Fall On The Farm

Fall is a special time here on the farm. It is largely a time spent preparing for the long winter to come and while it is a lot of work, it is a beautiful time of year as the temperatures cool and the leaves begin to change.

Fall on the Farm

I am looking forward to slowing down a little after a very busy summer. Now that the pandemic is starting to normalize, things are slowly returning to pre-pandemic times. The farmer’s markets were extremely busy this year compared to last now that people are getting vaccinated and comfortable with moving about the community.

We have plenty of fruits and vegetables to get us through the winter. We have a pig at the butcher which will provide some protein for the winter and Jim will be hunting deer this fall and filling the freezer with venison.

Whitetail deer in our field

Jim’s birthday was last month and I bought him the best climbing tree stand that I could afford to use for deer hunting this year on the farm. It was the least I could do. He works so hard and deer hunting is a great outlet for him where he can be alone and recharge, not to mention help feed our family.

At this point, all of our crops have been harvested and the loft in the barn is full of hay. We have been mending some of the fences and winterizing the farm equipment. We still have apples to pick and the kids are looking forward to that and the apple pies that will not be far behind.

Speaking of the kids, they love fall on the farm. The weather is nice and cool and soon there will be piles of leaves to jump in and pumpkins to carve. I hope they can trick or treat this year for Halloween. It is the kids that I worry about most having to deal with the pandemic.

Pumpkin

That is about it for fall on the farm. I’m sure that I will be sharing my thoughts about winter on the farm soon. Winter is a long and dark season that requires a lot of strength to get through until spring, but we will make it. We always do.

A Day at New Hope Farm

Life on a farm can be pretty cool and it has always been a dream of mine, so today I want to share what a day at New Hope Farm is like.

We rise early every morning to the sound of our rooster, George crowing.

Some mornings I feel like it is the most beautiful way to start the day and other mornings I am looking up recipes for coq au vin.

I am usually the first one downstairs and put the coffee on while starting to get breakfast ready.

This is probably my favorite part of the day as I am able to enjoy my first cup of coffee alone in the early morning light reflecting on what the day ahead may bring.

Breakfast is usually a pretty big affair here on the farm.

The smell of eggs and bacon cooking is usually enough to get everybody out of bed and down to the kitchen.

Breakfast on the farm

After breakfast everyone gets washed up and ready for the day as I clean the dishes and straighten up the kitchen.

After that it is outside to work for Jim and I and the kids are always by my side.

Once the morning chores are done, we all meet back in the kitchen for lunch and a short rest before we start the afternoon chores.

Jim heads back out to work first, while I clean up and indulge in one of my new favorite pleasures, a cup of matcha green tea.

I used to drink coffee after lunch, but it always left me crashing before the afternoon work was done.

A good friend of mine was drinking matcha and I decided to try it.

Matcha

I absolutely love it!

It is grown on Japanese tea farms, but I am definitely going to look into the possibility of growing some here on the farm.

I have tried many different brands of matcha and my favorite so far is Jade Leaf Matcha.

Jade Leaf is no longer my favorite. I absolutely love Tenzo Matcha. It is much better than Jade Leaf and it is cheaper.

Here is the best Tenzo matcha review that I have found.

It gives me the energy that I need to get through the afternoon without that 3pm crash.

Once the afternoon chores are done, we all meet back in the kitchen for dinner.

I love that our kitchen table has become the hub of our home that brings us all together.

I hope that we can continue that tradition as the kids get older.

After dinner, we all retire to the living room to either watch tv or read.

Then it is bath time for the kids and off to bed.

Tomorrow we get up to do it all again!

I absolutely love life on the farm!