Apple season!

So, it's officially apple season here, in New York.  The weather is in full herky jerky mode.  A few days ago it was in the low 60s, yesterday it was in the upper 80s.  We had a week and a half where we had to water the garden, daily.  It's been raining now, off and on, for three days.  We love it all and secretly pray the fall on, but don't want to openly wish time to speed on.  Sarah and I are truly Fall's children.  Sarah loves to play on her sailboat, like an autumn leaf being blown by the Northern winds out and skirting across the water.  I rummage through my hats for for a little more warmth, and pull my flannels out of the back of the closet.

At Pat's I picked apples as people have for ages and used a bag that was probably made around the time the first apple was picked.

Here's a secret picture I took of Pat (she hates it when I pull the camera out and usually goes diving out of view) with all her creatures, great and small.

Erik and I met for a brew at the Crooked Rooster and then went up to Seneca Gun Sports to look at .22s.  Fall means small game season!  Rabbit stew and maybe some duck and turkey, too!

Our friends at Hopshire Farm celebrated their new New York licensure that allows them to sell beer by the pint!  The held a party and served beer in Ball pint jars and pulled pork sandwiches.  

I continue to split and stack wood for the winter.  Always trying to be more like the ant than the grasshopper!

This is the A-frame that I built for our cucumbers and squash plants.  The cucumbers love it, but the squash is rejecting it.

Our hop vines did pretty well for their first season.  They will get bigger and stronger every year.

I like my new knife and wanted to carry it.  There is no leather shop around here so I made a temporary sheath out of the box the blade blank came in.  

I'm gonna make some brandy, so I picked some apples...

And some more...

and some more...

and, finally, some more.

Sarah did some weed whacking under the apple tree.

Found this cool little arboreal trilobite in the tree.

I made this out of a pallet (part of a pallet to be accurate)

I made these with the help of master canner Sarah Bassman.  Thanks Babe-O!

We both agree that our home is looking pretty great.

My new role in the district

Talking too much.

Click on the picture or here to read the article.

Chenango Blues Fest 2013

Last weekend we headed out to Norwich, NY (pronounced Norich, and filled with zombies and invalids) for the 753rd Chenango Blues Fest.  We met our good friend Emily (also known as Shmem) Jones and her sister and brother in law.  Dinosaur BBQ was set up there and beers were in cold cans for $3, so everything else was a bonus.  Sarah was super excited to see a woman called Valerie June, but we hadn't heard of anyone else.

Ms. June was of a foul disposition, but did her best to persevere, and did play a good set.  She played a couple guitars, a banjo, and probably something else, and sang with a haunting voice.

As soon as I saw the line up, I was super stoked to see a guy called Ben Prestage.  Like everything important (books, wine, whiskey, trucks, horses, axes, hats, guns), I judged him by appearance, and again was proved right in my approach.  Anybody who wears a beard and mustaches under such a hat MUST rock.  And rock he did.

Dude makes a helluva racket!

Check out that cigar box guitar!

We had a great time!  Hope to see both artists again and go to the Blues Fest again, too!

Just a couple shots of things we've been up to!

We've had some good fun and have some cool stuff to show for it.

After the township came and topped the already ugly pine trees in the front yard, we figured it was time to do somethin' else.  I took the trees down for firewood and then we went to the nursery and talked to a really knowledgable guy about ALL the trees that we could possibly plant in their place.  We both loved this little paper bark maple, so it has a new home.

Sarah picked some HUGE and tasty carrots for a chutney she made,

I finished the handle on my new knife and am super pleased.

I taught myself to split big difficult logs with lots of little wooden wedges.

This is what passes for our pantry.  What it lacks in cellarness, it makes up for in quantity and quality.  That's 100 proof goods all the way down!

This afternoon I made a super rustic rack for our outdoor fireplace wood to get it out from under the shed to make room for the the incoming winter heating wood.

And also today, I scored a couple big drum brakes.  You're looking at the future centerpiece of my blacksmith shoppe!

So who has time for work?  Tomorrow Sarah starts her intermediate level sailing course, so think windy thoughts.

Cheers!

Belgium Comes to Cooperstown

After we got back from the beach, I left for the weekend on a humanitarian mission in Cooperstown.  Though my time is valuable and I my work can demand high wages, for weekend of August 3, altruism was the name of the game and I volunteered my time to support this important cause; bringing high end Belgian beer to the thirsty folk ensconced on the lawn of Brewery Ommegang.

I brought a toolbox filled with vegetables and tubers from the garden.  There was no real plan, but I figured this selection might spice up some other meal we would score.

We rolled in on Friday afternoon and set up camp at the top of the property, overlooking the brewery and the soon to be filled tents and awnings.

