It's really September...

Hello sweet friends.. 

When I was pondering the title for this post all I could think about was that it is really September!  

Already!  

The summer fairly flew and now we are on the brink of Fall.. 

A lovely time of year for sure and many people's favourite but I sadly bid adieu to the loveliest of seasons of Summer.. 

But..

That is how it is... smile.. 

How have you all been? 

Thank you so much for stopping by and all of your dear comments last post.. 

It is so gratifying to hear from so many and some of your sweet words really touched my heart.. 

I am blessed with this blog and hopefully as summer gives way to fall I will do a bit better job at keeping in contact.. 

Such a busy time of year, eh? 

Here are a few things we have been doing.. 

Preserving of course is the main activity at the moment for me and for Terry it is the garden harvest and getting wood in the basement for winter.. 

Peaches are lovely this year..  

These ones were grown in Ontario which is a province here in Canada... 

Our weather is not conducive to growing peaches here in New Brunswick.. 

I think I only did up 18 jars but then I froze a few also.. 

So delicious on yogurt and a few nuts added for good measure.. 

But in between picking and pickling we have been trying to get a few day trips in.. 

of course this is one of the places close to my heart.. 

St. Martins, New Brunswick.. 

Where we had a dear cottage and shop for over twenty years.. 

The beautiful Bay of Fundy.. 

I have had a love affair going on with it since I was a child and we would go and visit my Gram and my sweet cousins several times a year.. 

It was wonderful to visit again and I feel good that I do not regret the sale of it all.. 

It was time.. 

My Mom of course grew up there and she so loves to visit there every so often.. 

On this trip I went with my Mom and Step father and a sweet friend Cindy... 

Terry went to the races with our grandson so I was fancy free and there was no where I would rather spend an afternoon.. 

This was one of our meals lately.. 

Our once a week pasta dish.. 

Oh how I love thee.. grin.. 

chicken breasts browned in garlic and onions.. 

then simmered in homemade spaghetti sauce and topped with mozza cheese and a little side of fresh homemade pesto... 

Yup..  grin.. 

I do know that pasta is not really that good for you but it is the food I love best.. 

I tried substituting it with spaghetti squash but .... no.... 

Once a week will be the real deal.. lol.. 

On another day we headed to Buctouche, N.B. 

A beautiful seaside town with parks and dunes.. 

Such a lovely day.. 

And we bought some of my favourite greens.. 

Grown on the marshes.. 

Organic food at it's best.. 

Salty and delicious.. 

Sorry to be talking so much about food.. 

anyway.. 

I have been harvesting my straw flowers at the farm.. 

I can see a wreath in my future.. smile. 

this was a gorgeous day trip a couple of weeks ago.. 

Minister's Island here in New Brunswick.. 

You have to go with the tide of the Bay of Fundy... 

When it is low tide this road appears and you can literally drive on the ocean floor to the island.. 

But you can only stay a few hours and you have to leave or be stranded there for 12 hours, I believe..  

When the tide is in that road there is covered with 15 feet of sea water.. 

This island contains the Van Horne estate which is amazing.. 

They were obviously very rich people and lived accordingly.. 

So much to see.. 

I couldn't begin to show you all there is to see but here are a few pics.. 

This is such a long post that I didn't want to bore you silly but perhaps I will do more another time as I have scads of pics.. 

The house and barn and bath house are glorious.. 

You could google it though and see ... 

Back home we go... 

Before the tide!  smile.. 

Here is a lovely treat that is so good.. 

Zucchini fries.. 

RECIPE HERE/ 

I just made a regular dill dip.. 

Low fat sour cream and low fat mayo... 

add herbs and garlic.. 

I loved these but they were not anything Terry wanted to try.. smile.. 

Canning more stuff.. 

Tomatoes.. 

These are just regular tomatoes ...

And four batches of Salsa... 

Have you been preserving?  

I love this time of year preparing for the winter months.. 

Do you?  

Our sweet daughter had a birthday.. 

This was a pic taken when she was a wee thing over on Prince Edward Island.. 

We used to go camping there every summer.. 

The kids loved it and still do.. 

And this is her now taken a few weeks ago in Boston.. 

Shonda... 

Forty nine years old now!  

Where has the time gone.. 

So love and am so proud of our only daughter.. 

Thankful that the Lord has kept her and she has chosen to allow Him to direct her life and home.. 

And just one more food pic... grin.. 

Two ingredient foraccia bread.. 

Recipe here.. 

Well dear hearts this is it for another time.. 

So glad we could get together 

I look forward to hearing from you again.. 

Love your notes.. 

Next post I will try to do a farm one.. 

I have been busy here at home doing my canning.. 

I didn't want to use my old stove at the farm as it is precious to me.. 

It is hard on a stove doing all the canning so I am home mostly.. 

But I still hope to get out there for several days yet.. 

I still have a lot of harvesting herbs and such.. 

I love this verse, don't you?  

God bless and sending you hugs.. 

Faye.. 

