I am truly a farmgirl!

I spent the afternoon connecting with my farm girl self. I started with canning six pints of applesauce. Hailey was glad that there was a warm bowlful that didn't make another pint. I've been reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and have been reflecting on growing up with most of my food (vegetables, anyway) being grown in my yard. My mother had a cold room made in the basement lined with shelves (she still does). Every August and September, we would can applesauce, green beans, tomatoes, beet pickles, cucumber pickles, carrots, peaches and pears and those jars would be dated and lined up along the shelves. Corn, peas, strawberries and pie apples would be frozen in the deep freezer along with any meat. Potatoes and onions were stored in sacks in the cold room. There was even an extra refrigerator to store the jam my mom had sealed with parrafin wax. So, my small batch of applesauce today makes me feel frugal and I'll line it up on the top shelf of my cupboard with my blackberry jam and this winter we'll have a taste of early September!
The other three pictures are a fleece I am processing. First you see the raw and dirty fleece. I then wash it in the tub and rinse it. Finally, it is laid out to dry on the deck. It will eventually either be felted or spun as I attempt to learn to make a decent yarn with a drop spindle. I have to say that it has been a very refreshing, grounding day for me!