More Infrastructure Work

In the past month I had a couple of dump truck loads of road base gravel brought up and spread on the road. This should make it easier to traverse during the winter months. The only way to know for sure how the road is handling the water is to get out there with a shovel while it is raining and watch where the water naturally wants to go. Once the ditches are set, the running water will take care of the rest, as long as there are no slides. The other project that got accomplished was in preparation for the new tractor barn. There was a small road put in last summer for water tanks that I wrote about earlier in the blog. The water wanted to rush down the hill and spill onto the the proposed building site. By installing an eight inch culvert across the road and doing some ditching with the tractor, the problem should be solved. But, as mentioned above, we'll see what happens when it rains! Generally speaking, the Kubota has come in handy, and as time goes on, I am becoming more familiar with the safe operation.

Oh Yeah; Harvest Time Again!

It's now been a month at least since the last entry to my blog. You know, you can either write about the apple farm or you can go work on the farm.......right? Like any other passion in life, it has to be squeezed into the limited discretionary time we have available. So, recently, I have been more inclined to be at the farm doing the projects on my list rather than sitting on my behind writing at the computer. Fair enough? But, what brings me here today is that a couple of weeks ago I picked the first batch of Gravenstein Apples and using the Excalibur Dehydrator that my daughters gave me for my birthday, I have been drying these apples with some rather amazing results. I tried them both peeled and non peeled, after the core was removed. First, I might say, these are wonderfully organically grown apples with no worms. There is an occasional bird peck, which can be easily removed. But, got to say, I like them peeled a bit better. The non peeled tastes a bit like fruit jerky, which could have some appeal in the right circumstances. But just for munching, the soft taste of the apple meat, dried @ 105 degrees for 10 to 12 hours, just is so delicious, that it is hard to believe it is actually good for you. Nothing has been added; no preservative, honey, lemon juice or cinnemon. It is a bit labor intensive to prepare the apples, but, I found the task relaxing and fulfilling. I'll keep you posted about how the other varieties fair in this process.