• Harvest on the Homestead  by Nancy Carter
• Smoky Mountain Oddities  by Gena Suarez
• The Priceless Pumpkin  by Lisa Vitello
• Preparing Your Garden for Winter  by Catherine Love
• Old-Fashioned Popcorn Balls  by Lisa Barthuly
• Chicken House Snake Roundup  by Harriette Jacobs

Carved Possum

Take a good (no longer breathing), fat possum and skin it. Skin it good. Wash it. Pour hot, scalding water over it. Burn it good. Lay it on a board. Throw away the possum. Eat the board.

Just kidding. Actually, people up in the Smokies did eat possum from time to time. It wasn't something they especially loved; they much preferred squirrel. So let's give you a recipe for that instead.

Southern Squirrel and Dumplings

     • 3 squirrels, skinned and cut up
     • 1 egg
     • 2 cups white or wheat flour
     • 1 teaspoon salt
     • salt and pepper to taste
     • 1 cup broth

Boil squirrels in about a gallon of water 'til they're tender. Remove squirrels from broth, let cool. Remove meat from bones. Set aside. Strain the broth one time. In large bowl, mix flour, egg, and one tsp of salt with 1 cup of the broth and roll into a ball. Return remaining broth to the pot, adding enough water to make a full gallon. Resume boil. Return meat to boiling broth. On a floured cutting board, roll the dough ball to a thickness of about 1/16 inch. Cut into 1-inch wide strips and carefully drop strips, one at a time, into the boiling broth and meat. At this point, I would add some chicken bouillon cubes for flavor. Maybe some chopped, caramelized onions to make it truly gourmet. Cook approximately 10-15 minutes until dumplings are tender. Serve and savor like only the Smoky Mountain folks can do!

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The old-timers say that you ought to leave a pumpkin in the garden until you've had the first light frost; it's supposed to make them sweeter. Pumpkin should be left in the field, if possible, until the vine dies back. This will ensure that the pumpkin skin "cures," which helps it to keep much longer in storage. Properly cured pumpkins will keep into the spring under the right conditions. They should be stored in a dark, dry, and just slightly warm place. In the old days, folks often stored them in attics, along with the garlic and onions. I have kept mine in our pantry for months. Before I had a pantry, I kept them under our bed. If you do this, I highly recommend you check on them once in a while. Rotten pumpkin is very hard to get out of carpet. Trust me. If you would like to preserve your pumpkin, I suggest freezing it. Canning pumpkin can be a bit of a chore and is not recommended by the folks at the Agricultural Extensions anymore. This is because the most common way to can pumpkin is to puree it and then process in a pressure canner. However, it is thought that even the temperatures reached in a pressure canner may not be high enough to penetrate to the middle of a jar of pureed pumpkin. Freezing it is a lot easier anyway. Simply slice open your pumpkin, scrape out the seeds and as much of the fibers as you can, and cut it into large chunks. Put about ½" water in a baking pan and lay your pumpkin chunks in there, skin side down. Cover with foil and bake for about an hour, until fork tender. Now you can scoop out the pulp and either throw the chunks in a freezer bag and freeze as is, or puree it first and then freeze. Of course, we are all familiar with pumpkin pie, and I will share my recipe for it. But pumpkin is also good just slathered with butter, honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I also love it in my Tomato Bisque. It's so easy to make! Easy Tomato Basil Bisque      • 1 can condensed tomato soup      • ½ cup pureed pumpkin      • 1 cup chicken broth      • ½ cup heavy cream      • 1 tsp. dried basil      • 1 TBS. honey, or to taste      • salt & pepper to taste Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and heat through. This soup goes perfectly with a thick slice of hot homemade bread with freshly churned butter. Lisa's Pumpkin Pie To 2 cups of pureed pumpkin add:      • 1½ cups brown sugar      • 1 tsp. salt      • 2 tsp. cinnamon      • 1 tsp. ground ginger      • ½ tsp. ground cloves      • 3 large eggs      • ½ cup heavy cream (the richest you can find) Pour filling into two pie shells. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes; then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve with freshly whipped cream.

Continue the Harvest Continue harvesting those late season fruits, herbs and veggies! If kept properly weeded and watered, many will continue to produce at least until the first frost zaps them. Clean and Clear Remove any weeds, dead or diseased plants, and those annuals that are past their prime. You can add anything that isn't diseased to the compost pile, or if you will be tilling the garden this fall, leave it in the garden to be tilled into the soil. Now is also the time to clean up and store the garden tools and equipment you won't be using for a while. Remember to bring in terra cotta pots because freezing temperatures may cause them to crack. Clean them first with a light bleach solution, allow to dry, and then stack them with layers of newspaper between them to keep them from breaking. When you're ready to fill them again in the spring, they'll be ready. Renew Replace those heat-loving annuals with cool-weather bloomers. In my area that would be pansies, violas, snapdragons, calendula, chrysanthemums, and ornamental cabbages. Visit the nursery or garden center in your area and see what they have for your climate. If you live in a milder climate, as I do, you can also plant some cold-tolerant herbs and vegetables, such as parsley, cilantro, dill, garlic, spinach, and lettuce. Fall is also a good time to plant trees and shrubbery. Don't forget about spring-blooming bulbs, too! Pot Perennials If you have frost-sensitive perennial herbs or flowers you'd like to keep, try potting them up and bringing them indoors to a sunny windowsill for the winter. First, dig up your plant and put it in a pot with good quality potting soil. Leave it outdoors in a shady area for a few days. Gradually accustom it to the indoors by bringing it inside at night, while putting it outside for some sunshine on nice days. After a while, it should be happy on a sunny windowsill. If you don't have a sunny windowsill, a fluorescent light fixture and a couple of grow bulbs will work. Since all of my windows face north, that's what I'll be using for my plants. Refresh Add a fresh layer of mulch to perennial beds and around trees and shrubbery to help protect them from the cold. Prepare Get a head start on next season by adding layers of organic matter to the vegetable plot. Think Lasagna Gardening--read the book for detailed how-to's if you're not familiar with this gardening method. Basically, you just add layers of things such as leaves, peat moss, grass clippings, and manure and then let them compost right there in the garden. You should have a ready to plant garden bed come spring.

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• Build a compost bin if you don't have one. You can find free plans in books and online. The falling leaves will be a great starter for your compost, as will the debris from your garden cleanup.
• Make a scarecrow. Use it to decorate the porch or yard for fall. Then move it into the veggie plot to scare away the birds, or at least look cute.
• Make a bird feeder and enjoy watching the birds eat. This is a great homeschool project. My girls learned to identify many of our native birds by feeding them in the backyard.
• Create some fun! While you're raking up the piles of leaves to put in the compost bin, be sure to let the kids jump in them. Join in on the fun yourself! Most of all, enjoy the fabulous fall days and create some warm, happy memories with those you love.

The Schoolhouse Store Spotlight Most of us have participated in the traditional September Back-to-School shopping spree, purchasing supplies and goodies for our children. With the school year back in full swing and organization and scheduling in the forefront of our minds, this is the perfect time for Mom to receive some helpful supplies" as well. Our BusyWoman Planner/Purse/Tote Set is a great way to get organized and look good at the same time! This matching purse and tote set comes with a Busy Woman Basics Daily Planner with planning pages to start you on your way to an organized schedule, this daily planner is sure to get you on track. Your choice of blue, black, burgundy or hunter green. Check it out HERE.

Old-Fashioned Popcorn Balls   by Lisa Barthuly Ingredients:        4 quarts popped corn        3/4 cup granulated sugar        2 Tbsp. butter        2 cup molasses        1/2 tsp. salt        1 tsp. baking soda