It Finally Feels Autumnish

Published: 2024-09-28 9:45 PM

Category: Life | Tags: beekeeping, autumn, farm

I'm not sure "autumnish" is a word, or if it is a word, if it is spelled correctly, but I do what I want here.

After an absurdly hot first three-quarters of September, we're finally enjoying the southwest Michigan start of autumn we moved here to enjoy. The days are warm and the nights are cool. Rain comes and goes each week and there is still a lot of life around us, but just with less gusto. Things are winding down both cultivated and grown as well as the life all around us.

We kicked off the weekend with a fantastic apple crisp made with seconds (ie, not good enough for the expensive bin) from the local apple stand. The couple who run the farm know their stuff and recommend apples based on what you want to do with them. Snacker that isn't too and brings some sour? Cortland. Jonathan apples for the kids becuase they pack that sugar punch the kids just go bonkers for. If you enjoy a crisp every now and then, throw in some cranberries (you can find whole cranberries in stores this time of year) and leave a comment later.

Saturday was split between harvesting our honey from the hives and getting the new batch of chickens acquainted with the old ladies. We modified our coop so the new chicks have some outdoor space where the OG hens can see them and get used to some new chickens in the flock. They'll stay separated for a few weeks until the new ones are ready to join the main group.

We landed on about 130 pounds of packaged honey this fall. This is our family's crop, so we don't really package it for selling like we do our spring crop. That said, we can't eat 120 pounds of honey ourselves. We'll keep about 70 which includes enough for us to use all year, some to trade with family for maple syrup in March, and some for gifts for neighbors, collegues, and the various other people we interact with on the regular.

The last thing on our list is to finish breaking down this year's garden. All of the stakes and plant supports are out - it's time to mow down all the growth and cover it with tarps so the carbon can get absorbed back into the ground for next year's garden. We're going all-in on a production cut flower system to go with the produce and honey on the farm, so we'll spend the winter planning out the expansion and all the infrastructure that will come along.

The season's change is encouraging. We've worked hard and taken advantage of our growing season and now, with the main part behind us, we can enjoy a few more chores knowing that we did good work and can take a rest.

Put the coffee back on and grab a sweater because it's time to finally slow down a little.