Harvesting a weekend full of Fall memories

Blue and I came home to a beautiful Fall Harvest weekend here in Ohio. Saturday morning we set out to soak up the World around us. The trees look as if they have been painted in a mélange of autumn colors. All of our local farm stands are adorned with corn stalks, pumpkins, and Indian corn. Huge baskets of mini pumpkins, gourds, and crisp freshly picked local apples were piled high on old farm tables, while Amish apple butter, jams, jellies and honey fill the cupboards. Fresh baked gooey cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cookies, and an assortment of decadent pies charged the air around us with their luscious sweet and spicy fragrances. We filled our basket with a colorful assortment of October flavors and drove down country roads lined with golden rod, wildflowers, corn ready to be harvested, and other golden colored crops I have yet been able to identify.

We spent the first part of the afternoon squeezing our way through the crowd to hike down to Old Man's Cave in Hocking Hills. That did not last long as we could not stand the whir of activity in a usually pristine place. Blue zipped our Santa Fe up and down the hills to a lesser known area in Hocking Hills called Rose Lake. With a basket for collecting a few things to try my hand at making potpourri, we set out down the trail to the lake. Tall Pine trees towered above us and their needles crushed beneath our feet. Never in my life have I seen so many wild mushrooms scattered across the forest floor. We must have taken 50 pictures. I found a really tall mushroom with a butter yellow colored top, but right before we were able to capture its image, it toppled over. Nearby I found some tiny baby sized pine cones, a few acorns, and some red berries that are probably poisonous, but I am hoping they will add color to my potpourri. The lake was absolutely stunning. Blue and I sat at the waters edge just soaking up the sun’s warm soothing rays.

Driving home we felt completely relaxed and at peace with the world around us. When night fell, we popped the cork on a bottle of wine that we had been saving and sat on our back patio sharing our thoughts and toasting the harvest moon. Hardly a cloud in the sky, if I could, I would have lived this night forever…

On Sunday we woke up early again at 7am both of us feeling bright-eyed, bushytailed, and ready for another adventure. We drove 20 minutes out to visit my “out-laws”. Dad, Blue and I harvested some Peruvian Purple potatoes, tomatoes, and a few green peppers. Very carefully we dug up a huge Rosemary plant and a Lavender plant that I had brought over from West Virginia this past summer when we moved. New to gardening, I was determined to find a way to keep them in the ground in our zone. At the last moment, I have kind of chickened out and they both are now sitting in planters acclimating to their new habitat before I move them home to live with me again. I think I will cry alligator tears if I lose them.

We all had lunch together, Hot buttered Rye-Bread and a Creamy Tomato Balsamic Soup that I had made and froze not to long ago. It was a perfect lunch for our quickly warming Indian summer day.

Close to Blue’s Dad’s house are 2 completely different apple Orchards. The first one we went to always has the most beautiful baskets. We bought several last year only to bring them home and discover they were infested with bugs. This year we passed up on the un-treated baskets, and filled our basket with honey bears full of amber colored wildflower honey. The second orchard is my favorite. Blue and I pulled a shiny new red wagon deep into the apple trees as giddy as children as we consulted the chart and picked a half bushel.
“Don't sit under the apple tree… with anyone else but me… anyone else but me… anyone else but me,” Blue sang making me smile so big my cheeks hurt. He makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world…

The second orchard also had a wide selection of heirloom pumpkins, some that I had never seen. I chose a huge bright reddish-orange one for the front door; till Blue pointed out that it did look like an over sized tomato. Laughing I put it down and selected a bumpy yellow-orange one instead. We filled our cart with a few acorn squash, a few pie pumpkins, and a jug of cider. Winding our way through the country roads to get home, I decided to journal and bottle up the feeling of contentment that was wrapped around me like a warm quilt on a cold winter day. If I could, I would save it for all the rainy days in the world just so I could uncork the top and sip the bursting essence, if I could, I would share it with everyone I love.