Pressing Cider!

We had the best weekend! My parents came up from Eugene and joined us in a grand adventure of apple picking and cider pressing. My friend's (whose house we're staying in) daughter also came down from Portland with a bunch of her friends and we made it a real party! It was great fun to meet new people, make new friends, and of course: drink a bunch of cider! It's really amazing how many apples you need in order to make a small amount of cider.... It's also amazing how much cider some apples can make! We picked the orchard fairly clean last weekend, but there were plenty more this weekend and plenty left for weekends later in the month. I think next time we pick apples, we'll just cook them down to make some apple butter for canning. I do so loooove apple butter.

Just a few of the bushels upon bushels of apples that were picked.

My family....   I asked them to smile and this is what i got. At least Pocket is a cutey pie as always.

After the picking comes the cider pressing. This press is motorized, so you have to be sure not to clog it or get your fingers chopped up, shudder. It was great fun setting up the 'assembly line' with apple cleaners, apple tossers, and apple pressers. Can you say 'good, clean family fun?' Sometimes that's the best kind!

Toss, twist, smoosh, press! The apple muck goes to the chickens and sheep and the cider goes to happy people. We had so much cider, in fact that we had to go on some reconnaissance missions for more jars and jugs.

A friend of one of my mamas lent me some corks and his airlock (he's an expert brewer) that we'll use to make 1 gallon of hard cider. Another 1/2 gallon jar will become apple cider vinegar in several months, and another gallon we saved for sipping and spicing up our morning tea. So good!

Yum!

Have you ever pressed your own cider? How did it taste? Ours is sweet and appley with a bite of tartness. It doesn't need spicing up, but i'm sure it would be delicious mulled as well.

Fiber Friday: Bellwether Wool Company (Preview)

Let's face it, i've been terrible at keeping up any sort of weekly routine here at my blog (remember Wholesome Wednesdays??)..... so i might as well throw out random fun-days now and again! Today i'll be 'starting' a friday 'series' that may or may not develop, but could be great fun if it does!

For the next 3 weeks, my husband and I will be house sitting at a fiber friend's farm surrounded by Wenslydale sheep, alpacas, llamas, Maremma dogs, collies and beautiful Oregonian trees. I'll post more about the experience soon, and more about her fiber company, Bellwether Wool Company soon too. For now - please take a moment to check out their website. Bellwether offers an assortment of natural and dyed fibers from all sorts of critters, many raised on my friend's property.

Here's what i've been spinning lately: Bellwether's "bunny fur" roving: an angora rabbit and Rambouillet sheep blend. So soft! I've spun the singles uber finely and started plying yesterday: it's going to be some darn fine and lovely yarn! Excited to try and make a fine scarf or headband from it. I'll post more pictures of the finished 2 ply yarn once it's washed and skeined.