Once again, the signs of a new season are upon us and I haven't even told you about the last one! Fall was beautiful and busy hence the lack of postings, but time waits for no man (or accidental country girl). Yesterday we woke up to an inch of snow and this morning it is 13 degrees!  One of my dreams associated with moving to New England is to host Thanksgiving dinner in my barn.  Well, although that looked incredibly dreamy on the Martha Stewart Living episode I watched at least 10 years ago, I cannot imagine doing anything outside this week.

Unlike my quick recap of our first summer in Massachusetts I will post many entries about our fun and fabulous Fall in the days to come.  Thankfully, with snow on the ground my outdoor chores are fewer allowing me to attend to things inside the house, and boy, is that a long list!

Another transition from California to Massachusetts is produce, or lack thereof.  The growing season is very short and the weather is unpredictable (at least to me!) so I've had to adjust my fruit and veggie calendar a bit.  I'm accustomed to strawberries (from the stand across Saratoga Ave.) on Easter, but here they are ready to pick the last week of June.  Peaches (from Emily & Jason's tree) on the fourth of July are now enjoyed in mid-August; the tomatoes are only just getting good and kids have gone back to school already.  Forget about figs... they are $2 each and come from CA.  The days of canning fig bliss are behind me.

I'm embracing these changes and all things New England by doing fun new things like picking my own fruit.  On July 1, I spent a leisurely morning picking strawberries from Verrill Farm followed by jam making that afternoon.  A couple of weeks later I picked blueberries (for the first time ever!)  from Carver Hill Orchard; pies, pancakes, and compote, yum!  A few days before the moving truck arrived, I picked peaches from Nashoba Valley Winery (1/2 mile from our house!) to make my ever-popular bourbon poached peaches.

Hamish really likes this toy!