Blackberry Pie Filling and Peaches

I took the blackberries that I picked out of the freezer and canned blackberry pie filling.  I got 4 qts and it looks and tastes wonderful.  Not a whole lot of peaches ripe today so I moved them back out to the garage to ripen.  I put them in the laundry room after I sorted them yesterday morning.  I cold packed them but the rest I will hot pack them.  Hot packing make for a nicer looking final product.  I canned 1 qt and 1 pt of yellow peaches and 2 qts and 1 pt of white peaches.  I made about 2 gallons of a very light syrup and have the rest of the syrup in the fridge ready for the next time. 
I washed up enough jars this morning to last me a couple of days.  I figured since I didn't have a huge amount to can I would do the prep work for the next few days.  Tomorrow I plan on canning more peaches and going to make about 6 pints of peach salsa (that will be all my pints jars).
I need to go out to the garage and put some more qt jars within easier reach in case I don't have enough washed and should get a count of how many I have.  Don't want to have to dig through stuff if I'm in a time crunch.  We leave for Texas early this Friday morning so the peaches better hurry up and get ripe.  

Blackberry Pie Filling

L-R, blackberry pie filling, yellow peaches, white peaches.

Tuesday Morning

Got an early start to my day and had a load of wash on the line and berry picking by 7.  If I was going to pick berries I wanted to make sure I got out early before it got to horrible.  After picking about 5 cups of berries I added some fresh straw to the chicken coop, feed the chickens, picked some peppers, tomatoes and pulled a couple of onions.  I was outside for about 3 hours and it wasn't that horrible.  Showered and have rested and now I need to get the house cleaned and things ready for tomorrow.  

Hot, Hot and Hot

First thing this morning Ron and I picked blackberries and I got 5 cups so that means another bag to make a pie with.  Cleaned up and then did our shopping for the week.  Then we went over to Renee's for a surprise 40th birthday party that Tony's parents had for him.  Had a nice lunch and then came home to rest before we take care of the chickens and to take down the load of laundry that I hung out earlier. 
I have hung all laundry out for this past week and it has gone pretty good.  The grandson wants me to go back to using the dryer, he doesn't like the feel of the towels or jeans after being on the line.  I informed him that this was how it was going to be and that I was in my 20's before I wore clothes that had been dried in a dryer.  I did have to dry a load of towels in the dryer yesterday; after I washed the load it looked like it would rain which it did so I dried them in the dryer.  When Ian took his shower this morning he remembered that I had dried a load in the dryer and instead of getting a towel from the linen closet he got one out of the basket that had not been folded yet so he could have one from the dryer.  That is so sad; kids.
Got 3 nice zucchinis from Renee and am going to can a batch of Italian-Flavored Pickled Zucchini that I saw a recipe for in a book called Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton.  I went to the library last week and checked out several books on canning and have been looking at recipes and renewing my canning knowledge. 
Later, take care.

I Finally Got Enough Berries for A Pie

I knew if I kept at it I would get enough to make a blackberry pie; with the ones I got Wednesday and with today's I got a total of 4 cups enough for a pie.  I have a new goal of getting enough to make 3 more pies.  I have 13 days to accomplish this task and I will do my best to make my goal.  When I was picking raspberries I would get enough to make at least 3 pies each time; big difference.  The Japanese beetles are doing their best to eat them before I pick them so I have declared war.
When I finished the berry picking I decided I might as well work a little in the garden being that I was at this point drenched from sweating and it wasn't 9 AM yet.  I picked a couple pounds of peppers to pickle and can.  I ended up with 3 pints of banana peppers, not a whole lot but 3 more than I had.
Going to be another miserable day tomorrow so outside activity will be limited.  It is 8 PM, 94 degrees out and feel like temp is 104.  Just checked for the next 8 days it will be in the 90s and 2 of those days there is a 30% chance of rain.  Everything is going to dry out and burn up at this rate.  If doing a rain dance would get some rain instead of a call to the loony bin I would do it.  :)  .
Later, take care.  Try to stay cool.

