Hi, November! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms

As we turn the corner into late fall with the arrival of November, the farm is awash in color—from the beautiful fall leaves fluttering to the ground in bright scarlet and yellow hues from our collection of Gingko, chestnut, oak and maple trees to the crisp and colorful apples and pears we are still harvesting in the orchard. The birds are busy feasting on the dark purple Evergreen huckleberries, bright orange rose hips and windfall apples both in the garden and orchard. Squirrels are busy seemingly everywhere, burying walnuts, chestnuts and acorns for their winter food.

We are still cleaning up branches and limbs from the wind storm that occurred over this past weekend in Snohomish County, and with the return to this more normal blustery and drippy weather, we are also catching up on some chores in and around the barn to prepare for the upcoming winter. On crisp fall mornings, you’ll find our very tame and social goats hanging out in their barn, and now that they have all day to dream up trouble, they seem to be up to even more mischief than usual. They are a curious bunch, keeping their eyes on both what we are up to and all the goings on at the farm, hoping for treats every time we pass by.

We are also taking advantage of the days by finishing putting up the last of the harvested tomatoes—this fall, we have preserved over 900 pounds of juicy, ripe tomatoes in big batches of our Nonna Pat’s marinara sauce. The orchard apples will be making their way into apple sauces and apple butters, and we are also setting aside spiced pears and beets, and making preserved lemons with the remaining fruit from the Meyer lemon trees that are now pulled close to the barn for shelter from the cold.

One special note: There will be no F&L box the day of Thanksgiving (November 24th), but we will get you all set for the feast in the preceding week’s delivery which, per tradition, will be full of all our favorite holiday provisions. Your weekly delivery will pick back up again on Thursday, December 1st—have a happy turkey day with your loved ones and know that we are grateful for you!