September 26, 2017

Autumn Harvest

Crabapples. Not terribly pretty but they're my first ever!

Scuppernongs (green muscadines.). I haven't
gotten any of these since our 1st year here!

Field corn. I love making our own corn meal.

I'm very thankful for these once a year fruits of the earth!

Autumn Harvest © September 2017 by

16 comments:

Theresa said...

Nice haul of some interesting fruits! I envy you your crab apples. Seems the deer around here feel crabapple trees should be eaten to nubs....

Leigh said...

Theresa, yes, the crabs are a real treat! I'm sure our deer would feast on them as well but fortunately they don't seem to have discovered our crabapple tree yet!

Dani said...

We've just planted our first crab apple trees too. Nice to ssee what they bear - thanks.

Leigh said...

Dani, it's take quite a few years to get these many! For the past few years I've gotten half a dozen, tops, so this was a happy harvest. Very useful for making pectin - right?!

Goatldi said...

Nice harvest! What size of grind do you use on your cornmeal?

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi! So nice to see all the things you harvest and what you do with them! I am thankful for each thing I get to preserve! Have a great rest of week! Nancy

Leigh said...

Goatldi, I like my cornmeal fine, more like a corn flour. I actually use my Wonder Mill to grind it, although I also have a Country Living hand mill. Then I keep it on the same setting I use for wheat flour.

Nancy, I agree! Every one is a blessing.

Rain said...

I have to say Leigh, my first question was what the heck are Scuppernongs??? And the word itself made me laugh...my own ignorance lol! Grapes! What will you do with those? And your crab apples? Very nice autumn harvest, I'm jealous!!! :))

Leigh said...

Rain,they are kind of muscadine or wild grape! Muscadines are dark purple or less commonly green. These have a purple tint so I almost wonder if they are a hybrid. We have both varieties but they vine up to the top of the trees and so are hard to harvest. These happened to be low enough for me to get with a tall ladder. I find the purple ones splatted on the ground from falling from way up high. My favorite is the purple ones; they make out of this world jelly! Green ones are okay, different, but still good, and I'll take what I can get. :)

Sam I Am...... said...

Wonderful harvest! I did not know you could use field corn for corn flour...duh. I always wondered what scuppernongs were too and now I know. Back in the day people used everything and fruit and vegeatables did not look 'perfect' like they do in the store because they didn't use pesticides but they made use of them and were not so 'sick' like everyone seems to be nowadays. Great looking harvest!

Yarrow said...

That's a great harvest Leigh, it feels so good to have food fresh from nature. We're hoping to grow our own next year :D

Leigh said...

Sam, our homegrown field corn makes heavenly cornbread! The flavor is amazing. And very true about the looks of our food, also about the state of modern health! Have you ever read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver? Extremely interesting. She and her family bought a farm in Virginia and decided to go for one year eating only locally grown food. One of the things she writes about is the extreme waste of food (including organic) simply because it doesn't conform to some set industry standard, i.e. it has to be so big, weigh so much, and look a certain way. What doesn't meet that standard is thrown away. Thrown away! Unfortunately part of the overuse of pesticides especially is to try and make the produce look picture perfect. Between that and the current modern paranoia of "germs" it's no wonder so many people have sickly immune systems.

Yarrow, I so agree! It's a great feeling and everything tastes so much better!

Mrs Shoes said...

Mom used to make crabapple liquer that was started about this time of year & ready for Christmas & New Years. Yum.

Leigh said...

Mrs. Shoes - recipe! Pretty please? :)

M.K. said...

That's wonderful! I'm a wee bit jealous :) We have scuppernong grapevines but they don't bare because (we think) they aren't in enough sun. Shaded by our bit pecan trees. And what I wouldn't give for lots of corn to make meal and feed to my chickens! I'm very happy for you. Isn't autumn wonderful?

Leigh said...

M.K. I think that stretch for sun is why we don't get more muscadines. They climb way to the top of our trees! I have a plan to plant some on pergolas (one of these days).