A mid-afternoon Honeycrisp cider reminds us why we grow fruit and press it. The early pears came ripe when we had no time. They fed the bees.

Yesterday the Uhr pears came ripe. We picked all that we could reach, which filled every pail we have.

We squished pears today. We got 8 gallons of pear juice. 6 we will process into cider. We will do something delicious with the rest.

We picked elderberries two weeks ago. I separated 28 pounds of berries from their stems. 24 pounds went into making five gallons of juice which with 10 pounds of sugar, will make 6 gallons of wine. It smells heavenly! I still have 2 paper bags of berries to process. The 4 pounds of berries I have done that didn’t go into the fermenter I made into juice. I’ve been drinking it with seltzer for an afternoon mocktail. No need to add sugar! If I can get to the rest of those berries before they molder, I will make jelly or try some syrup.

A warning and observation about elderberries. They are covered in a waxy substance that must be fat based. I say this because detergent is ineffective for getting it off. I forgot to remove my ring before squeezing the juice out of the berry bag for the wine. To get the sticky stuff off, I coated my ring in baking soda. Fats are acidic. Baking soda is basic. Bases love to combine with acids, which cleaned off that impervious wax. It is that wax which preserves those berries for such a long time after being picked.

The second chemical reaction with elder juice results from its phenolphthalein content, which turns red in an acidic environment and is blue in a base. Really it is colorless in a base, but my berry juice is blue. I added vinegar after removing the wax with baking soda, which resulted in foam and that pinkish tint.

In mid-August I strained the alcohol off the green walnuts, added maple syrup for a sweetener, and put it in clear bottles. It definitely needs to age to balance the tannins, but the aroma promises something extraordinary. In January, I’ll know if nocino will become a tradition.

Two days ago we processed 6 roosters and 3 old ducks. Daughter # 2 & family came to help with the outdoor stage of processing.

We fed everyone BLTs for lunch and then Daughter #1 & family stayed to help with the indoor part of the process. They get chicken, duck, and duck sausages, so they have a personal stake getting the birds off pasture.

Part of preparing for winter involves replenishing our straw supply. We ran out too soon this year. We bought straw and have the duck’s winter quarters stacked high. We hope to get a few more bales in there before snow flies.

We managed to go to the fair this year. One day is never enough to see everything I’d like to see, but taking the time to spend with family and friends is more important.

As is babysitting this sweet pea! If I don’t get the rest of those berries processed, I will have some very good memories instead.