My compatriots, Erik (left making a stupid face) and Sam (right, that's just how his face looks) in front of the Chateau Bassington as set up and organized by your's truly. 

The Brewery itself looks very old and traditional in the form of Belgium, but is actually only about a decade old.

There were tents at this event that the Chateau could have been pitched inside of!

Our volunteer duty was the Friday evening VIP dinner.  It was a fiasco, but we managed to survive and have a relatively good time despite it being our first experience (hopefully the last) in the service industry.

Sam managed to weasel his way out and basically sat in a golf cart the rest of the night.  It was hard work, too, he insists.

The line up for the first course!  There were five courses and 7 beers!  I made sure that my fellow servers remained hydrated and that the diners were getting only the best beers.  No stale or flat beers went out from MY station...

The next morning I awoke to a quiet, if slightly disheveled campground and grilled the veggies that I'd brought with some spices and olive oil and served it up to the boys.

Erik and I toured the grounds and the brewery (it had lots of big metal containers and tubes)

Sam had rolled out of the tent (literally... we were on a pretty steep hill *note for next year) by the time we got back, so we played a rousing game of bocce.

Saturday afternoon the brewery opened to the general public, and oh how they swarmed in.  Two huge tents were filled with dozens of brewers, all showcasing their Belgian style creations in addition to some other exciting brews.  

I scored a ticket to attend the Hop Chef competition where 5 gourmet chefs prepared their meals with and then paired their meals with Ommegang beer.  Above is a rather unappetizing looking, but incredible tasting foie gras on thinly sliced toasted baguette with Ommegang Rare Vos glaze and roasted pistachios.  It was nice to have a little something to eat to keep me going. 

The Aftermath

Subtitled: Why I hate festivals and people

Sunday morning I made one last pot of coffee, broke camp, fluffed the grass, and left at least 100 sq.ft in pristine condition.  It was a little rough at times, but if you are looking for a way to ease into volunteerism and the altruistic lifestyle, I can recommend BCTC to get your wings.

A Little Backpacking Trip

So, sometime between when Ian and Elefteria visited us and when we went to the beach, I took a hike with a buddy of mine and my dog.  We'd planned to go for four days, but as often happens, time got compressed and we went for three.  Unfortunately (or not) we missed a turn that led to a lean-to that we'd planned to use for our second night and we hiked ourselves right out to the car; which resulted in a 13 mile hike on the hottest day of the summer (98 deg)!  Sweaty and tired, we decided to stop at the homestead, clean up, grab a six pack and head to another campsite to hang out for the last evening.

This is the first campsite we stayed at.  It's near a lean-to and overlooks a deep gorge with a beautiful cascading river.  There was enough dead and down wood that we could keep a nice fire going all evening and again in the morning to cook on.

Jonas enjoys a rest at the end of hot up hill hike.

This is the line I hung up to dry our clothes after we washed them in the river.

Rustic clothespins

Vinnie spent an hour (easily) hunting fish in the river with various sizes of rocks.  As I made the fire and started cooking dinner and set up the camp, every few minutes I'd hear a huge splash and crash as he threw huge rocks into the water in attempt to crush us some protein.  He was so proud when he came up with these two fish.  (Think anchovy for size, here) 

Yet another picture of my favorite hiking partner and camp helper extraordinaire. 

The second day I got up, built a fire and made some coffee and oatmeal.  Here you see my favorite tool and the wooden spoon that I carved while sitting at the fire the night before.

Jonas carried his own food and water.

Vinnie, at least, carried his own water.  Note Jonas finding the nearest available shade.  Luckiest Australian Cattle Dog ever.  What would he have done if he'd been born on a ranch in the Australian Outback?!

Toad at the camp on the second night.

The first night's fire pit had apparently been too small to really attract Vinnie's attention.

This fire pit was more to his liking.

He spent A LOT of time tending the fire.

A LOT

He also spent a lot of time trying to crush dinner again.

Fortunately I brought some stuff with us.  Dried rice and beans with local, fresh salami, green pepper and onion from our garden..

And a couple cool Phin and Matts pulled from the river.

For dessert we had backpacker's s'mores: roasted marshmallow on cool mint cliffbar!

This is the awesome campsite in Shindagin at which I've always wanted to stay. It was also the last trip for the megamid.  I unceremoniously traded it in to The Old Goat when we got back to town.  I'm too old to deal with a floorless tent, I guess.  Plus, the number of people willing to go camping with me has been seriously reduced by this thing.  Ask Ian about it if you want to hear a real horror story.  (Still feel bad about that blood letting, buddy)

The Osprey rides again

Vinnie took this picture of Jonas and I on the trail... it was a great little trip!