Season of NE : : September week 3

{ Daily pictures, outside. 

Not only to help encourage my camera use, but also to document our beautifully, diverse seasons here in New England.  These pictures will come in a wide variety of aspects, with the only stipulation of shooting outdoors, posted weekly. }

9/17:  The light of day is soon to be the same length as the darkness at night.  The Autumn Equinox is soon to arise, and i'll sit on my porch and watch it come.

9/18:  We needed this rain.  Our land......him and I.  We needed a night off.

9/19:  A hard frost is due to hit tomorrow night.  I'll pull them, wash them, dry them and store them for the season ahead.

9/20:  The air is cold and pure before the sun rises over the crest to the east of our home.  The ground is wet with the first rich, hard frost.  This morning is refreshing.  This day will be good.

9/21:  Oh this color, this awesome autumn day.

9/22:  I arrived early, before the rush and alone with my thoughts and thankfulness.  I needed that peace, that break from society.  I needed those apples.

9/23:  Hub's cut, split and "stacked" this pile.  Getting joy out of the same things in life.....Fitting into a groove and rhythm so perfectly.  To the moon and back, my love.

The Seasons of NE : : September Week Two

The Seasons of New England.

September Week Two.

(If you missed the beginning, start here.)

A brief narrative about the season, following each photo below, posted weekly.

9/12:  We pick until our hands turned purple.  She laid the baby on a blanket in the grass, the complete essence of summer and babyhood filled my heart.

9/13:  We had dinner together as the sun set on our growing homestead.

9/14:  After a chaotic day, this home, this sunset, is surely my retreat from it all.

9/15:  Hubs picked our pumpkins, green and orange alike.  Now our porch is decorated for the season ahead.

9/16:  A photo shoot brought me to the lake.  This beauty floated by.  Pure bliss.

Loving September

Right Now i am:

: :  Taking in the refreshing sent in the air, remembering to breathe deeply.

: :  Enjoying the last of the summer garden veggies and starting to munch on the new carrots.  My very favorite.

: :  Trying to remember that everything happens just as it should, when it is supposed to.  There is no rushing this journey.

: :  Pulling out all of my basil to eventually make into pesto.  The  problem?  I left it just like that for two days, as it wilted and died.  I was a bit disappointed, but there is always next year.

: :  Loving my new Mac :)

: :  Watching our corn go by while the pumpkins grow and turn.

: :  Getting excited to retreat back inside with flannel shirts on while home grown pork chops bake in the cook stove.

: :  Feeling so, so grateful for this wonderful animal.  232 pounds of pork for the next year.  Pork that lived a happy, healthy life.

: :  Feeling happy and at peace with this farming journey.  The circle of life continues, our food is rich, pure and nourishing.  Hubs is thrilled.

: :  Watching the leaves fall and make a soft blanket upon our lawn.

: :  Getting excited to spend a night in Vermont with my dear friend.  While also enjoying the mountainous landscape.

The summer season is in our memories, Autumn is truly here.

The Seasons of New England :: September Week One

And so it begins.  Autumn is peaking out, all around us.  The air is crisp and apples are picked.

In an effort to take photographs daily, i decided to begin a new routine for myself.  Daily pictures, outside. 

Not only to help encourage my camera use, but also to document our beautifully, diverse seasons here in New England.  

These pictures will come in a wide variety of aspects, with the only stipulation of shooting outdoors.

I will be posting them weekly, instead of daily, as to not clog up my blog.  A brief narritive of the day will follow under each photo.

So far, this has made me get outside, after work (or before), relax and absorb our beautiful landscape. 

Begining on September 5th, 2012 : :  Enjoy.

9/5:  The sun has begun its decent far earlier than the weeks before.  Summer is about to close out to the rich colors of Autumn.   Yet this light, its beautiful.

9/6:  This morning was damp and Rainy.  A fine day to stay at home and work on my quilt. 

9/7:  The tires finally came.  Hubs is one happy camper.

9/8:  We traveled accross state lines with a red wagon that has rust and loose side boards.  Yet it carried my brothers and i, up and down that dirt road.  And so it stays, and gets refurbished and ready for our future.

9/9:  These seeds i put in the ground much too late to have the possiblity of blooming.  They bloomed, three days before the first frost.  Bliss.

9/10:  My compainon on these quiet weekday nights.

Potential

(Photo by my brother)

Potential.

Its something i have been thinking a lot about lately.  All i could do, all i could become.

