Hugging Pigs and Harvesting Saffron... Doesn't Everyone?

Autumn is now here in almost full splendor. 

 Each day there are more and more colors in the surrounding hills.  Fields of corn and soy have dried - turning our typically green patchwork countryside to one of amber and brown.  The air is cool and crisp and sweaters and jackets are once again an integral part of daily attire.

Ginger still makes her daily trek to the barn requesting breakfast (if only I could server her a little faster!) and while she's there, stops for some belly rubbing...

and a little affection.  I love this pig (I have never regretted a single day of having pigs on the farm... they are the best!)

The animals have so much energy at this time of year.  The horses sprint across the pasture and the dogs engage in games of chase.  

We are all loving this time of year.  Nothing beats the sound of crunchy leaves beneath our feet as we walk in our woods each day.  The ferns and undergrowth have faded away, once again revealing the colorful leaf-strewn forrest floor.

It's a glorious time of year, if you ask me!

 Invariably, this time of year, as the purple autumn crocus blossoms in my garden,

I start singing the lyrics to Donovan's song from the 60's, Mellow Yellow.... maybe you remember, "I'm just mad about Saffron, and Saffron's mad about me......"  I'm pretty sure he wasn't singing about the same Saffron that captivates me this time of year, however.   As a child of the sixties and seventies, it has always felt like my life was lived to a particular soundtrack, and song lyrics float through my head at the strangest of times.  Music was always a huge part of my life.  But, enough mental meanandering... back to the subject.

Saffron, the crimson stigma of the crocus sativa (not the popular spring crocus that many of us have in our yards) has long been one of the world's most expensive spices by weight.  

These tiny red thread-like strands impart a brilliant yellow hue and are used to both flavor and color culinary dishes such as paella, risotto, tea, and more.  It is also used to color textiles.  A single saffron bulb yields only .07 grams of saffron each year - a field of 75,000 bulbs is needed to harvest just a single pound of saffron.

Saffron must be harvested and processed completely by hand.  Typically, the un-opened blossom is plucked from the plant and then transported to a processing plant where the stigmas are gently removed.  Here on the farm, I have always just gently pulled the three stigmas out of the center of a blossom leaving the rest of the flower intact. 

It is possible - and I have found it very easy- to grow saffron at home.  The bulbs are planted in the fall and bloom for just one week during the following autumn seasons. 

 Harvesting is simple... just pluck the three crimson stigma from the center of the flower and dry them before storing.  

My saffron bulbs are many years old and have multiplied through the years.

The tricky part of harvesting saffron is in the timing.  This year, our crocus opened during last week's rainy days.  I was still able to harvest the saffron, but will need to double the amount that I use in a recipe because the rain washed away some of its intensity.  Even so...growing our own is better than having to pay for it at the grocery store.

No matter what I am doing in the garden... this little girl is always there to keep me company. 

Moll is one of the barn kitties - our oldest (age unknown).  She is also my garden cat - and comes running whenever she sees me in the garden.  She's a hard gal to get a good photo of, though, as she is always on the move.

Lastly... we had the most AWE-some light show last night.  We could see the aurora borealis so well from the farm.  This was the view around 7:30 PM:

PS:  The reason that I don't keep my dried herb bundles hanging in the kitchen after they have dried is... I have noticed that they attract little house spiders who like to spin their webs across the bundles....so, to discourage this, I take them down when they are dry.  Also, the aroma does not continue to permeate the room like it does in the very beginning.