Monday, October 5, 2009

A Perfectly Peachy Weekend

This was one of those five-star weekends when I feel so grateful to live in Kentucky, on a farm, with the country lifestyle that we are blessed to have. The kids were off school on Friday, and Mirian and her friend were happy to stay outdoors and enjoy the gorgeous weather. They decided to pick pears, an activity which set the stage for lots of kitchen time!

We have three century-old pear trees on the property, and despite their gnarly appearance they always produce a ton of fruit. This year we had such a good growing season and our renter fertilized the trees for the first time, resulting in a true bumper crop.

Our renters are so great, they truly appreciate their little home on our place and are very active in utilizing the resources at hand (as well as always sharing their garden)! I have enjoyed seeing their gourds hanging, and their wood stacked and ready for winter.On Saturday, we went on a trail ride at Cave Run Lake with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Manager's Club. There were 33 riders and their horses (and mules) and the weather was stellar.It was good to see Paul on horseback for a change! (Normally, he likes to ride the two-wheeled sort!)

Sunday brought more great weather, but after picking yet more pears (about 60 pounds more!), Mirian and I spent most of the day processing them into pear sauce, pear butter, dried pears with the dehydrator, etc. I'm still looking for more interesting recipes!Then we got ready for the Blessing of the Pets at our church, since it was St. Francis day. This was the first time that Sushi had been dressed up in a while, and he took it all in stride.

He wasn't at all thrilled with the big dogs at the event, and I had to hold him as he struggled to get away from Mirian. It was a lot of fun to see the variety of pets! (No, we didn't take any alpacas along).

By the time the service was over, Sushi was pretty happy to be back in the car with Munchie!

The day was capped off by an impromptu dinner with some friends that had come out to shoot sporting clays with Paul. It was really nice... great conversation, good wine, a friend's daughter who's Robert's age, Mirian sharing some of her old Peru photos, etc. Guess what we had for dinner? Quiche (with eggs from our chickens) and potato-pear soup! You can find the recipe here. I think I'll try this chilled pear soup recipe next!

Maybe I should change the title of this post to a PEARfect weekend!

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