All else falls by the wayside when it comes time give gratitude to the Earth and to bring in the harvest; before the winter brings her icy chill and calms the land and people.
This year was spectacularly abundant in our little valley in the Endless Mountains. So, since my activity on Steemit also waned while the harvest moon waxed, I’ve decided to share the highlights of the last two months of harvest by sharing my most beautiful photos. I hope that in sharing these you might glimpse the magnificence of growing food, saving seeds, and tending the wild.
We had a wet and cool summer followed by a hot dry autumn. So the tomatoes came on late, but we were eating them until early November. We made so much tomato sauce that we could eat like Mayans (or post-colonial Italians) for the rest of the winter.
CORN
We cultivate various cultivars of ancestral corn that have been given to us in order to save their seeds for a time when the diversity of life again is valued, a time of hope beyond our own. Here are some pictures of this year’s gorgeous ears, which, by some blessing, were mostly double and triple ears, for some mysterious (to us) reason.
DUCKS
For the last 2 years we have raised 4 breeds of heritage ducks. We loved them and spoiled them. Our daughter’s first word was Duck. However, we had no one to care for them this winter, so some went to new homes and the rest went in the freezer. Their last meal was a delicious banquet of coriander, arugula, lettuce, and mustard greens. We have made Duck confit, Duck a l’orange-ginger, Duck breast prosciutto, and rendered many a quart of golden duck fat. RIP you silly quacking friends. We shall always remember and love you.
MUSHROOMS
This was our first season managing a Shiitake Mushroom yard, and I estimate we harvested around 100lbs of fresh mushrooms. Our last harvest of cold weather shroomies was in early December. Talk about season extension! Here are some of the best shots of these always beautiful babies.
APPLES
This year was a fantastic one for apples in our valley. We harvested enough apples from feral trees to press close to 200 gallons of juice, which have gone into 2 oak brandy barrels, one plastic barrel, and 6 glass carboys. Hard cider, here we come!!! We use a big wooden press that has been in our friend’s family for five generations. What a treat it has been to make the acquaintance of all these ancient trees which have always been our neighbors, and to reveal their essence.
DEER
Several members of the land trust hunt deer, and this year 3 have been taken from the forest. We hunt as an ecological responsibility to keep the forests healthy, and are so grateful to be able to eat venison from deer who roamed these hills. I will not post pictures of their dead bodies here, since I am generally weirded out by hunters who do that on social media. Plus, I don’t have any photos, unfortunately of the neck roast or bacon wrApped tenderloin. Mmmmm...nom nom!!
WHAT DELICIOUSNESS AWAITS US NOW?
Now that everything on the farm in the North is frozen, dried and fermented, my little family is off to Ecuador for the winter where we are members of Finka Aekolado - a regenerative cacao farm. I will be posting from there, where the lush tropical forests tumble into the Pacific Ocean, for the next 3 months. We have already been here 2 weeks during the holidays and the delicious tropical noms are flowing forth from me. Hasta pronto with recipes!
This is my happy little family in our grapefruit grove