deer spotting

Growing up in suburbia a deer siting was few and far between.  Sometimes you'd see them near the highway or if you went leaf peeping but other than that never.   When I was in 6th grade I went to my aunt's (pronounced AUNT, not ANT) camp in rural PA for summer vacation and it was there I learned I how to go 'deer spotting'.   We loaded in the car at dusk with some big flashlights and went down some wilderness roads looking for deer.   It was an exciting adventure.

Fast forward to my new life in central New York surrounded by farms, open space and lots of undeveloped land.  There are TONS of deer, everywhere, all the time.   There is never just one either, usually at least 4.  A few years ago my husband and I were driving back from dinner along Rt 20, a main road where people travel approx 60 mph.  The road is up and down hills the whole ride and this particular night it was my turn to drive home.  It was also the night we had dinner a few town away so it was a thirty minute ride of my husband coaching (yelling) at me about my driving and needing to pay more attention to deer.   Of course there wasn't a deer in sight that night...until we were about 1 mile from home.   All of a sudden hubs says 'don't you see that deer, are you going to speed up"  Not knowing any better I thought he said that with a question mark...in his mind he said it questioning my rationale.    So, in the split second this happen I did what I thought he meant and floored it hoping to out pace the deer and speed past him before Bambi got to the middle of the road.  

Apparently that is not what he meant.   I did not hit the deer but did get an extra arm across the steering wheel swerving us out of the way.  That was when he asked what the heck I was doing (not as nice though) and when I responded "speeding up like you told me to do"   he could do nothing but shake his head in disbelief.    It was a good reminder he did not marry a country girl by any stretch because a country girl would have known to slow down and let the deer cross instead of trying to speed past it and end up playing chicken with it.   Oops.

For the record I have lived here for 9 years and have yet to meet a deer with my bumper but now I always slow down when I see them. 

town grocery store

The small town we live in has a farmers market weekly that we infrequently shop at.  Not because I don't love the idea of a farmers market but more so because 2 things usually happen when we go, 1) my kids tend to help themselves to things (for example standing at the table with the blueberries and eating them out of pints as if we were at home and/or like we had paid for them)  2)I end up buying a pie or other baked item (that I REALLY don't need vs buying more veggies).   Although both of those reasons are part of why I don't go it's also because I have a good size garden at my house that we get lots of our veggies from. 

Since the season is winding down and I am totally sick of my own garden I decided to take my 2 kids yesterday. When I told my 4 1/2 yr old daughter we were going to go the farmers market she said "oh good, I like going to the town grocery store".   I have no idea where she got this from but I loved the concept because that's what it is and should be.  I am no earth mother by far but there is something really nice about going to the farmers market, seeing friends, chatting with people from town and watching your kids make friends with local growers.   This week I even managed to skip the pies and buy some parsnips from the lovely Rose Ryan from http://harvesthomeorganics.blogspot.com/  that I lied and told my kids were white carrots. 

the BEST apple bread

Since the title of my blog is 'apple farmers wife"  I guess I might as well share some of my findings..first and foremost the BEST apple bread recipe out there. (See below)
I really enjoy cooking but there are only a few things I follow a recipe for, this is one of them.  I can't think of the others right now but there must be at least one other recipe I use....

This little gem is the mix of a few different recipes from multiple cookbooks combined together to make my fabulously yummy and totally fattening apple bread.  (if memory serves it's a mix of a Paula Deen zucchini recipe, a Better Homes & Garden one for something else and a third I have blocked out!)

Mix:
4 lightly beaten eggs
1 cup oil
1/3 cup apple cider
3ish cups of shredded apples ( any kind will do, I just cut off the core and run through food processor skin and all)


In another bowl mix:
3 cup sugar
3 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Few shakes nutmeg
Few teaspoons cinnamon(guesstimate)


Add the wet to the dry and stir until combined. Bake 350 for about 45 min depending on pan size. This will make 2 loaves but I usually make on big brownie pan instead. Freezes really well. If you don't have cider you can use water but cider makes it more yum. Use as much apple as you want!

Seriously, even if you don't cook much this is worth a shot. It's pretty easy and your family will love you.  Make the large pan because you are more likely to cook it correctly vs using the loaf pans.  Personally I hate loaf pans because there is a higher risk of being overdone/underdone and it takes longer.   Happy baking :)

general interest

First things first..I am not a farmer I just married one.  He wasn't a farmer when we met but I knew from our very  first date that he was sure to become one.   I grew up in typical suburbia so when I moved to central New York with its large open fields, dairy farms and apple orchards it was quite a change.   Again, I am not a farmer but to everyone I know marrying one basically meant I became one too.

My husband doesn't really think he is a farmer, he says he just grows apples.  He once told me not to ever tell a real farmer we were farmers too because they would laugh.  He calls what he does 'Gucci" farming, most likely because there is no manure involved.    Never in my life did I think I would even have the word manure come up in my daily conversations.   Manure.  Gross. My kids can spot, smell and identify the sound of a 'poop truck' a mile away.

Living in CNY for over 9 years has certainly broadened my horizons and increased my knowledge in the 'general interest' category.  Want to anything about bees and pollination, gardening, snow drifts, the meaning of lake effect snow, how to store or prepare apples,  thatching the lawn, mooring lines, wind direction,....I can hold my own, or at least make up an answer that sounds close enough to truth that you will believe me..esp if you have no knowledge on any of the aforementioned subjects.