So many roads to choose.  So many places to reach outside out my comfort zone.

It's big.  It's really big to take that leap and show who you are.  To take that step into the unknown, and express your true being.

I have always been one to enjoy my alone time.  When i was young, i would decide to spend days at home with my parents and brothers over those at friends houses.  I was in my comfort zone and safe.  I chose to home-shcool along side my brothers for a few years, when the pressure and intensity of middle school was too much. 

I have always found my own way, my own path.  I went through a few years where i was uneasy.  Where i was not my true self.  A few years when i was trying to fit in to whatever college told me to be.

Since being with my husband, i have begun to break off my shell, piece by piece.  Exploring into the world of homemaking and comfort.  Finding happiness in writing in photography.

This blog, this space, was the beginning for me.  The beginning of my journey as a wife, a woman and a place for my creative energy to flow freely.

My next step?  It terrifies me.  To push my comfort zone even further.

But i know the next step will be just the beginning, so i have to take the leap.

I want to write all of the time.  I love to write and document our life.

I want my photos and words to reach out beyond this.  I need to introduce my blog to the world beyond my immediate family.

This is sure to be an opening door for me.  If i don't try, I'll never know. 

The most beautiful things happen when you push your boundaries,

when you step out of your comfort zone....

and show the world all of who you truly are.

So this week, i will send in my writing and photographs.  I will put on the postage with strong, confident hands, and a positive heart. 

Yes, this is just he beginning, for that i am certain.

:: August Full ::

I still can't believe labor day is this weekend.  Our summer flew by, and it was full of so, so much goodness.  Our weekends have been full harvesting, my nights - preserving.

This is after not picking tomatoes for about 4 days.  One nights harvest with green peppers!

(bad iphone pic)

I ended up running out of time to can them up before this weekend, so i skinned them and threw them in the freezer until i have time.

Last Sunday, hubs picked enough corn to just about fill the wagon.  He picked & shucked, and i blanched and bagged!

I ended up freezing 20 bags of corn for the winter!!

And this weekend we are getting ready for my dad's 60th birthday / retirement party at our house! 

It will be so much fun to have a big Gray family party, and see everyone :)

I actually read this book at the end of July, in four days!  It was so, so good.  I highly suggest it. 

And if you don't already read her blog, i suggest you do!  www.kellehampton.com!!

I took a trip up to Center Harbour last weekend, and stopped by the farm to grab some fresh Apple Cider Donuts!  I think they are my favorite food.  Good thing they are only out in the Fall!

I have canned two batches of Nana's Dilly Beans.  She handed me down her original recipe card.

It means so much to me.

I love it.

More lovely corn!

The moon one night, gorgeous.

Mid August Canning inventory.

August has been full to the brim, and i have loved my time at home.

Have a great labor-day weekend!!!

Garden Plans

2012 marked our first year growing our own vegetables.  Last year we longed to have a garden, yet our property was still under construction with a big topsoil pile resting where our garden would be.  We had sand for a lawn, hence, no garden.

This year, with grass so green, it called my name at all hours to go spread out the blanket and read a good book.  So we dug in.

We stared with just he Garden Patch.  We managed to squeeze in three types of tomatoes, broccoli, summer squash, zucchini, pickling cuc's and straight eights, radishes, carrots, peppers, green/yellow beans, lettuce and mescalin.  It all looked so organized and put together in June.  Holy jungle right now.  All of the mound plants are creeping on each other, we can barley get to our plants to pick the veggies.

The blueberry bushes and strawberries came the week after the garden went in.  We put the strawberries in old whiskey barrels, which looked cool, but did not function properly for the strawberries growth.  Having my architecture background, i wanted a bush and a plant to follow each other around the garden to look symmetrical.  Fast forward one month later, the robins are enjoying their breakfast on all, yes all, of my blueberry bushes.  Total Fail.

Then two weeks after the garden patch went in, Jason decided that he really wanted corn, so we started that this year as well.  That lead to trips to Agway, and discount pumpkin plants we just couldn't let go to waste, and so we had some pumpkins lining the corn.

Here is what we are thinking for next year.  This plan includes spreading out the garden, to have all of the mound plants separate with ample room to roam and grow.  We already moved all of the strawberry plants out of the barrels and placed them in a nice long row for next season's harvest.  I think our plan below will provide much more room and better production for our gardens. 

Oh how i love to plan and dream.