I Wonder As I Wander: Gathering In October

 

I said I shouldn't make a daily diary for the rest of this week and I shall not...but I am going to add in snippets here and there of thoughts, random and purposeful over the next few days if I have time and inclination to write.

I'm writing this evening because  I was gazing out the living room window thinking that this month is drawing to a fast close.   October has gone by in a blur of weariness and not quite enough sleep and too much to do while at the same time not getting very much done at all.  It's been a month in which I might have been mightily frustrated and irritable and perhaps a bit worried.  But it was not.  I was tired, yes, but I made up my mind after the debacle of the summer babysitting that I wasn't going to spend my time fretting and regretting.  I was going to do my best to embrace the season in fullness.  And I think I have...

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 I haven't been able to get out in the yard more than a time or two since September.  So this evening, I made up my mind that I was going to go out.  I knew it would be dark by 7pm but there was a half hour and here I was longing to go outdoors.  So outdoors I went.  

I cut herbs: chives, oregano, mint and the teeny basil that never did much after the late planting.  I cut coleus (4 varieties) and moss rose (also called portulaca) which was begun from a cutting and popped in a container mid-summer.  

Then I went out to the shed flower bed where the cosmos, zinnia, and marigolds had bloomed so much that it was ample compensation for the frustrating lack of flowers all summer long.  And that's where I discovered something I'd never known and which filled me with awe.  I discovered how bumble bees sleep on these cool autumn nights.  They'd tucked themselves deep and tight into the center of zinnias and cosmos and buzzed sleepily at me when I brushed the bloom where they were snuggling in.  These were not honey bees but the black and yellow fuzzy striped bees.  I was so charmed by them that I would purposely brush a flower gently just to hear them buzz.  

I spoke softly to them and assured them I had no intention of seriously disturbing them.   I was reminded though that each time I've thought I'd cut flowers I've noticed the bees and butterflies buzzing over them and I felt compelled to leave the flowers alone so they might have their fill from them.   

Tonight I cut myself a bouquet because so many of the cosmos have dried up and gone to seed already.  I missed out on the deep maroon ones entirely but there were two shades of pink ones and down towards the back of the shed was a lovely yellow marigold that looked like a sunburst.  

While I was in the yard, I listened to the donkeys on a neighbor's property braying and dogs barking, children playing in yards, and a train whistle blowing.  Not a bit of traffic, nor a loud boombox.  Just good everyday, timeless sorts of sounds, sounds that have been going on in this county for years upon  years.  How much longer have bees been tucking themselves up in flowers to sleep?  Minus the train, how long have dogs barked and donkeys brayed and children called out in play just as they did tonight?  The Indians and buffalo roamed and lived here once upon a time.  For how many hundreds of years before today?  That's the connection I needed tonight.  The reminder that everything changes, but somehow it does stay the same.  

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Sam and Bess brought apples to me at my request when they did a quick day trip to North Georgia this past week.   I was so pleased to make apple pies which we all enjoyed.  

I also made apple butter.  It turned out as velvety and lovely as any bought jar of apple butter I've bought.  The recipe was simple enough:

Apple Butter

8 large apples, pared, cored and quartered then diced or sliced

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp. orange peel

1 cup of apple cider or water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

3 tsps. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp each of allspice, nutmeg, cloves

2 tbsps. lemon juice

 I decided to use my crockpot to make the apple butter.  The original recipe calls for making apple sauce (using an additional 1/4 cup liquid).  I skipped this step and just dumped everything into the crockpot.   

I started my crock on low and when this proved to be too slow, I moved the heat up to High for four or five hours, then reduced it to Low once more and allowed all of this to cook for about 20 hours total.   

My crockpot runs a little hot in one area, so I was careful to stir frequently.  I also smashed apples as they were tender enough to break up.  

The next morning, I allowed this to cool for about an hour, then put the apple mixture into my blender and blended on low until it was smooth.  If you do this be sure to remove the center of the lid to allow steam to escape.

While the apple butter was going in the crockpot, I saved all the peels, cores, seeds, and stems and put them into my big Dutch oven, covered with water and simmered on the back of the stove for a couple of hours.  I plan to turn this into jelly in the near future when I don't have small children under foot.  In the meantime, I have this in the fridge and it is my hope to make jelly this weekend...If not, then I'll be sure to freeze my juice.

Last, I saved all the cooked pulp and put that in the freezer.  I plan to use it to make another batch of apple vinegar.   The vinegar I made last year is doing very well and I feel safe in making it once a more.

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