Fall is harvest season

I was grouching about fall yesterday when I showed up for my lesson and was feeling cold, the sky was blah and grey and it got dark during our lesson. Wahhh summer is ending…

Fall bounty

I don’t hate all of fall though. A big part of our fall family tradition is helping harvest at the farm (read, picking everything at my in-laws farm).

Over the past few weekends, we have picked:

• plums- both Italian Prune Plums and Damson, and very few Shiro
• grapes
• apples
• quince- yeah only two. Quince is a hard fruit to like…
• pears
• rhubarb- still!
• blackberries
• squash. So many squash.
• kale
• broccoli
• lettuce
• basil
• hot peppers- that seem to be getting hotter every time we pick them, ouch.
• onions
• garlic
• tomatoes

Pick everything!

It’s crazy, isn’t it! I love fall harvest season. It’s a true joy to be able to pick and enjoy this much from their farm. The only thing I don’t like is the number of spiders in the trees and in the squash plants, and also I pulled down an apple and a bunch of earwigs flew out of it…onto my head. EEEEEK.

A wheelbarrow full of random squashes.

So far we have enjoyed chocolate plum cake, crumble, muffins galore, dried apple chips with cinnamon, applesauce, squash loaf with chocolate chips, rhubarb and ginger syrup, blackberry syrup and now I am contemplating making some fruit leather. Yummmy!!

So, one good use for fall- harvest ALL the things!!