Is it really here already?
This year has blown by so fast, but it seems like every year they come and go without you knowing it. This is my favorite time of year, with the colors, cooking, and smells. I just love it! Here on Cranberry Acre, we love Halloween and we decorate the front yard with many Halloween decorations.
This year Wayne and I brought down the stuff from the attic and let the kids design this years Halloween yard. I think they did a great job!
We even have Halloween in the house!
This is our freaky little friend who sits and stares at you from the corner of the living room, while you watch TV. He is one of my favorite Halloween decorations to set up. Cute but freaky!
As I have said all year, I am so behind on everything in my garden. Last week I finally made it out to dig up carrots that I had left in the ground! I have some kale, some flowers, some potatoes and some gourds left in the garden. Other than that we are done with the garden. I also started on getting the potatoes out last week.
The gourds look kinds spooky hanging on the dead vines, but close up,
They are beautiful. They are so pretty for a freebie item to grow up out of the ground!
I have 4 more rows to dig up and I will begin canning my potatoes. I love canning potatoes, it makes it sooooo much easier to make mashed potatoes when you are late for cooking dinner. If you have never done it before I will be posting directions on how to can them in the next week or two. Pretty easy, just takes a lot longer to can them.
We had or first frost this weekend and my Maple Tree hasn't even gotten all of it's leaves turned yet. I can't believe we had to actually start a fire in the wood stove this weekend. By the looks of all the signs, many apples, nut trees producing well, we are in for it when Winter comes.
I am hoping we are ready! We got our first dump truck load of wood this Friday, just in time for the freeze. Now the hard work of getting it cut and piled in the shed. Right now the pile has been a good hunting location for Mr. Bayne the Cat. He sits on the wood pile and locates what he is going to kill or he just takes a nap.
For me, since I started back to sewing and doing craft show, is the busiest time of year. I am having to try and figure out how to juggle everything and still make everything to sell at the shows. You think I would have this down, but I don't. This year I have done some new things so it adds to the pile of sewing to do for the Season, but in the end it's worth it. Fabric Pumpkins are back and smell just as yummy as ever before.
New this year for Cranberry Acre are Burlap Holiday Banners. I have done Fall ones, Halloween ones, and Thanksgiving banners. I start Christmas, yes I said Christmas, in a week. I absolutely love the Burlap Banners, so many possibilities for designs.
More bird feeders were made and then sold this weekend, which means I will be back in the garage again. So cold in there now.
While I was at one of my shows, my husband helped me put together a new towel rack. He did a great job with this one. I can't wait to let the public see our new Up cycled line of towel racks. I am trying to get one to stay in our home, I just love these things!
Freezing cold mornings here on the farm have led to some funny ideas from the animals. One of these brilliant ideas is, when your feet are cold jump on anything and if one jumps they all jump. The wheel barrel became the place to be Sunday morning. The wooden handles were not as cold as the ground, so when chocolate jumped up and found out that it was kinda warm, they all proceeded to try and jump in the same spot. This went on for at least a half an our until the sun was over the hill and started to shine on the barn, then they all ran for the barn steps to fight there.
Oh the girls. Whinny all weekend, complaining about the cold mornings. All fluffed out and just ever so grumpy about the idea of the cold, acting as if I had something to do with it.
Jojo and the babies, had the right idea by staying in the barn huddled up to stay warm. I think this year I may make some coats for them, they just don't seem to get Winter coats like the Pygmy mixes, so a nice Winter coat it is.
Mr. Luther looking ever so cute in all his fluffiness!
This weekend we made a trip out to the Blue Ridge Pumpkin LLC, in Fancy Gap. What a fun time we had with the hayride....
The corn maze.....
Oh we can't forget, the Corn Cannon!!!!!
I do believe we may have a corn cannon in the future here at Cranberry Acre.
There were also so many pumpkins to choose from, White one, Orange ones, big and small. Oh and the prettiest Blue pumpkins.
If you live close by go check it out. It was a fun afternoon.
Ms. Chocolate this morning was not amused with me at all. For the first time since we had her she wanted me to pick her up. I would pick her up and she would bury her head in my armpit. I would put her down when I would take a picture she would run after me and give me this look! Spoiled birds I tell you, spoiled birds.
As the sun started to come over the hill, the girls finally started to settle down and groom themselves for the day. Everyone in such a Tizzy about the cold.
You would think the smallest of out flock would be the ones with the worst complaint about the cold but they are not. They truly have nothing to say and have figured out the busier you are the warmer you all, so they are in constant motion until the sun hits the barn stairs. They then, lay in the sun and eat it up for as long as they can, until the goats take it over.
So yes the drama of laying eggs in front of the stairs is still going on, but I have a new member, Ms. Coal has decided to join the list of laying eggs in front of the stairs. Again Why in front of the stairs, Why?
The girls begging to come inside!
I moved the location a couple days ago of the protein bucket and now Sparkles has decided that she also has great ideas on where it should be. She keeps moving it to the back of the old Guinea house so no one else can get at it. Do not know how she gets it there, because I move it back to the salt block every morning but she does get it back there somehow.
It looks like I am at a point of writing the Blog every other week. I may try to write more during the Winter, but for now this seems to be working for me. Hope you all understand the need to do this, just so much to do!
I will leave you with one of my favorite recipes. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and a picture of an oh so happy goat!
Tis the Season for Pumpkin.
First Happy Goat!
( Oh yes, bring on the Sunshine! )
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe usually makes around 3 dozen depending on how big you like your cookies. Also the Cookie are very soft and moist.
You will need
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour ( I use Organic).
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of fresh pumpkin ( you can use canned)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add Semi Sweet Chocolate chips, as many as you want for taste. I use a whole bag!
Mix all you dry ingredients together in a bowl or mixer. You will then add all your wet ingredients to the dry. Mix it well. I then add my chocolate chips to the mixture last. Grease a cookie sheet and dump spoonfuls of cookie batter about 2 inches apart from each other on your cookie sheet,. These cookies will get big. Set your oven to 350F and bake from 15 to 20 min. If you love pumpkin you will love these cookies. I do not put these cookies on a cookie rack( it seems to dry the bottoms to much and I like the moist almost like Molasses cookie texture), so I let my cookies cool on my kitchen table. For what ever reason they stay very moist, so I kept doing it that way since I started making them. Hope you enjoy them.
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