3rd Annual Apple Juice Pressing

Our 3rd Annual Apple Pressing with Jake and Suz.  This year David came along too!!! He gathered all the apples...there musta been about 8 boxes of them from our tree and also some from his sister Pearl's tree.  My friend Cindie who is a wool dyer, saved empty Vinegar jugs to put the fresh pressed apple cider in for us again this year. 

                                      

Suz picking tomatoes from Jake's garden

Fresh Natural Apple juice running out of the Apple Press that Jake built.

 We cut up the apples, put them into an apple grinder,

then the ground apples were taken and put into the apple press.

And then...it was time for a morning break.....BLOODY MARY's all around!!!!  This was Suz's recipe...
V8 type tomato juice - about 6 oz (?)
Vodka - about 2 oz
Worcestershire sauce
Jalapeño pickle juice
Celery salt and a splash of Tabasco sauce if I'd had any... I put in a pinch of celery seed and a sprinkle of Cerache salt
and then there were the asparagus spears....
Oh!!! it was soooo yummy!!!!!

Back to work....Jake ran the press and

Suz held the funnel....Oh what a sweet smell!!!!

Four of the 11? gallons....I don't really remember how many there were....there were tons of apples...and David, Suz and I just kept cutting and sending them down the chute to the grinder....

Apples awaiting the slaughter!!!! lol

The inside of the Apple Press

Suz pouring us some Hard Apple Cider from the Apple Pressing day of 2011....tasty and bubbly...and look.....we have cheese and snacks and there was some killer Salsa that she made too.....mmmm

Thanks Suz!!!!!!!

Yeah I brought Salsa in a jar...but next to it is her home made Salsa...oh! gosh it was so good!   

Done and Doner....we had a bit of wine after the Bloody Mary's after the Hard Apple Cider...but we had lots of snacks....and then we went and watched Suz chop wood.....lol!!!!!!

She's pretty good with that maul!!!!!



Golden Crowned Sparrow

Several days ago I was sitting outside...there appeared on the ground close to me, a golden crowned sparrow.  He looked so still...not eating...just sitting on the ground.  I watched him for awhile, then he started to hop about, but only on one leg...he drug his other leg behind him.  But there He was in his breeding plumage-I don't believe he knew that he was different than the other birds.  Then just yesterday...he flew in to sit on the wire where the bird feeders hang...he hung on just fine with only ONE leg.  I found him quite beautiful with his flashy yellow strip of feathers on his head - he looked plump and well fed~It gave me great hope to see this small fellow...and it made me think of the word... 

Perseverance:

...to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.