This is where I go out on a limb and ponder a while.

Monday, September 12, 2011

It's About Time

Ok, I'm back.  It's time to get back in the fray.  I've been off the grid for a long time and it's been kind of nice and kind of awkward at the same time.  We spent the summer at the ranch and there is no internet access there. I can use my android phone to see what everyone else is up to on facebook, but it is extremely laborious to try to post something on facebook and virtually impossible to post on a blog, although there is an app for it, just as there seems to be an app for everything under the sun.  So I had to give up my electronic addiction for a while, and believe me, I did go through withdrawal!  But one day, my husband said  "We're going out west for a week!"  And he really meant it.  We went through South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, wandering through the mountains.  We were gone for 8 days and never had a signal on the cell phone unless we were in a hotel room.  It cured me from my addiction.  We did lots of hiking, trout fishing, sight-seeing, horseback riding, took hundreds of photos, and came back with a new attitude, which is what a vacation is for, I guess.

                                         So now we are back at the house,

dreaming of lazy summer days,

wishing we were at the ranch full time...

                                     But school has started. :(



 When we bought the ranch we didn't even know that it had an apple orchard - that was a bonus.  It has 15 apple trees and they are now in various stages of ripeness.    So I've been busy making pies and applesauce.  I guess I'll also try freezing apples for making pies this winter.  I've been giving away as many apples as I can because I don't want them to go to waste.  The deer are also enjoying them, as far as we can tell.                            


Organic apples - not a blemish or a worm on any one of them.



I LOVE making pies - for me it's a very relaxing and creative activity.



 I also have one plum tree, which yielded a most delicious batch of jam.

                     
I know many of you are also in that harvesting/processing mode as I have seen photos of the beautiful results on your blogs.  I wish I could be a gardener - I just don't have a green thumb.  So I feel fortunate that someone already planted the orchard before I got there, because one thing I CAN do is make something good to eat!