Season's Harvest (Of Teacups and Wine)

We have had an amazing harvest this past season...in all ways. I thought I would share some pictures of just what we have been busy doing since September.
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This is our soap display at the Waterloo Farm Museum's Pioneer Days in early October. It was a hot day but the fiddles, horses, and Civil War encampments and bonfires certainly made the day. I think the picture is amazing in that it looks as though we have truly 'stepped back in time'.

It is always difficult removing ourselves from that century to return home to this century. Amanda, Albert and I took turns cooking the food on the old wood cookstove in the house, selling soaps and blacksmithing (Albert, of course) (:
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A bowl of freshly gathered chestnuts...so good heated up and held in your cold hands before peeling and eating the decadent little feast inside. Our son, especially, likes these for a mid-afternoon snack...little squirrel that he is.

Peaches, ready to be canned in heavy syrup (I like the heavy syrup best, even though the fruit sometimes floats...it just 'tastes' better in the heart of winter.)

This is a picture of a happy, homeschooled, confident little girl, who loves to help load and unload pumpkins.

Cinderella pumpkins, kittens and grapes for turning into our first wine ever! (Rosehips in a bunch too, for decorating and putting into medicinal teas). Aren't the colors that God has given us just amazing?!? Makes me want to grab a paintbrush and create...but how to capture such color, such beauty?

Abbey, the cat, peering around the grapes and playing with the rosehips.

This is 'Dot' our cat who has two different colored eyes. If you look closely you will see...one orange-ish brown...one green! (: Neat.

I love to 'stack' these Cinderella pumpkins (otherwise known as the heirloom pumpkin Rouge V'ifD'Etamp) in stacks of two and three. They are so bright and robust. Very evocative of the bountiful harvest of autumn and very romantic and fairytale-ish, don't you think?

And, the official 'stomping' of the grapes (don't worry, her little feet were clean (: )... so fun. The grapes are from an ancient concord grapevine that runs the length of our garden. It has been here for what seems forever. The wine is bubbling and fermenting in the cellar, and will be ready to rack and bottle in time for Christmas~

In late September, the children and I set up a candle display to sell candles at the Historic Webster Fall Festival, in Webster Township, Dexter. The day was a blustery chilly one, so we were thankful for our warm cozy corner next to the old piano.

We sold soy tin can candles filled with the cozy home scents of Apple Butter and Buttery Corn Bread...

And, candles in all shapes and sizes made with the sweet honey smelling beeswax from our bees. Rows of gleaming homemade jams and jellies sold well on that cold day.

This is a somewhat grainy/blurred picture of my soap booth at Art on the Farm, a wonderful art show at the farm next to ours, filled with highly talented artists of all walks. It was humbling to sell my soaps alongside such talented individuals. The day was so busy that it was difficult to take a drink of water or even re-arrange things into spots that had sold out. Thanks to our neighbor who hosts and organizes the show. She promotes it wonderfully.

After the show, we hurried home to go trick-or-treating. (:

And this? This is our source of many many good tea parties...tea times and where I go to 'select' a teacup or two when a good friend shows up at the door. Does this lend itself to 'She Who Dies With the Most China Wins???" ...I thought so too. (: (I love English tea china...really, you ask?) haha. Which cup/teapot would you choose?

And now, I shall grab a mug from the china collection, have some more coffee, and return to my labors of love for the upcoming season. May the dark weeks ahead fill you with a time for contemplation, creative introspection and warmth and love among your family and friends.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT DIRT?

Dirt! I'm not talking about the bad kind...but the GOOD kind...the dirt that we run our fingers through when the ground warms up and smells good in the spring. The dirt that children play in and make mud pies from.

Today I was reminded of the accolades of dirt. I attended my first Ann Arbor Women's Farm & Garden Green's Show at the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/.

This conservatory is an architectural masterpiece, a cultural gem and a literal breath of fresh air. The Koi goldfish swim in beautifully maintained pools surrounded by lush jade green plants, the air is thick with the perfume of flowers and warm humid leaves, microcosms and soil. It is simply a must-visit place if you are ever in Ann Arbor, any time of the year. http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/images/viewer.asp?gallery=Conservatory&photo=DSCN1009.JPG

I was very happy to be a part of the Green's Show and was afforded the luxury of selling The Happy Peasant Soaps in such a beautiful spot. What a wonderful place to work. The staff were all so friendly and, no pun...but...down to earth! I was reminded of why I like gardening and gardeners and anyone who loves to sit and talk ad infinitum about plants, leaves, scented geraniums, soil pH and the latest heirloom discovery or strange new plant added to their collection.

I think the world would be a better place, simply stated, if people spent more time with plants and gardening. I really do.