PS.. 

As I read over this post I find it rather haphazard and sketchy.. 

Sorry.. 

I guess I am feeling a bit tired but it will do for now I guess.. 

Also in answer to a couple of question last post.. 

As far as the Wild Medicine sites that I use.. 

I use quite a few different ones.. 

Farmer's Almanac is one I trust.. 

Also the Milkweed is not anything I am sure of yet.. 

Just learning about it.. 

All I read is quite promising for me to try next year .. 

It is more of a food source though then a medicine, I think.. 

I really hope to study up on apothecary recipes and such this winter.. 

a project shall we say.. 

For now I have quite a bit thus far.. 

Red clovers, Horsetail, Nettles, Jewelweed, Yarrow, Violet, Tansy.. 

That are a few I have dried and such.. 

xo

The Middle of August at the farm...

Hello everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth blog on this lovely Sunday in the middle of August.. 

The days are a wee bit shorter then when I posted just a couple of weeks ago.  The raspberries have ripened, the Sampfire greens are at the market and the beautiful Queen Anne's Lace are flourishing on every roadside... 

Summer is winding down.. 

For some that is a happy dance sort of thing but for me it is more of a side of melancholy! 

I do love all the seasons but for some reason when Summer makes her debut I feel so uplifted but then it sets me down slowly.... 

I can see the signs everywhere that she is going to leave ... 

The flowers and leaves that were alive and beautiful are changing their colours, the gardens are ready for harvest, the garlics are hung, the nights are cooler and there is a nip in the air when you open the kitchen door in the mornings.. 

Fall is in the air even if it has not arrived yet.. 

It is coming and we will bid farewell to another Summer.. 

I really don't like to say good-bye to her.. 

So... 

I am going to enjoy every enchanting moment left in her company! I will drink coffee in the mornings without a fire on and sit on the deck and breath the evening air!  Terry and I will do the picnic thing a few more times and go to the beach again.. I will sit on my swing and thank God for all of his blessings..

How about you? How do you look at it?  

Just wondering... smile.. 

We stayed overnight at the farm finally and it was fine..

  

A beautiful place to wake up in...  

The cows have been visiting in the pasture by the house and we love that.. 

Terry worked in the gardens a lot and I am still doing my thing..

Making simple meals.. 

Lots of veggies are available now.. 

Made batches of pesto and made a few salads with the basil.. 

This is one of our favourites.. 

Tomatoes and onions chopped and lots of basil and garlic.. 

Squeeze on some fresh lemon juice and a bit of olive or canola oil.. 

Let it sit at room temp for an hour or so.. 

It is delicious with banquette or fresh bread or just as an added salad or with some pasta... 

Yeah!

So enjoying our garlic harvest.. 

Our gardens are doing great.. 

This is one you can see out of the pantry window..

Love our farmer's cows..

Aren't they lovely?  

We go for country drives quite often as always.. 

Terry is a darling and picks me any flowers I need.. 

Or wild medicines.. 

This is actually Milkweed... 

He was telling the grandsons that the negative thing about Grandma getting her cataracts removed was that she could see every flower in the ditch now!  lol... 

Yup... 

And the poor dear has to pick them.. 

I do offer but I think it is easier for him to pick them then to have to call a crane to get me out of the ditch... grin..

On with the story.. smile.. 

Last Monday he decided it was time to go to the woodlot and chop down more fire wood.. 

All by himself.. 

As he knows that is not going to happen ... 

I would not accomplish anything for wondering if he was all right.. 

So ... I pack up some coffee, hard boiled eggs and a cucumber salad and away we go.. 

I had a project I wanted to work on so along it came ...  

I had picked this up at the thrift store for a couple of dollars.. 

I just needed it and a pair of scissors and a glue stick.. 

It provided lots of tags that I can use for gifts.. 

Not just kids but ladies, too!  

I am not the only Beatrix Potter fan.. smile..

The wee cutouts will be stickers.. 

The larger will get a hole punched and a pretty string for a tag or just a bookmark or such..

And.. 

Several little envelopes that will hold a gift card or a bit of lavender or even some seeds.... 

I think I will distress ink on a few... 

My gift pantry is starting to come together again.. 

I built it up in the Spring but it does not last long.. 

What do you have in yours?  

I hope to make Queen Anne's Lace jelly this week.. 

Saturday morning we woke early and went to breakfast at the Big Stop and then did some yard sales in Salisbury.. 

It was yard sale day.. 

I was so excited as we bought a really good vacuum for the farm.. 

It works perfect.. 

A Filter Queen.. 

And a food processor!  

Both for only fifteen dollars with several really good books added in.. 

Then we headed for the farm and these were in the pasture in front of the house..  

Just enjoying the summer breezes... 

They are so friendly.. 

Terry laughs when I yell hello ladies!  

They moo right back.. lol....

I set to work in the living room.. 

The dear man had hung my shelf that I found at a yard sale for only five dollars.. 

I love it.. 

