Cinnamon tea and applesauce anyone?

Jack Frost did his early visit last night.  Here in the Central Indiana countryside, we awoke to a light dusting of his handiwork covering gardens and farmland.  Basil wilting, tomato plants drooping, yards covered in a sugar frosting sparkling gently in the rising sunlight.  The view left me feeling a bit melancholy with the demise of summer and the fading away of vegetables and flowers.

Time for warm sweaters, hearth side fires, brisk walks, hot cinnamon tea and warm gurgling applesauce.   This kind of day calls for a brisk walk in the autumn chill where I can view in awe the red and gold splashed trees, smell the sharp aromas, feel the brisk air, come back inside invigorated. 

Oh - looks like 'someone' is deciding to curl up in the sunny window seat and take a wee bit of a snooze!

A nap sounds nice, but there are things to do, Sandy kitty!  (He is also known as Sandrew - a name given him by Lovely Miss Witty.  She thought he was far too sophisticated of a male to be called Sandy all the time.  He does, after all, take after a mighty mountain lion, if you please!)

But first, some tea and honey.

 

A number of my friends and family members, are most fond of San Francisco Cinnamon/Orange Spice tea.  In a pinch, however, Cinnamon Stick tea by Bigelow with a good full teaspoon of fresh honey will do!  Beehive/Artist daughter has allowed me to have two honeybee hives in the backyard, which she is patiently educating me on caring for while she does the mountain share of work to keep them healthy and thriving.  One of the hives was started from a swarm that she was requested to rescue from a tree in front of a local business.  Tiny little thing that she is physically, she is one mighty woman in spirit!  She suited up, climbed a ladder into the tree, and removed the swarm while the men watched her (safely ensconced behind glass inside the business)!!!!  She placed the swarm in a hive here in my yard, thus giving us that golden honey in the jar pictured above.  So good.  Such bounty!

 

Meanwhile, let's have some homemade applesauce!

 



A dozen apples peeled and cut into chunks, a dollop of fresh honey, a big fat cinnamon stick, some orange and a tablespoon of lemon juice - place in the big pot on the stove on low, and soon there is the low murmur of apples simmering.  The apples were picked from the drooping apple tree in Knitting Daughter's backyard.  Fresh, organic, delicious!  The aroma wafting through this house is pure wonder.  Wish I could bottle that sweet smell!

The bounties of autumn.  What a creative, artistic God we have.  All those shades of color - all the combinations.  Almost brings tears!  So lovely.

Enjoy this change in season.  Slow down a little.  Enjoy the simple things in life.  We are blessed indeed.

Janet