We did take Mia out for a ride yesterday after working in the yard blowing and picking up the final leaves. (And, duh, I didn’t take my camera so you will just have visualize this.)
It’s obvious that the weather is changing. Even though the thermometer read 60 degrees F, the sun was veiled by a thin layer of clouds making it feel not quite that warm. Plus, the smell of wood smoke from house chimneys as we drove along and the bare trees reminded us that it was not summer anymore. Even the very air itself feels different, expectant. Almost like at any moment it was thinking of switching the season over from autumn to winter. I can’t fully describe it, but it’s there.
We passed a house we’ve gone by many a time on our route the back way to and from Warwick that has a large in-ground pool. Now they’ve converted their pool into a hockey ice rink!
Our main destination was the Warwick Valley Winery for lunch. I’ve mentioned before that we’ve eaten there many times over the summer. They have a wonderful café but it’s only open on the weekends. We ordered our lunch (grilled steak sandwich with truffle scented caramelized onions and gorgonzola cheese for Rick; duck confit sandwich for me with melted brie, cranberry chutney and arugula), bought and opened a bottle of wine to drink. I always want to order their mussels in white wine but the idea of duck confit had me at hello. Anything duck: foie gras, confit, just plain old duck ... Next time it will be the mussels!
We wanted to buy some apple cider from one of the local apple picking spots (of which there are four in Warwick alone), so that is where we headed next. We had heard that Och’s Orchard has “the best,” so that is where we went. I’m not sure that Mia has ever had her feet on a real dirt road before as we try to avoid them whenever we can, but this one was an exception. Up the hill with farm fields dotted with rolled up bales of hay we went. We even drove over some cow manure that had been spilled in the road. Really, Mia! With the trees laid bare of their leaves it was now possible to see the beautiful undulating layers of swells and hills. Such a beautifully situated farm and orchard!
When we got to the top of the dirt road we passed the farm house and barn where several cats lay sunning themselves. Freshly laundered sheets hung on the clothesline in the yard. We were wondering if we had just driven into someone’s private driveway when we rounded the corner and the farm store came into view. When we went inside all we could smell were apples and apple cider doughnuts! Intoxicating! Many different kinds of apples were for sale in wooden quart containers. Some were labeled as “home grown” and some just “local.” I picked some Jonamac that were home-grown and smelled delicious. I was tying to avoid the apple cider doughnuts but Rick found them and put a half dozen in a bag. sigh. They are a seasonal treat around here so why not enjoy them?
They had fresh pie fillings in a plastic tube made from their own fruits: blueberry, apricot, blackberry and more. They even had big cheese pumpkins (the kind used for cooking and baking) that we’ve been searching for this year and could not find for making our annual pumpkin soup, but these were too big to fit in the oven! They still had some vegetables for sale too—even brussels sprouts on the stalk.
I think we’ll be coming back here again. Maybe for the strawberry U-pick-yourself season? All in all, a pleasant lunch and outing with Mia.
This morning we did a little grocery shopping and then took the dogs to the dog park and let them run around like crazy. Alex decided that at the grand old age of 9 he was really meant to be an agility dog and went up the A-frame with very little coaxing. Several times! He even went through a tunnel. Go figure! Bella loves to chase any dog that runs and there were plenty of those today so she got the best workout of all of them. Hailey just trots around looking for people to scratch her butt. Then we came home to make lunch.
Today for lunch we drank these: Apple Cider Mimosas.
Half champagne (we used Prosecco) and half apple cider with an apple piece floating in it. Yummy!
I made these roasted pears which were basted with a honey mustard and olive oil sauce topped with melted brie and chopped pistachios. Also yummy!
Hope your weekend was a good one!
I hope you enjoy your day and your Thanksgiving feast today, not matter what you choose to eat! “My” turkeys showed up this morning for their Thanksgiving feast! Aren’t they cute?
I am at a loss for blogging at the moment, so I would like to redirect you to hubby Rick’s site and his stunning photo of an immature bald eagle we saw on our walk two weeks ago near Monksville, Reservoir.
Follow this link.
My neighbor Aileen’s pig, Ollie, that is. You remember meeting him last month, right? He’s so darned cute! Her little granddaughter made this sign for Ollie’s summer house. See the little curled-up pig tail on the “O”? Trouble is, Ollie doesn’t have your normal curled-up pig tail—his is straight as can be and it wags all the time like a dog’s.
I took Rick over to meet him two weeks ago so he’d stop making jokes about getting both eggs & bacon from our neighbors. He understands now how special Ollie is.
He comes running when Aileen calls him, grunting and making little piggy oinking noises the whole way. Just don’t try to pick him up. He squeals, well, like a pig!
Mary-Anne the sheep shares Ollie’s summer home and doesn’t understand why all the fuss over a stupid pig! Look at me, she says, at least you get wool from me! What does he do to deserve all this attention?
Aileen’s chickens lay wonderful eggs and I am totally spoiled getting fresh eggs when she has them. She recently “weeded” out the old chickens and the roosters so one chicken house is empty now. Ollie will move in there for the winter so he can have a heat lamp. I’m thinking Mary-Anne is saying “good-riddance to that hammy pig!” (multiple puns intended)
Although we had roosters right next door we hardly ever heard them. Not so with our neighbors two houses down from us. They have chickens too. And very noisy roosters. It starts at 4:00 a.m. and goes until 6:00 a.m. Right now we still have the bedroom window open some so there’s no avoiding him. It’s not your normal cock-a-doodle-do. If it was it might not be so bad. But this rooster sounds like it either has a sore throat or something stuck in it. Every few minutes it lets out a croaky rendition of the old cock-a-doodle-do. It’s not pleasant at that hour of the morning and it makes me cranky. I keep threatening to go down there and make coq au vin out of him.
We may have been cheated on the most of the trees’ autumn foliage, but the burning bushes didn’t get the same message to tone it down this year. I’ve taken photos here before of them, but this year they just seemed to be everywhere, and spectacularly so! All the following photos were taken on Thursday of this week.
These trees all seem to be wearing bright pink tutus.
A few of the maples didn’t get the message about toning it down either.
Underneath the big red maple that stands so majestically by the road.
And this one by the old falling-down house.
The Ironworks park is not only a very beautiful place, but interesting as well because of the old houses and outbuildings they rescued from the destruction of the old community that used to be here when the ironworks were still in operation. The whole area has a strange feel to it, as if there are still people living there. It can be eerie. They still use them as a backdrop for their re-enactments of the Civil War that they put on every year. (Follow the link for photos of the re-enactments that I took in 2008.)
Some of the outbuildings are in a sad state of repair, like this old shed. I liked it though. I tried several different angles to capture its air of neglect.
Looking out its only window.
And this old chair left sitting forlornly on the front porch of the big white house.
The shadows are deep and strong this time of year because of the angle of the sun. Here, a tree imprints itself on this old house.
More shadows.
This is my favorite of all the houses. I love the location where it sits and the big old sycamore tree that frames it. I love the stonework!
The old outdoor fireplace on the house grounds. As you can see, plenty of autumn color here!
The house’s location is enhanced even more by a small branch of the Wanaque River that now flows freely past it and down in to Monksville Reservoir instead of being harnessed to power the ironworks. A serene and beautiful spot in which to imagine living, don’t you agree?
And, so concludes our little walk to Long Pond. I’ll leave you in a ‘reflective’ mood with reflections in the reservoir.
Note: A little snippet of local history! The name “Long Pond” does not refer at all to Monksville Reservoir which was constructed back in the 1970’s, but to Greenwood Lake, a little further away. Long Pond came from the word the native americans used to refer to what is now called Greenwood Lake.
