Once again….the pleasant smell of cooking apples has been wafting across the farm as we have been working through turning many bushels of apples into apple sauce with many dear friends & family.
Walking through a beautiful VA apple orchard
Note on Winter Farmer’s Market Schedule
Del Ray – Year Around 8am-12pm
Falls Church – Year Around (winter hours tba)
Leesburg – Year Around though hours change to 9am-12pm starting Nov. 1st
Ashburn – thru the end of Nov & then the first bi-weeklyĀ dropĀ begins Dec. 3rd
Stone Ridge – thru the end of Oct & first bi-weekly drop: Nov. 5th
Burke – thru Dec. 17th
Haymarket – Bi-weekly drop-offs to continue
The moon rises over our flock of 100% Grass fed sheep here on the farm
So fun to visit the apple orchard with Grandpa & Grandma!
So much fun collecting apples together – Sarah & Grandpa at work under an apple tree
Apple cutting team
Organizing apples – Grandfather, Father, & Son
Apple Saucing team!
During apple sauce making, the screened tent was a blessing amidst the thousands of apple hunting bees at the farm
Baby greens growing in the greenhouse
This week on the farm
Its apple sauce week! Fried apples, apple sauce, apples & almond butter and plans for apple crisp, apple dumplings, & more…..its a tasty, fun season here on the farm. We had a great trip out to a localĀ Rappahannock apple orchard with Grandpa & Grandma and some visiting friends. We loaded up the trailer & truck with bushels upon bushels of tasty apples – Golden Delicious, Virginia Gold, Stayman, Yorks, & more!

Back at the farm, propane stoves galore were fired up and hundreds of apples cut into slices by our incredible apple cutting machine (4-5 people with sharp knives šŸ™‚ ). 3 hand cranked sauce machines and multiple water baths/canners turned the cooked apples into dozens and dozens of nicely canned apple sauce for wintertime enjoyment. The weather this week was unseasonable warm thus bringing out a swarm of hungry honey bees making for an unforgettable memory at the farm dodging thousands of bees on the front porch.

Otherwise, we’re still prepping for winter….we do think its coming šŸ™‚ even though the car thermometer ready 90 degrees once this week. Our missing pieces to the greenhouse should arrive soon along with another small greenhouse for our newest egg mobile.

We have begun processing some of the Thanksgiving Turkeys. Still a few remaining so pre-order now. Looking forward to a fantastic Thanksgiving season.

Poultry moving time!
Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar has long been used for better health. It is traditionally made through a long, slow fermentation process. High quality Apple Cider Vinegar comes with theĀ ā€œMotherā€ which is a cobweb-like amino acid-based substance. Many manufacturers pasteurize and filter the vinegar to remove the ‘Mother.’ However, the ‘murky’ kind containing the ‘Mother’ is the best, especially if you are planning to consume.

Apple Cider Vinegar is not only good for cooking but also has very useful for health, cleaning, gardening, hygiene, etc. From Weight loss to heart conditions, sore throat, skin irritations, weed control, fruit & veggie wash, hair rinse, deodorant, and so much more, apple cider vinegar has often helped. We have warded off many colds and bugs from simply taking a Tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar several times a day.

Unless for cleaning and laundry, be sure to avoid the distilled type. For more info on how to use and the fantastic benefits it can offer, read more of Dr. Mercola’s article on Apple Cider Vinegar.