Terry has collected platters in the past and it was somewhere to display a few.. 

I took the lace panels down and washed them and hung them on the line... 

They blew out lovely like.. 

Hope to hang them back up next time up there.. 

I know I have lots of stuff..

Sorry to you minimalists!! 

My grandson was telling me about that this morning after church.. 

I think he still has hope for me.. grin.. 

Some everlastings drying.. 

And the Tansy is out.. 

Already.. 

That is what I mean by Summer passing us by... 

When the Tansy is blossoming then it is almost over.. 

Terry picked a ton of green beans.. 

Five pails full.. 

We gave 2 pails away but the rest I canned..

Or we ate.. smile.. 

These ones I cut in the french cut but I should have put them in litre bottles as they are jammed in there.. 

But.. they will taste the same.. 

I like these for a change.. 

Sometimes I make a Mennonite Salad with them.. 

Just drain and add chopped onion and make a dressing of sour cream and a speck of sugar, salt and pepper.. 

We bought too many bananas!

But my sweet friend on Instagram.. 

Remembering the Old Ways had posted a delicious new banana bread recipe.. 

Banana Bread
3 large ripe bananas 
1 cup of sugar
1 egg 
1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 cup of melted butter
1 tsp. soda 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 cup walnuts  
Oven 350 degrees F. 
45 to 50 minutes .. 
You can make small ones or 1 big one.  
I tripled the recipe and there were 5 as you can see.. 
You just mix this up like always... 
It is a very good recipe.. I think she said it was Amish.. 

Well my dears I guess this is all for today.. 

So happy to have you visit.. 

Really enjoy your comments and notes.. 

Here or Face Book or on Instagram... 

Where ever you may be.. 

Just know that I appreciate you all and feel that you are my friends.. 

 and that God loves us so much that our mundane every day matters to Him... 

God bless.. 

A Country Summer...

Good Evening everyone.. 

How are you?  

So happy to get back to chat with you all again.. 

It is a lovely day here in New Brunswick.. 

Quite hot, actually but another fresh breeze out amongst the apple trees.. 

I sit here with the door wide open and listening to it.. 

Terry has gone to the races with a friend so it is a great time for me to check in with you all.. 

Hope you are enjoying the summer as much as we...

Been out and about.. But still at home here and the farm, too.. 

This first part of the post will be farm pics.. 

Up above is a pic of some of my plants at the farm.. 

I have taken a lot of them out there because they grow so well.. 

I have learned from previous summers that the old house must be the perfect light because they seem to thrive so much better then here.  

Or perhaps it is the country air.. smile.. 

This is a pic of a new teepee for my Scarlet Runners that Terry made.. 

This pic was taken a week ago and we noticed yesterday that they are half way up the birch posts now.. 

We have had some very warm days and they are growing so quickly.. 

I am loving having to pick lavender each time we go.. 

And Chamomile... 

I just tie up the lavender in a bunch and hang it till next time out when it is dry.. 

And dry the Chamomile on a paper towel on the table in front of the window.. 

I am hoping to have quite a bit by the end of summer..

A meal we had there one day..  

Basic Steak and Mushrooms and chopped garlic scapes... 

A few books ...

These have  been grabbing my attention lately.. 

Some new to me baskets that I found at the Thrift store.. 

They are all great for gathering herbs or a bit of swiss chard and such.

And...

My dear sweet poppies came back at the farm.. 

They are here and there in the garden and are two hues this year instead of one.. 

A few even found their way into my Lavender bed... 

You girls who follow the blog probably remember my little poppy story from the other year.. smile.. 

They bring me such joy every summer now that they are back after being absent for so many years.. 

Another little pic that I put on Instagram one day. 

All in all the farm days are lovely but short.. 

We are late getting there and late coming home.. 

We have still to stay.. 

This past week I went to P. E. I. with my sweet friend Janelle.. 

We had a welcoming committee of one.. grin.. 

He belonged to this sweet shop in Victoria by the Sea...

Here are a few pics from our little trip.. 

\\

We visited Brackley Beach and the gardens and food were wonderful.. 

I, unfortunately had a return of Vertigo and had to return home a bit earlier then we planned but we had a couple of lovely days.. 

Janelle's daughter Hannah was so gracious to put her Momma and I up for a night.. She is such a dear girl.. 

But as always it is good to get home..

 I did up a bunch of strawberries the other week.. 

They did not seem as plentiful as other years due to a large amount of rain earlier, I think.. 

Was really happy to get some put in the freezer and such.. 

Well my luvs... 

This is all for this time.. 

Not much happening yet I guess.. 

Our beans are a couple of inches long so I will be canning next week, I imagine.. 

How is your summer going and what have you been busy doing? 

I notice on Instagram that you girls south of the border have been pickling and canning for weeks while we still are waiting on our gardens.. smile.. 

Oh well.. 

All in due time..  

So nice to chat with you all and I do look forward to hearing from you if you have the time..

Hugs..

Enjoy your Sabbath tomorrow.. 

xo