Fall Season in the Poconos
Hi Folks, Aunt Eunice here. I have been off on vacation to beaches in New England. I managed to visit a few historic places there that are even older than Quiet Valley. Now I am back and am in high gear preparing for our wonderful Harvest Festival which is on October 12th and 13th. It’s a lovely time to hold an outdoor event. October has become THE month for visiting the Pocono Mountains. It is also one of the most popular months for having a wedding. The beautiful foliage, the comfortable daytime temperatures make walks or bike rides a pleasure. The cool, crisp evening air allows for a marvelous night’s sleep. It’s a good time for a cup of hot cider and sitting around a fire in the evening. There are usually still a few summer-like days mixed in, enough to give us a brief reminder of August. October makes me think of caramel apples, butternut bisque soup and shushing through the dry leaves. I have always loved that sound as you shuffle your feet through a pile of yellow, orange and red leaves, shussh, shhhush, shussh, shhhush! Makes me feel like a kid again. Just watch out for hidden walnuts under the leaves! They can catch you unawares and cause a tumble onto the ground.
The Versatile Walnut
Here on the farm we are diligently raking up the leaves and walnuts and butternuts. We will continue doing this right up to the Harvest Festival so visitors can have a clear path as they check out all the demonstrations and activities. At the traditional dying area you can see walnut hulls used to dye wool yarn a nice dark brown color. It was also useful in making a stain in the past. The nut meats were a good source of protein and quite tasty. The walnuts on the farm are black walnuts which are not as easy to open as the English walnuts you buy at the grocery store. You always have to be careful of biting down on small pieces of shell.
Quiet Valley’s Largest Fundraiser
I encourage visitors and local community members to come out and support Quiet Valley’s largest fundraiser of the year. For small nonprofits like ours, this event is very important. Your reward will be to learn some interesting things while having a good time and helping a great organization. Ah, October! Enjoy this month, it’s one of my favorites.
That’s all for now. Take care and talk to you soon. Aunt Eunice