Apples in New York

Pardon my blogging hiatus the past few weeks.  I have been researching and working on a blog post on  lard (yes, pig fat) and how it deserves a re-introduction into our diets.  I think many will be surprised to hear of how it is healthier than alot of fats we are already consuming.  For instance, lard has 20% less saturated fat than butter.... and leaf lard, back in its glory days, was considered THE superior ingredient for making flaky pie crusts (over shortening and butter).  More on that later though....

In the meantime I wanted to do a quick photo share of our recent trip to visit family in central New York.  What a glorious place to visit in the fall.  You hear about New England in the fall (which is really nice) but I have to say I am partial to the abundant apple orchards, wineries and rolling country side of upstate New York in autumn (sure I am biased because like I said I have family there, and I used to live in the Finger Lakes region for a short time).

Here are some photos of the activities.  There might be more later on facebook as I realized I don't have all of them on my camera.
First, apple picking-

Apple wine tasting, Beak and Skiff grown and made-

Apple Fest-

Watching cider being made-

Another New York state specialty, dairy cows (NY is currently the 4th top producing state for dairy, that is alot of dairy)-

Pony ride-

He kept asking to ride more so I guess we have to get a pony now.... or teach him to ride pigs-

Attempt at a family picture-

Possibility of a Christmas card looking grim again this year-

We are preparing our little homestead operation for winter.  I almost have the garden ready to plant winter rye for a cover crop.  More on that later-

For those wondering about house updates, there hasn't been much progress since we spend the warm months working outside.  Expect progress throughout the coming months though!!