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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A Cider Pressing Party

Last Sunday, we participated in a truly lovely fall tradition -- a cider pressing party hosted by family friends  in Willow. It was a glorious day - brilliant blue skies, sunny, and that unique autumn mix of warm and brisk. 

The party was fun, yummy, and wonderfully photogenic. It was also perfectly suited to our little Will since it featured both apples AND tractors, two of his current passions. You'll see that he's holding either one or two apples in every picture. And we left with a gallon of fresh cider which is DELICIOUS!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes. I've also included a few great recipes that feature apple cider after the photos if you feel inspired.

A basket of apples, bound for the press
Basket of apples bound for the press by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Will weighs his options
Will selecting apples to eat by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Vintage Ford tractor used to haul a wagon-load of apples up to the press
Vintage Ford tractor pulls wagon of apples up to the press by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

A picturesque wagon-load of apples calmly await their fate
A wagonload of apples from a neighbor by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Two girls filling a bucket with apples to press
Two girls filling buckets with apples from the wagon by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

The apples get a bath before pressing
Pouring apples into a bucket of water before pressing by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Will's new friend, Jasper, puts all four teeth to work
Jasper puts his four teeth to work on an apple by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Gears whirring above the mash bucket
Gears and mash bucket by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Feeding apples to the hungry American Cider Mill
American Cider Mill press and operators by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Our wonderful hostess, Oona in front of classic American apples poster
Oona, our gracious hostess by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

A line of bottles & jugs snake up to the press, waiting to be filled
Empty jugs lined up for filling in front of the press by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Cranking down the press
Cranking the press by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Will walking around a tree, holding a "bib" apple and a "lille" apple
Will with a big apple and a little apple by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Cider, fresh off the press!
Cider, fresh off the presses! by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Apple mash from the pressing headed for the compost pile
Apple mash leftover from pressing by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2010

Apple Cider Recipes
And here are a few other tasty-sounding recipes from other blogs and sites that have caught my eye.
Read more ...

Insect Magnet

I was going to post about the part of the side yard that is to the east of the back yard for Camera Critters, hosted by Misty Dawn, but when I went outside to see if there were more critters to take photos of, I saw so many on a couple plants, that I decided to do the east bed in a different post.

I think the purple flowers in the back of this bed, on either side of the sidewalk are English Asters.  The birds must have planted them in a different area of the yard a number of years ago, from seeds of a neighbor's plants.  I moved these to here around 8 years ago.

Insect Magnet

Even though I tied the stems together, the plants have flopped over.  (Added 10/9:  I forgot to mention I also cut them back a couple or three times during the season, too.)

Insect Magnet

For the past few years, the stems have been turning brown, which I'm thinking is a disease I read about awhile back.  I was planning on digging the plants up this spring, but Larry wanted me to keep them there because he likes them.  So, I dug out over half of each clump, hoping the plants would stay healthy.  This is the clump on the west side of the sidewalk.  The stems aren't as brown as in the past, but they are not very healthy looking.

Insect Magnet

Can you see monarch on the clump on the east side?  (Actually, there was another on the west clump while I was taking photos, but it didn't make the post.)

Insect Magnet

I am currently undecided about the fate of these two asters.  There were bees, flies, at least 8 skippers and a number of other insects enjoying the nectar.  Maybe it's worth the problems to be able to host so many insects, which share so nicely with each other.

Insect Magnet


Insect Magnet

I'm not sure how many kinds of skippers we have here.

Insect Magnet


Insect Magnet

I haven't seen as many painted ladies this summer, but am glad there are some here.  (Added 10/9- Randy told me this is an American Lady.  I went back and checked a couple recent posts, and saw that they were Painted Ladies, so that means we have both in our area.  Cool!  American Ladies have 2 large eye spots on the outside wings.  Painted Ladies have 4 small eye spots.)

Insect Magnet


Insect Magnet

The bees didn't seem to mind me getting close.  It looks like I left out the photo of the larger bee.

Insect Magnet

The above photos were all taken Friday.  The next couple were taken a few days ago.

I hadn't seen any rabbits for awhile, but here one has been eating kale or something in the veggie garden.  I just told Larry I want us to put the rabbit fencing that I got at garage sales this summer up before spring gets here.  I am determined to keep the rabbits out next spring.  I'll have to plant some lettuce for them across the street in hopes they don't eat the flowers as much as they did this year.

