Before we move on to Christmas and all of the red and green I wanted to review my month of orange: Orange pumpkins, orange persimmons, orange kittens, big bros and Mama cats, Orange apricots from the freezer, orange linens. Fall has been gorgeous here in Southern California. I still have shorts on today. Honestly I'll have to put on a sweater this evening but I can't remember when the last time I still had tomatoes on the vine and sleeveless shirts on my body on November 29. Certainly not in Denver. BRR
The fall sunsets set the color palette:
Even in California we get beautiful sunsets
Lots of purples, a little yellow but mostly orange.
Let me tell you about my orange:
Most of my extra energy was spent discovering and caring for a litter of kittens that was birthed in the back yard of an unoccupied home. The Mama brought them over the fence to hide them in my orchard. The Mama is not new to my orchard. She naps there often and feels pretty safe. My dog, Charlotte, has an ongoing conversation with Mama "Ollie" about her hanging around so much. So I knew that Ollie had brought her kittens to the orchard and where they were hidden. Ollie is feral but trusts me a bit. She trusted me enough to transplant her babes from the soggy place in an old trunk to the breezeway of the workshop:
Persimmons are orange too. I love Fuju persimmons. Raw they are kind of like an apple...crisp and slightly sweet with lots of fiber. But they are pricy at about $3 each so a delicacy. One of my neighbors has a tree and we will swap our harvests. OMG he brought over nearly 50 pieces of fruit.
So knowing I had a lot of apricots in the freezer from my own bounty in June I decided to make jam
Butternut squash is orange as well. The persimmon and apricot jam came out delicious...and not too sweet. I used not only lemon juice but also lime which I will repeat very low sugar and a vanilla bean.
I could add some purple but I think this is enough of my sunset colors for my Autumn on the farm. I am grateful tfor my lifestyle with fresh homegrown food to prepare into fabulous healthy dishes. I am surrounded by loving animals who bring me great joy and this year a huge challenge. Spending over an hour each day walking my dog is good for both of us and I get to visit with my neighbors. Spending time around my goats makes me laugh and calm down with their amazing therapeutic energy. The chickens are taking a few months off from laying eggs but they love taking dirt baths on these warm sunny days.
LIFE IS GOOD ON THE FARM
AND VERY ORANGE
OK time to get in the Christmas spirit
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