Hitty Laura learns about apple butter:

It is five am on friday morning and I see lights going on. Hitty Laura my person says, Do you want to help us make apple butter today. Yesterday the apples were peeled with our 1889 apple peeler.




This has been in our family for years. It peels and cores apples.


The first things we do is bring the apples out of the shed.



We have eight of these buckets for the apple butter. They have to be washed before they go into the kettle.




Next they go into a copper kettle. We use to use wood underneath the kettle to cook the apples. Now we use a gas burner that is hooked to a gas tank to cook apples. You use a paddle to stir the butter so it does not stick.




After the apples are all cooked up, it is cooked for hours to cook all the water out of it. Then sugar is added to the apples. Then it is cooked another hour. Then the spices, cinnamon, cloves and oil of cinnamon are added to it. The heat under the kettle is turned off and the apple butter is put into jars to seal. We made about 20 gallons of apple butter.




It was a beutiful day, we had so much fun-work and lots to eat. Now we are all resting. Oh my .......what a day zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hitty Maria and Cider Making

Here is the cider press that will crush the apples. It will separate the seeds and peelings and let the cider flow at the bottom to a pan.



First we have to wash all the apples. We had over five bushel to wash. These all were dropped apples that have dropped from the tree to the ground.




The apples go into the top of the press.



Then you turn the crank and the seeds and peelings drop down to the barrel .







Here comes the cider.The barrel has a top to it now and it presses the apples and pushes all the cider out of it.




The pan with the cider then goes over to the table and poured through a cloth to remove any seeds that might of got into the pan.



Then the cider is put through a funnel and into the jug and a lid put on it.




Look at all the gallons we got. We got almost 15 gallons.




The peelings and seeds are put into the scoop of the tractor to be taken down to the cows-they will enjoy them.




This is Marshall and Vianna Fletcher who had the apple press and let us come up and they showed us how to make the cider.Thanks Marshall and Vianna-it was fun and the cider is soooooooo good.

Yeah-new Hitty?????????????????????????????????

Linda just brought in this long package, yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee we got a new Hitty coming to live with us Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee/ She must be bringing her belongings with her say Butch. The box is soooooooo long says Archie. Hey girls come here see our new Hitty come on come on What is all the shouting about says Gerty, Marcia and Tommi?Water ASAp?????????
Jeepersssssssssssssssssss says Archie and Marcia she sure is a tall one for sure. Oh my.................................................
Well as you see it is not a new Hitty, our person Linda got some birthday money and wanted an orchid so she ordered one-this is not any ordinary orchid this is an orchid that will smell like you open up a box of chocolates- it is called a Sharry Baby -Sweet Fragrance-you all know Linda and chocolate. Butch and Archie are giving it its first drink-Have a great day Everyone/