Good Afternoon Everyone,

I’m sitting outside and in looking out across the valley I see a myriad of color. The different types of trees in the woods is the reason for the variety of colors – yellow, orange, red, brown and some are still green. The sky is mostly cloudy, but whenever the sun shines through between the clouds onto the far hillside it really brightens up the landscape.

There is a maple tree near the top of the hill that I can see from my kitchen window that has some bare branches at the top, but on the main part of the tree the leaves are a bright orange, and at the bottom are branches that the leaves are still green. One morning when the first rays of the sun rose above the horizon, they hit the tree and it was a blaze of color. Awesome!

Farmers still have field work to do. At one farm they were busy chopping corn and filling silo in the forenoon, then after lunch the farmer headed to the field with the hay rake.

The gardens are mostly cleaned out and ground cover sowed in. Today I brought some radish, broccoli and lettuce in from the garden. I had left 2 broccoli plants standing and they sprouted a new growth. Now I have broccoli without worms.

The church youth will have an evening together to husk popcorn they planted in the spring for a fund raiser.

Events at Mt. Hope:
• October 16th & 17th Swap Meet
• October 19th – Back to the Farm Feeder Sale
• October 26th – Fall Dairy Sale
• October 30th & 31st – Chupp’s Furniture Show
• November 6th & 7th – Mid Ohio Alternative Animal & Bird Sale
• November 7th – Toy & Train Show

A new coffee shop has opened in Wilmot called “The Corner Cup”.

Here is an idea for a dinner menu — Meatloaf, Steamed Sweet Potatoes with Apple Juice glaze and Green Beans. This recipe for the Meatloaf is taken out of “Healthy Choices” cookbook:

-1½ lbs hamburger
-1 cup tomato juice
-¾ cup rolled oats
-1 egg
-1½ tsp salt
-¼ tsp black pepper
-¼ cup chopped onion

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Bake in 9×13 pan approximately 50 minutes. (If you like a thicker loaf use a 9×9 pan.)

BBQ Sauce
-1/3 cup ketchup
-1 tblsp fructose, optional
-1 tsp dried mustard

Mix and spread on top.
Or if you want to save time in making the meatloaf, try the Meatloaf Seasoning mix found at the Ashery.

Have a blessed Autumn season!
-Sovilla