First Snow

We've had a few flakes, but nothing that's really accumulated.  Until today!  We woke to a couple of inches of wet snow.  So after a morning of lessons, laundry, and lunch (warming in the crockpot) we headed outside to enjoy the snow.  It was quite wet, and didn't lend itself to fast sledding, but we still had fun.

Fuel for us.

Fuel for the horses.

The girls convinced Nick to help them place Christmas lights on the barn.  They've been wanting to do this for years.  I'm happy for them and am excited to see it tonight.

The weather forecast is calling for another warming trend, so it looks like the snow will be gone by Friday night.  This snow has helped to put everyone in the Christmas spirit.  I've been thinking about gifts and cookies and wrapping and appetizers and decorations.  Trying to keep my focus on Advent, though.  I placed the Advent wreath on the dining table and we are lighting the HOPE candle at dinner each evening and praying:

O Lord, stir up our hearts

that we may prepare for

your only begotten Son,

that through His coming,

we may be made worthy to 

serve you with pure souls.

Through the same Christ

our Lord.

Amen.

Happy Advent to you all.

Thanksgiving Books

Christmas is everywhere!  But let's not forget about Thanksgiving before diving head first into Advent and Christmas planning.

One of my favorite homeschool-ish things to do is choose books according to a particular theme.  This week (and last week) we've been reading lots of Thanksgiving themed books.  I know it's almost too late to get your hands on these books for this year, but it doesn't hurt to check at the library.   If you're looking to calm the cousins on Turkey Day maybe an engaging book will do the trick.

Need to know a little more about cranberries? 

Cranberry Thanksgiving - A classic tale I pull out every Thanksgiving.  Not much about cranberries, though.

Time For Cranberries - A very new favorite around here.  Just published this fall, written by my neighbor.  Tells the story of Sam and how his family harvests cranberries every fall.  Recipes in the back.

Cranberries From A to Z - Again written by a once local author, who has since moved from the area.  This has a rhyming text and lots of information about cranberries, wildlife, and harvesting.

Our favorites from the library.  These are definitely on my wish list to own.

Sharing the Bread - Hands down, this is the favorite of all the books in this post.  Rhyming text, very engaging.  Tells the story of a family ALL working together to get ready for the Thanksgiving Meal.  Everyone has a job:  Father stokes the cookstove, Grandfather cooks the berries, Grandmother bakes the pie.  Sister kneads the bread.  Everyone WORKS together.  And they all sit down at the end of the day to a delicious dinner.  I've read this book at least 50 times in the past week.

 Sophie's Squash - Story about a little girl, Sophie, who befriends a squash and names it Bernice.  Things get difficult when Bernice starts to get splotchy and the kids at the library harass her about her friend.  Everything works out in the end when Sophie finds two more friends to love.  Quirky, but sweet.  I've probably read this about 30 times.  Maria carries this book under her arm begging anyone to read "Ophie's Kwash".

In November - Nice book about November's nature and the warmth of Thanksgiving.

All About Turkeys - Why not learn a little about turkeys before eating turkey?  If you have an animal lover, any of the Jim Arnosky All About...... books will be sure to please.  We own many of these books and they are simply excellent educational books with beautiful illustrations. *I see this book is out of print and therefore used copies are very expensive.

Autumnblings - A book of poetry about autumn.  Fall leaves, Indian summer, pumpkins, owls, first frost, and of course, Thanksgiving.

Those Darn Squirrels - Fun book about Old Man Fookwire, his love of birds, his despise of squirrels, and how those darn squirrels won over his heart.

Oh, What a Thanksgiving - Very traditional book about pilgrims and indians.  Quite a bit of text for the youngest crowd.

A Child's Calendar - Another book I pull out to read the poem of the month.  Each month is condensed to a one page poem.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hadn't planned on being gone from the blog for an entire month, but life happens.  I'm glad to be back.

*All Amazon links are affiliate links.  If you click through and purchase any item (not just these books) I receive a small commission.  Thank you.

Cranberry Marsh Tours....(are coming to an end)

Technically speaking, cranberry harvest has come to an end.  A couple of truckloads of fruit still need to be hauled in and the trash rakers will still work a few hours and all the specialized harvest equipment will be put to rest for another year, but the cranberries have all been harvested and the harvest party is over.

I still have plenty of pictures to share and plenty of recipe posts in my draft folder waiting to be finished up.  Today is a mish-mash of pictures as cranberry harvest comes to an end.

These two boys enjoy one of their last days on the marsh during harvest.  It's one more chance to walk in the water with boots.

Running water down to the short beds.  Our own little Niagara Falls.

And yet another picture of a cranberry bed being boomed (corralled). 

A look at the berry cleaner getting set up.  Only has to happen a couple more times before the end.

Climbing up to watch the cranberries fall into the dump truck never gets old for Joseph.  He would stay up there all day if I'd let him.

Peter loves being just like dad with his hip waders, even if they have to be folded down to fit right.  

In the spring the irrigation pipes get put out for the growing season.  Before the bed is harvested in the fall all the pipes have to be pulled and placed along side the bed up on the dike.  It's a very unglamorous job, but Amber and our friend keep a good attitude.  Their motto is "pull the pipes, to get pipes".  We've had many a harvest worker quit after the first day (and more wishing they had) of pipe pulling because it's hard work.

Look at those smiles.  They are so happy to be pulling the last bed of pipe.

And Joseph is super happy to have something to jump over.

Another beautiful day of cranberry harvest in the books.

Cranberry Cleaning & Binning Station - Field Trip

Yesterday I had the opportunity to ride along in the dump truck to the cranberry receiving station.  Dump trucks are not luxury vehicles.  They are loud and the ride feels a bit like jumping on a trampoline, not something I'd want to do all day.  And getting in and out requires a bit of skill when you're only 5 feet, 3 inches.

Once at the cleaning station, the berries are dumped into a pool.

The cranberries are elevated into a washing station where a pressure washer rinses/blows away any leaves.  The fruit also moves over a "bouncing" machine.  Fresh, ripe berries bounce, rotten berries do not.  The good berries continue on while any rotten ones drop into a waste box.

 The cranberries make their way to another hopper where they are metered out into large wooden boxes - 1000 pounds at a time.

The forklift operator picks up the boxes and transfers them to a semi trailer which in turn drives the cranberries to a freezer until ready to be made into sweetened dried cranberries or juice.

It was a fun outing.  Just me and the hubs alone in a dump truck.  It was almost a date.

Today on the Cranberry Marsh

It's cold out there today.  And windy, too.  And I'm not feeling well, came down with some sort of flu-like bug yesterday.  Still recovering today.  So our walk was short, but I still want to share a bit of what we saw.

Enjoy a look around at cranberry harvest from my view which is at ground level and sometimes from the top of a dump truck.

And for a look at cranberry harvest from drone's view click here.