We Are All Related

Greetings friends and neighbors.  

So the first big holiday weekend is over. 

And memories of past holidays comes to the front.

The Old Farmer and The Old Farmer's Wife often hosted
holiday gatherings. Guests were greeted at the side door, which
is where the driveway ran up beside the house. 

Coats were gathered, greetings, kisses and hugs exchanged.

The children want to know where all the animals are.
One aunt complains if her coat is not gathered up promptly.

Cousins are off to play games. Uncle sets up home movie lights!

We try to duck the lights and the camera.
Dinner is served, the buffet laden with ham or turkey;
and macaroni salad and green beans and relish trays.
Flower cut radishes and little gerkin pickles, olives of all colors! 

Conversation flows with the ginger ale and beer.

Mitakuye Oyasin!


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GIVING THANKS

 

The Telephone Party Line

A show of hands ... how many remember telephone party lines? 

Okay, how many have heard of a telephone party line?

The Old Farmer had an 8 household party line at the farmhouse.

If anyone in another home along the road was on the phone you could
listen in on their conversation, very impolite, and if they thought
they heard you pick up and not politely hang back up 

you would be called out on it, "hang up". 

or "is that you ......, hang up the phone or I'll tell your mother."

The phone would have a double ring or one long ring so you would

know if an incoming call was for you or someone else.
Eventually the house was updated to a two party line.
Then you knew who else was on the phone listening in! 

And of course you couldn't make a call or receive a call if the line was tied up

by another person on the party line.  

Long distance calls were very expensive and rarely occurred.
And when they did the clock was carefully watched...
Unfortunately a long distant call likely involved bad news.
If you accidentally picked up the phone when a neighbor
had a long distance call it was a matter of intense speculation
in hushed tones.

Sometimes Santa would call us on our phone. We got the old
have you been good this year, what do you want for Christmas,
if you have been bad I'll know it when I check my list and
you will get a lump of coal in your stocking! 

Then The Old Farmer's Children discovered the Beep Line. 

This would often involve young teens who discovered you could
dial your own number to get a busy signal, then you could hear
others talking between the beeps of the busy signal.
This was an early dating line, getting to know someone whose
voice you liked, getting on the beep line at the same time each day...
I don't know how many actually arranged a meet, it was a much
simpler time and certain standards were maintained,
it was innocent flirting. 

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Putting the Garden to Bed

In the fall there was a lot of leaf raking! 

Those big old maple trees had a lot of leaves. 

And the scent of burning leaves filled the air. 

 

 The Old Farmer would glean the vegetable garden (ie.clean picked). 

There might be some root vegetables to salvage. Old corn for the pigs.
Tomatoes! Yes, we love tomatoes in all their seasons, 

the green ones would be turned into green tomato mincemeat.

Then all the dead plants are plowed under for the winter to self compost.  

The flower garden was supervised by The Old Farmers Wife.
Dead foliage removed or pulled out. Mums were cut back.
Irises separated and replanted.
There would be a little burn pile at the corner of the
big garden for the plant waste, this would be added
to the soil when it was turned under. 

Soon a blanket of snow will cover it for the winter...

RECIPE 

MINCEMEAT

I will preface this by saying many people have a bad feeling for mincemeat.
They have mistaken conceptions that it contains meat! 

Some recipes have a strong flavor, this is usually cloves. 

Our recipe leaves out the cloves or only uses a touch. 

Give it a try, with raisins and citrus it smells heavenly while cooking down.

3 lbs green tomatoes, cored

3 lbs apples peeled and cored

2 oranges, with rind

cup of suet

2 lbs raisins

4 lbs brown sugar

1 cup cider vinegar

1 Tbs salt

2 tbs cinnamon

1 tbs nutmeg 

Pinch or two of ground cloves

Put first 4 ingredients through coarse food grinder or mill.
Add everything to large pot and cook on low heat,
stirring often until thickens. Can to preserve.

The Old Farmer's wife was flexible and if there was a lime
or lemon around the house she might throw that in too. 

Makes great pies or turnovers or filled cookies.
Some people will mix them into muffins. 

If anyone has a recipe of green tomato pickles...?

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The Ceremony

I was in Fredericksburg today at the farmers market. They were having the veterans day observation just two blocks up the road so I walked up. There were over 40 beautiful bikes there with their vets : ) and an equal number of elder veterans. 

It was a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze. 15 veterans marched in with flags. 

Then 4 very young (rotc) marine lads carried in two flags, flanked with guards. 

While the Stars Spagled Banner played a stronger wind came up 

and snapped the flags on the flagpole, this seemed significant that it choose

 that moment and many in the crowd looked up at it.
There followed many speeches, some long and some short. I thought the best, short and sweet, was by The Honorable Bryce Reeves, state senator, 

and a former army man and airborne ranger. 

A memorable quote, perhaps not unique to Mr. Reeves,
 but one that certainly is worth remembering is
 "those who fail to prepare for war in times of peace, 
will pay with the blood of their sons in time of war".

Veterans Day

The Old Farmer's Daughter: God Bless Us, Everyone One !

The Old Farmer's Daughter: God Bless Us, Everyone One !: God Bless the U.S.A.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFt9D6ZIjOQ&feature=youtu.be Go Full Screen to fully enjoy this video... ...

God Bless Us, Everyone One !

God Bless the U.S.A. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFt9D6ZIjOQ&feature=youtu.be
Go Full Screen to fully enjoy this video...

Changing Seasons

Leaves are falling,  geese are flying, mercury is dropping...
This means... FALL!

Now we are ready to be tucked in for the winter.

Next week, tucking in the garden!

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