Persimmons, Wattle Fences & other Fall Happenings

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall!
We are so busy with fall doin's that we are almost as busy as if it were spring!
Wow! We have been enjoying a very warm fall which makes it nice for our cool weather plants giving them a great start! And our flowers from summer are still blooming! The Zinnas & Cosmos are still giving us beautiful, sweet bouquets for our home & to share with friends & neighbors! 
The temperatures are still low at night which gives us a good reason to start up the Kitchen Queen wood cook stove! Yay! It's so warm and cozy in our new little home! Besides cooking our food our wonderful wood stove has water pipes running through the fire box which heats our water - hot water in the faucets, yay! We've also got comfrey and other herbs hanging over the warm stove to dry. How grateful we are for our Kitchen Queen!

We harvested these cucumbers a few weeks back (see the post Summer Seeds) there are still a few to harvest!

 Another wonderful blessing of Fall is Persimmons! There are two large Persimmon trees here, how thankful we are to be able to harvest these sweet fruits. Easy pickings if you can beat the critters that love 'em too! I soon found out  our dog Fleck is also very found of them if I'm not fast enough he gets full and I go away with an empty basket! Jasmine has been making persimmon pudding that is extremely easy &  so yummy and healthy!
Persimmon Pudding
*Fresh Persimmons
*Cinnamon
*Fresh Cream
*Vanilla (make your own with the recipe from The Homestead Blessings Cookbook)
Cap persimmons & rinse, then mash them through a colander or sieve. Compost or feed seeds to the animals! Add Cinnamon to taste. In another bowl, whip the cream & add a splash of  vanilla. Serve the pudding in small bowls or ramekins & top with an equal amount of the whipped cream! This is best chilled.

  This year we are trying a different method for planting garlic.  First we filled the furrows (10" apart) with "dirt" from our worm beds & fresh compost! Then we planted the cloves 8-10" apart in the hopes of harvesting large bulbs next summer. 

 I've been trying my hand at wattle fences! It takes a lot of time but is so rewarding to be able to weave a border for our garden beds with natural materials from the homestead!
First we head down to the creek to collect willow branches. It's a beautiful, sunny, warm day, leaves are blowing & the creek is way colder now, but it's an enjoyable task! Then on to the garden to begin the wattle!

These are a few fall happenings on our little homestead! Enjoy this Thankful season!
Blessings-
Vicki for the West Ladies