Monday, October 6, 2025

Don't Let These Moments Pass



Hello, friends.  On one evening walk, I saw two wild turkeys with five deer, all close together, which I thought was a lovely example of getting along despite differences.  The natural world contains many lessons, if we will take the time to notice.  We didn't get many apples this year, but I turned them into applesauce and canned it, then made a pear pie.  The next day, I canned pear sauce.  Apple and pear peelings were dehydrated, and will be powdered.




On Monday & Friday, I saw a hummingbird at the feeder.  The one on Friday spent some time checking out our fountain.  It moved so fast,  I couldn't tell if it was actually drinking, or just looking.  I'm thinking these were migrating, as I'd only seen one the week before.  I tried a new Fall Harvest cake, made with persimmons and apples, with a few tweaks.  I made it GF, subbed honey for agave, lemon juice for ACV, and pear sauce for apple, as one of the jars didn't seal.  I typed these words as J was eating some, and said it was OK, but wasn't impressed when I tried it.  There wasn't a lot of flavor, and the texture was gummy.  That could very well be because I made it GF, so it may still be worth a try, if you have persimmons.  If I were to make it again, I think I'd toast some walnuts to add in.  



The persimmon seeds were planted along the path, as Guinness and I took a walk, by scuffing up an area, dropping some, and covering with nearby soil and leaves.  Hopefully, some will germinate and grow.  We may never see them fruit, but hopefully they'll be a benefit to others and wildlife.  J got all the winter squash into storage.  I'm a little late getting this post up, because my sister and I headed to Charlotte for a concert yesterday, and spent the night in a tiny house B&B.  The concert was wonderful.  A few of their songs, here, here and here.  In the words of their song, don't let these moments pass.  Be well, friends.



8 comments:

April said...

Words to live by: don't let these moments pass. Indeed. Thank you for this reminder, dear Laurie!

Andrea said...

Pretty pictures! I've seen deer a lot in my life, but only several times turkeys. They were near my yard, just shy I guess! Nice you enjoyed your concert with your sister. I didn't see hummingbirds for a couple of weeks (prior they were filling up constantly) so I took my feeder down (just last week). Then I saw one the next day! I felt bad, made more sugar water, put it out, and haven't seen any since. andrea

Laurie said...

Their music was a great reminder to me as well.

Laurie said...

I'd been debating whether to take mine down, but ended up making more food, after I saw the one on Monday. It appears that there's less in the feeder since I left yesterday, so I think they may still be coming through.

Jane said...

Hi Laurie! Animals could teach us humans a thing or two, that is for sure. That's great you had enough pears to can some sauce. I had high hopes for our pears but during that heat wave the trees dropped a lot of their fruit. Still trying to learn how to bake GF here. Sometimes we get fantastic results and the next time, not so much. Glad you had a nice time with your sister.

Hugs
Jane

Laurie said...

GF baking has a real learning curve to it! I hope next year's harvest of pears will make up for your lack this year.

daisy g said...

Beautiful aster(?) in the first photo. Do you water bath can applesauce? I was thinking that might be a good introduction to canning for me. C eats so much applesauce.
Glad you enjoyed the concert with your sister. You must really like that band to make the drive.
Have a wonderful week!

Laurie said...

That first pic is an aster, though I haven't kept up with the species. I canned the applesauce in the steam canner. Anything that can be canned in a water bath canner can also be done in the steam canner. The band is one that I had hoped to see live one day, and when I saw they were coming to Charlotte, I had to go. Live music is one of my favorite pleasures in life. Have a beautiful week!