Here it is November already, and as usual time has gotten away again, and another year almost past. I had thought for sure that the winter rains were starting last month, however, after an all too brief rainy spell, it stopped, and haven’t seen a drop in a month. What we ended up with, is clear, cold, nights, and bright, sunny days. I like the sunny day part, but the nights were pretty nippy for this chunk of the world, and the time of year. The trees have lost their leaves, and as one walks through them, they actually crunch instead of being slippery with moisture.

The shearing of the goats has been completed. I now have the laundry room full of bagged fleece waiting to be washed. I have skirted some, washed a few, and will probably have some for sale, but only after I decide what ones I want to keep. That’s the beauty of raising the animals, I get first pick of the fleeces. The bad news is, I also get the worst ones, those too coarse or dirty to sell. I’m sure they will make up into fine rugs…someday.

Mushroom hunting has been slow. Without the rain, they just do not come up. Roger has found a few, more shaggy manes and some boletes. The boletes are a thick, meaty mushroom, and large ones can weigh over a pound. We never get tired of eating them.

Winter chores are almost complete. We have purchased our winter hay, and are stockpiling wood for the stove. The cold weather has put the garden to bed for the year.

We will be busy in the next few weeks, improving the goat shelters and building one more. Since our stay at this location is temporary, we are building in a fashion, so that when our time here is up, they can be easily disassembled and transported.

I am spinning the fleece of Midas, our new brown buck we bought this summer. The fleece is wonderful, and the yarn is soft and dark champagne in color. I am spinning it fine, and plying two strands together, but have yet to decide what to make with it.

The fall rains have started, we had our first light frost, and as you can tell by the photos, life is busy as usual with projects and chores as variable as the weather at this time of year.

I had gone to a local produce market to buy additional peppers in order to make salsa, and while there, I spied grocery bags full of sweet peppers, in colors of green, red, yellow and orange. How perfect, just what I needed to make the salsa, with a lot left over for drying.

I try to dry a winters supply of peppers every year for using in soups and sauces. The method is so simple. Simply wash, slice, and lay on a screen. For those of you wondering why I don’t use a dehydrator, I don’t need one. We heat with a wood stove, and these chilly fall mornings, we usually start a small fire in the stove to warm up the house. Roger has built me a wonderful drying rack that hangs above the stove and accommodates three screens or racks. It is close to the ceiling where most of the heat gathers, and out of the way of our heads. In a couple days, the peppers are dried to perfection. I simply store them in jars.

I had picked tomatoes in order to make the salsa, and the ones left were simply put in jars and processed. I might add that I did pick another bucket of tomatoes yesterday, and so the process will be repeated soon. The first frost was a light one, and although it did hit the tomatoes, it was not hard enough to kill them. There are still lots of tomatoes out there in all stages of ripeness, so the greener ones will be picked, boxed, and left on the back porch to slowly ripen with out benefit of the sun.

THE MUSHROOMS

AHHH…the mushrooms. We start talking about mushrooms in September, and wait anxiously for those first fall rains, to not only reduce the fire danger, but because we know that the wild mushrooms will soon be popping up. This year, our first find has been Shaggy Manes. They are a very tender mushroom, with a wonderful nutty flavor that doesn’t keep very well which means we have to eat them before they turn all black and inky. They are a delightful addition, sautéed, and cooked with the morning eggs. I also made mushroom soup with the addition of potatoes, a little onion, garlic, parsley, and milk. I add the sautéed mushrooms to the cooked potatoes, add the milk, and let it set for a couple hours to absorb the flavor, and then reheat and eat.

A word of caution here. Do not go picking and eating mushrooms based on a picture in a book. Mushroom poisoning is serious business and can be deadly. If you have never picked them before, go with someone you can trust that knows what they are doing or take a class.

WASHING FLEECE

The fall also brings shearing time. Unlike sheep, one shears angora goats twice a year. If it wasn’t for the reward of the wonderful fleece, shearing would Not be my occupation of choice, as it is hard on the lower back. I don’t know how professional shearers can do it day after day. The herd is almost done, except for the big, black buck named Kudos, and the little kids. We call shearing Kudos, goat wrestling. He is very strong and it takes both Roger and I to do the job. Roger who wrestles with him and maintains control of him while I do the shearing. I’m sure it’s really funny to watch, but it sure isn’t fun while we’re doing it. It’s not that he’s mean, just rambunctious.

The fleece pictured belongs to Midas. He is our yearling brown buck, who we hope throws lots of kids his color come spring. He is not real big, and quite a gentleman. His fleece is delightfully soft, and in variegated shades of taupe, silver, and brown. I can hardly wait for it to dry, as I’m sure it will also be a delight to spin. My drying racks also come in to use here. I use the same racks to hold old bread trays filled with fleece to dry. What I don’t do is try to dry fleece and food at the same time, as dried peppers and little bits of fleece are not a good combination at the dinner table.