Autumn Is Here

For the past few weeks, overnight temperatures have been dipping down to and below 50 degrees and, lately, I have donned a hoodie and fuzzy socks, before heading downstairs in the mornings. It is sooooo lovely! Even with all the rain we have been having, this week, it has been so lovely. The mornings are foggy, cool, crisp, completely peaceful. Autumn is my absolute favorite season in the whole wide world. Going to enjoy every minute of it.

23 Days of Summer

Summer is still going strong here in our little corner of the world. Tender, red tomatoes and crisp cucumbers are paying no mind that today is the First of September. I myself almost forgot that we will be changing seasons again soon enough. While I love Autumn with all my heart, I am relishing the few weeks of summer that we have left.

Mid-August, we took a much-needed vacation to Topsail Island, North Carolina. There was much fun, much rest, much food, and much photo-taking. We returned home rejuvenated and ready to kick-butt on our homestead again. (Though... I do miss seeing the sun rise over the Atlantic, every morning.)

Sunrise on Topsail Island - August 2015

There is still much to do, before I will feel comfortable welcoming Autumn (and with it all things pumpkin spiced!)... Wood to be split and stacked, another bedroom floor to be refinished, a fall garden to be planted (hopefully?)... All will be completed in good time. I have 22 days of Summer left.

Cat Trap

This is George. This is what happens when one puts cucumbers in a cat trap. 

First Spaghetti Squash of 2015

Ain't she purdy?

This is Home.

A few days ago, I awoke to this scene, akin to something from a Jane Austen novel. The fog was still heavy, the crickets had retired, the morning birds were not yet stirring... Peaceful. Perfectly still. The view from my bedroom window, not unlike every other morning, the same, but with an unmistakable sense of solitude. For I could see no one, nothing beyond the front pasture, and yet everything. As far as my eyes could see, only my garden, my yard, my home. We were together alone, enveloped in a cocoon of mist, insulated from the outside world. This is home.

Today, I learned that my neighbor across the pasture has a bunch (more than a few) mature apple and pear trees, trees that bear fruit of which he has little interest, trees he said I am more than welcome to pick. I told him I would bring baskets and buckets to fill. I do not think he believed me.

P.S. My body is functioning on Mountain Time, since Mr. V had been in New Mexico, this week. As such, this post counts as being for August 1st. No shame.

Welcome to my new little blog. Here, you can to follow our homesteading adventure & daily life here in central Maryland.

Established in 2013, our little homestead has grown to include two goats (milk-goats-to-be), two cows (breeding stock for beef), two guard donkeys, three layer hens, a layer duck, and a guard goose. Presiding over the grounds are three porch cats and two house cats. Needless to say, we have no mice issues. Our vegetable garden has more than doubled in size from our first year. We have plans to better organize and enlarge it for this coming growing season.

Projects are unending. Work is never done. We are constantly building and reaching for something better. This year, I vow to take more time to soak up experiences & cherish more moments.