Its that time of year, and I love it. The fall colors really haven't arrived, but the morning chills have. It was 49 last night, and time to swap out the cotton sheets on the bed for fleece. I also switched out the summer comforter for the new quilt I made to match the new curtains. The quilt is wider than the summer comforter, hence no loosing my side of the blankey ( he claims I hog them ) during the middle of a winter's sleep.
All is well. Washing everything before packing away for the winter, the domestic chores are under control.
Muscadines are ripening. This morning I found several on my old road bed. I didn't know there was a vine nearby, probably the bears have scarfed them to keep me from discovering this good piece of news. A true southern delight, I hope to harvest some more.
Speaking of bears! While checking the draw of my wood stove, I was startled by a large black glossy coated bear running away from our home. He was on the path that connects the yard to the road. No damage to the garden.
I saw a deer munching away in the closet neighbors garden, 1/4 mile away, while walking past this morning.
The stove is great. I gained 18 degrees inside the studio in less than 2 hours, and using small branches. Its going to be easy keeping it toasty, just gotta remember no longer than 15 inches for the firewood.
Not much else happening. Saturday of tying up loose ends.
Hope you enjoy yours.
Showing posts with label muscadine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label muscadine. Show all posts
Time To Winterize the Bedroom
Comments(0)
Updates On Acorns R Us
The Spiced Acorns dried in the oven are quite hard. I think they'd be less likely to break a tooth if rehydrated. Very tasty, though, so I will continue processing acorns for use in soups, stir-fry and rehydrating.
As suggested by a reader, I gathered some acorns and removed the outer shell. I then placed the meat into a mesh bag, secured the top, and have this whole thing soaking in a local creek. In a few days I'll check out how well this low impact leaching process worked.
I'm committed to the Acorn. Its abundant, healthy and versatile.
Its been raining for two days straight. Gathering some soaked acorns from the ground, I used a hammer to break them open so I could extract the meat. I also tried this on dry acorns. Bottom line, its easier to extract the meat from boiled acorns than either wet or dry raw acorns.
I guess its a matter of preference how one chooses to go about the processing. Using a 10# can over a campfire may end up being the easiest and least expensive method. My goal will be to gather as many dry acorns as possible as soon as the sun comes out to dry things off.
Then, over the course of the winter, process them as needed.
Muscadine are in season. I found these wild edibles growing along a neighbor's driveway. This wild grape like fruit is deep purple, having tiny seeds inside. They make excellent wine, jams and tart appetizers.
That is, if you can get them before the neighborhood bears do. This year seems to have produced a bumper crop of black bears as well.
The mountain garden is doing pretty good for the first year. When ever possible, I chose the heritage variety of seeds so that if a crop produces a mature seed, they can be naturally air dried and saved for next years crop.
Self reliance as a survivalist in the modern day includes the ability to harvest and gather food where ever possible. No better time to practice than in the fall when nature bestows an abundance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)