Insect Magnet

I'm still seeing the squirrels around.  This one was scolding me for being in "its yard".

Insect Magnet

The doves are continuing to spend lots of time on the wires, and I've seen a lot flocks of birds flying overhead.

Have a great weekend!
Read more ...

The Rest of the East Bed

A recent post showed the part of the east bed next to the house.  This is the area I left off with.  The fence to the right is where the back yard is.

The Rest of the East Bed

Jenny from Morning Glories in the Round Rock asked me to show a close up of the helenium.  First, I'll show a shot of a clump, then, an individual bloom.

The Rest of the East Bed


The Rest of the East Bed

Here's a broader view of the area to the north of the house, and east of the back yard.  You can also see a bit of the back yard.  The morning glories took over some of the space on the lattice that belongs to a few clematis plants.  Our deck is on the other side of the lattice.  Larry and I are determined to only let 2 or 3 vines grow next year.

The Rest of the East Bed

I was hoping to get the tub sunk into the ground to keep the bear's breetches from spreading.  I didn't realize when I planted them that they have a tendency to spread.  When I went out to see if I could dig a trench for it, parts of the tub chipped off.  I realized that the whole thing would decompose if I sunk it.   I'll have to figure something else out.  I planted this the spring of 2009.  It hasn't bloomed yet, but it is much larger than it was last summer, so I am thinking it will bloom next year.  The bare spot to the left of the tub is where a daffodil was.   Last year, I left the seed heads on the lovage, which is between the tub and the downspout.  I liked how tall they were.  I don't remember why I took them off this year.  I think they were falling down or something.  Maybe I was trying to keep a whole bunch of little lovages from coming up.

The Rest of the East Bed

There are a few blooms coming on shorter stems of the lovage.

The Rest of the East Bed

I am thinking this is pitcher sage.  I got it at a plant sale put on by our community gardens.  I hope it spreads a little next year.  It's just been blooming a few weeks.

The Rest of the East Bed

Here's one of the volunteer asters that came up in a good place.

The Rest of the East Bed

Heading north, the agastache and veronica blooms have faded.  I don't remember how many times I cut the amsonia back this season.  It seems to be shaped pretty nicely, even though it's pretty large.

The Rest of the East Bed

Here's a closer peek into the back yard.  I didn't keep up with deadheading the false sunflowers on the east side of the fence this summer, but there is still some color.

The Rest of the East Bed

Another clump of asters behind the agastache:

The Rest of the East Bed

The false baptisia behind the amsonia and chicken holds its own in that spot.

The Rest of the East Bed

I think the aster here is a volunteer, too.  The black and blue salvia has grown so big, I couldn't find the purple milkweed last I looked.  I hope it's still there.

The Rest of the East Bed

I can't remember what this annual is right now.  I'm glad to see it's blooming.

The Rest of the East Bed

The pincushion flower still has some blooms.

The Rest of the East Bed

This is the same area as 3 photos above, a higher view.  You can see the morning glory on the light Larry's dad put there when this was his place. 

The Rest of the East Bed

I like the black eyed Susan vine on the ladder.

The Rest of the East Bed

I wish I remembered what kind of goldenrod this is.  I planted it on the other side of the shed when Larry's dad lived here.  I moved a clump of it to this spot when we had the shed repaired.  It seems to like it here.  The grasses were planted to block the view of the garbage cans.  I was not a fan of grasses, but Larry wanted them, so we planted them here.  They have grown on me.

The Rest of the East Bed

I like to grow this annual helenium.  It has a long bloom time.

The Rest of the East Bed

I had a hard time staying awake when I was posting these photos.  Believe it or not, I deleted some that were similar to each other, as well as some duplicates.  Still, I'm showing some different angles of the same plants. 

The Rest of the East Bed

I need to cut down the spent stalks of the hollyhocks.

The Rest of the East Bed

The cleomes are volunteers.

The Rest of the East Bed

A 'Spooky' Dianthus is blooming again.

The Rest of the East Bed

Just on the other side of the wheelbarrow, in the lower right corner, is a plant that won't be shaded by its neighbors in the spring.

The Rest of the East Bed

I look forward to seeing the hellebores bloom.  There are others hidden by their neighbors in these beds, too. 

The Rest of the East Bed

Yes, I'm acknowledging it's fall, and a nice one so far.  I hope to spend most of the last week of this month outside, since I will be off of work then.  I am only able to be out an hour or so at a time these days.
Read more ...
 

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