’s time for rest, for gardens and gardeners alike.
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Quote of the Day: Pantry
“Winter was nearly here; the foraging was over, the garden harvested, the preserving done. The pantry shelves bulged with sacks of nuts, heaps of squash, rows of potatoes, jars of dried tomatoes, peaches, and apricot, bowls of dried mushrooms, wheels of cheese, and baskets of apples. Braids of onions and garlic and strings of dried fish hung from the ceiling; bags of flour and beans, barrels of salt cured beef and salt fish, ands tone jars of sauerkraut stood on the floor. I counted over my hoard like a squirrel reckoning nuts, and felt soothed by our abundance. No matter what else happened, we would neither starve nor go hungry.”
Diana Gabaldon in Drums of Autumn (Outlander)
I’ve been reading the ‘Outlander’ series. This weekend I happened to be reading while canning applesauce and I read this passage. I had to smile to myself, because it’s so true!
My root cellar is filled with onions and potatoes, there’s garlic in the basement, the freezer is filled with fruit, vegetables and meat, the pantry is filled with onion braids, dried apples, maple syrup, and all manner of food tucked into jars. It’s a wonderful feeling being soothed by abundance because of the hard work you put in over the summer.
Do you manage to grow enough to preserve or just enough to eat fresh in season?
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Quote of the Day: Thomas Jefferson
“I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, and that . . . as a condiment for the vegetables, which constitute my principal diet.”
-Thomas Jefferson (The Gardens of Monticello)
Is there anything more perfect than a BLT in summer? A small amount of meat and a lot of vegetables from the garden. I love to add slices of onion to my BLT, and thick slices of heirloom beefsteak tomatoes. In my mind, it’s the perfect meal for a late summer day, especially for breakfast!
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Quote of the Day: Diana Gabaldon
“There was a curious peace in this day, a sense of things working quietly in their proper courses, nothing minding the upsets and turmoils of human concerns. Perhaps it was the peace that one always finds outdoors, far enough away from buildings and clatter. Maybe it was the result of gardening, that quiet sense of pleasure in touching growing things, the satisfaction of helping them thrive.”
Diana Gabaldon from Outlander
I hope you can spend time in the garden and find a bit of this peace today!
