Holler Update

The beautiful colored leaves of autumn are gone now and the woods are now bleak with their bare trees. Heavy frosts blanket the holler pretty well every morning now as we slide deeper into the clutches of winter. As in the summer during gardening season I continue to rise early to see the sun rise by nothing else but habit probably. Sunday's sunrise above was a gorgeous one as it set the morning sky on fire with it's red, yellows and oranges.  

Many have emailed and left messages concerned by my silence and all I can say is bless your hearts! Not long after I published the post with the recipe from my ex mother in law the other day for the muffins than she passed away. Grandmother to 4 of my 5 children she was truly a remarkable woman in her eighties, surviving two bouts with cancer and inspiring generations with her devotion to her God, family and her husband of 60 years. My oldest daughter "Fred" took her grandmothers death extremely hard. I babysat her young children while she prepared for a drive across country with the two boys to go and pay her respects to her grandmother one final time. 

Once back from the funeral we then picked up my oldest son from the airport who stayed 5 days and visited, hunted a little and enjoyed his time on the farm. He managed to get back on the plane with an ice chest full of venison and duck meat frozen and will enjoy the fruits of his visit for many months to come. While he was here we celebrated our Thanksgiving early with a huge family dinner. So there was lots of baking and cooking going on too. 

We enjoyed ham, au gratin potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade rolls and chocolate pecan, chocolate cream, lemon cream, pumpkin and apple pies. 

Last week was also a very difficult week for me because I celebrated a milestone. Last week was 5 years ago that I was in remission for my cancer. I so remember the doctor sitting there telling me that after 5 years they considered me cured. I can't help but remember all the wonderful people that I met along the way in the hospitals and doctors offices that did not win their own battles. Those that did not last that 5 years. I guess I have a touch of survivors guilt but I will not dwell on it too long. I will simply be thankful and move on. 

Deer season is also open and we are processing venison right now. 

In going through my storage onions I found some with soft spots and had to go through the entire lot and pick out any with bad spots. I simply chopped them up and threw them in the dehydrator. We continue to eat storage apples in pies and muffins and last night had baked sweet potatoes from not this year but the year before. Simply wrapped in newspapers and stored in a cardboard box on the floor of my cool pantry under the shelves in the dark they have lasted an entire year. With a crop failure this year I am thankful that I kept that many in storage and canned as many as I did. 

Trapping season is also open right now and O Wise One is running his trap lines as usual. A few years ago he was the only one around that trapped. This year when he went to purchase his licence the lady told him she had sold more trapping licences this year than she ever had.  I guess in a bad economy people are making money where they can. It remains to be seen how that will affect the prices of the pelts.  

So you see life has been very busy here and I am exhausted. Now that we have had our big family meal we look forward to a quiet Thanksgiving Day with just Baby O, O Wise One and I.  

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter