Sweet September First
On the first of September, we drove out to my parent’s farm to pick some of the season’s first apples from the little orchard. It was one of the parts of the farm that we fell in love with when we first walked the property, the 10 mature apple trees that were laden with fruit. Since they purchased the farm in 2017, we’ve planted about 5 new trees and cannot wait to see them produce in the next decade. One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard when it comes to farming, homesteading, or gardening (or even home-owning for that matter!) is to not wait to plant trees and shrubs. They take so long to mature, that when 10 years have passed by you and you’re standing in your yard saying to yourself, “It would be nice to have a tree here.” you could have already planted them. A decade goes by quickly! I cannot believe we have had the farm for almost four years already.
The air suddenly turned cool over the past few days, enough so that I’ve opened our windows and welcomed in the breeze! What a wonderful change to the hot, sticky summer we’ve had. The fields have turned a delicious deep yellow with golden rod, the beginnings of corn stalks drying, wild sunflowers in every ditch, and the bumblebees gathering their final crop before they bury themselves underground for a long winter’s nap. Everyone always marks September as the beginning of autumn, and while I also like to transition my thoughts and being into the harvest season, it is still quite warm where we live. I am thankful for cool mornings and evenings returning so that we may spend more time outdoors without melting.
After four years, we still do not know the varieties of apples that grow on our trees. As they all look so similar and mature at different times depending on what gardening zone you live in, it’s almost impossible to know. I suppose that shows the importance of labeling your plants, if you so choose! This is an off year for our apple crop, with only about four of the ten trees being heavy with fruit. Next year, the more prominent varieties will be plentiful, and this year’s trees will rest. I find that so interesting about apple trees, though I suppose everyone needs a break now and again.
I have been feeling the burden of my own creativity for the past several months. As you can tell, I have barely shared any new blog posts for a long time. The summer is a busy time for our family, with the growing season, my oldest home from school, local events, and now I have added the Farm Supper Club to the mix. All of that to say, I have been feeling downtrodden by playing the comparison game, playing myself down, and thus creating nothing. I am hoping that this change of seasons will help bring my spirits up to continue writing. I feel like I lost my way for a while, my voice, and what I wanted to share in this space. There is much to reevaluate.
The roots of tradition in September are becoming deeper and more profound. This will be the fourth season we’ve pressed cider together as a family to store for winter. For the past handful of years, we’ve only made juice; cider is fermented apple juice over a period of a few days. This year, I would like to make more cider, perhaps even a hard cider, and apple cider vinegar. I also learned that you can use the apple core and peelings for making apple pectin! How wonderful would it be to make your own pectin? I am looking forward to many more food experiments.
I shared on our social media channels, but I have not yet mentioned here… Kyle, the boys, and myself are moving back to the farm! To make a long story short, we’ve decided to not invest in a food truck and rather turn the farm store into a small dining room with an open kitchen. This concept will tie into a few other fun ideas we have coming up, but my parents suggested that we sell our house and pack up the family to live on the farm so that we may operate the “restaurant” with ease. We believe multi-generational homes are really advantageous and wonderful, so we are all looking forward to sharing the farm. Perhaps one day we will even build a little farmhouse of our own on the land. For now, we are just bursting with excitement, Tad especially! He has missed waking up on the farm for a long time, as have I. I feel so disconnected to the life I built and loved so much, I know that this will bring peace and inspiration back.
September, you are magnificent.
xoxo Kayla
