the End of Fall or the Beginning of Winter
Hello there, welcome back to the Beckhorn Valley View. I admit I have not been the most reliable columnist, but here is another irregular episode of Eve’s Cidery with your wonderful host, Leila.
Here in New York we are at a funny point in time, it is not fall anymore however it isn’t winter yet either, or maybe it’s both? The end of fall and the beginning of winter. Anyways, here at the farm it is the time of year when the apple trees begin to settle down for the stretch of cold ahead.
What I mean by that is the trees start to enter dormancy; they drop their leaves by way of chemical signals, as they require energy to maintain. They slow down their metabolism, growth, and energy consumption. Basically they're getting ready for a long nap.
Now that the mindless frenzy of harvest is over (you can watch a video I produced about that here) My parents also have a moment to slow down and orient themselves. Right now the main work they're doing is monitoring the cider while it ferments-which isn’t just sitting back and keeping an eye on it: they have to check it to make sure it’s fermenting properly, if it’s not they have to stir it, rack it, or move it to a warmer location.
They also have to make sure the barrels are topped up and periodically taste the ciders to make sure “nothing funky is happening.” When the cider is approaching the desired level of “dryness” they rack it and move it to a colder place for elevage. In terms of orchard work they have been putting on these plastic tree guard things to protect the trees from mice and mowing around the trees.
My parents have had some time for things not involving cider (can you believe it) for instance Autumn is starting a history class for me and some other homeschoolers, and we are also doing some more communal homeschooling things in the mornings, as opposed to the “work through your duolingo course” approach.
In conclusion, you just read a bunch of information about us (and dormant trees) but it's kind of absent from the fact of coronavirus, which I just realized. Like most people, we are just going one step at a time. I don’t mean to paint an idealistic picture of my family. Well I hope you found this blogpost interesting, have a sane day, and stay tuned for more updates!
Hi there! Welcome to my column: The Beckhorn Valley View.
My name is Leila. (LAY-LA, not LIE-LA) I'm the un-schooling, circus performing, art-loving daughter of Autumn and Ezra. I now have my own column in the Eves Cidery farm blog. In my regular column you'll get a Leila-eye-view of the farm, I'll share with you the beautiful scenery of the cider orchards, art, poetry, a unique glimpse of my distracted parents and so much more. I hope you enjoyed the read, stay tuned!