HOT Thursday

Right now it is 99 and feels like 108.  I sat out front for 20 minutes and I felt sick to my stomach just sitting there so I came back in.  I feel so sorry for those who work outside in weather like this; it is miserable out.  I have chicken breasts marinating to cook on the grill for supper.  I just can't wait to do it, not.  We don't eat until 6:30 or after so it might be a degree cooler by then.  I think I'll make some tuna salad to have sandwiches for tomorrow's supper.  It is just to hot to cook.
It's only going to get down to the mid 70's tonight so tomorrow mornings walk for berries will be a hot one.  Maybe I'll settle for riding the yard tractor instead of walking, now that would be really lazy if I did that.  I'll just walk and walk slowly and enjoy all the beauty that God has created.
I'm amazed every time I  go for a nature walk and look at everything around me.  Everything was created for a purpose, even those Japanese beetles.  I like to listen when I am walking, listen for a purpose.  Just don't listen really listen to all that is going on around you.  I live by a highway so the major sound is highway noises.  But if I listen for a purpose I hear the birds, the leaves moving, branches hitting each other, bugs making sounds, the frogs, the toads and if my cat followed I hear her walking in the woods stepping ever so gently on those fallen leaves and branches.   Next time your out side stop and listen, really listen and you will be amazed at the number of sounds you hear.  

Beautiful Wednesday

Went blackberry picking first thing this morning (7:30) and had a nice walk but few berries.  The blackberry bushes are not bushy like raspberries but just a stem here and a stem there.  I might get enough to make a pie if I save up all that I get every time I go; oh well I will keep going every other day.  After berries I raked part of the chicken run and spread the straw on the new garden bed.  I could only get as far as my rake would go because Ralph the rooster is very protective and will try and attack if he can.  I will rake in there again in a week or so after the girls scratch around.  They are so fun to watch; they were scratching around the newly cleaned part and looking for things to eat.  I try and give them some leftovers or vegetable scraps before I collect the eggs so I can distract Ralph, but just in case he isn't distracted I always take the hay fork in with me.  Those feet of his are deadly weapons and I've had many bruises on my legs from him.  I fooled around in the garden after cleaning the run.  I was so enjoying the outside I was looking for anything to do.  I finally came in at 11:30 and took a shower and washed a load of clothes and then hung them out.
Took the garlic out of the dehydrator and will grind it later into garlic powder.  I think I will cut some cooking herbs after supper and dry them over night.  Tomorrow it is supposed to get to 100 and then for the next 10 days it will be in the upper 90's so after the herbs tonight I will not be dehydrating anything.  I don't need to add any extra heat in the house, the AC will have to work extra hard as it is.
I think I will go out back and sit and enjoy the little breeze and 85 degrees.  I hate being in the house, I would rather be outside doing something.
Later, take care.

Berries, I Mean a couple Berries and My Day

Renee and Brandon got here at 7 this morning to go pick berries and I was hanging up my first load of wash.  We had a nice visit, nice exercise but less than 50 berries.  I was so disappointed, they are still very red just takes longer to ripen than I thought.  Renee brought me a huge bag of green beans and a couple zucchini so I sat out back and snapped the beans enjoying the beautiful day.  It was nice and breezy out and made it a wonderful first day using my solar dryer.  I washed 2 loads and hung everything out.  When it was dry I took hangers out with me and hung the hanging clothes and folded the others as I took them off of the line.  I put my basket in my farm wagon and that worked just fine.  With the solar dryer I save on gas, electric and get some much needed exercise.  As I took the shirts off of the line I kept smelling them and the wonderful fresh smell was so nice.
I harvested some of my 5 different mint plants last night and put the leaves in the dehydrator.  When they were finished today I put in almost all of my garlic.  It took me over 2 hours to separate, peel, wash and slice the garlic and now is in the dehydrator drying.  I can say for sure we won't be bothered by any vampires tonight.  I like garlic but this is a bit too much; I've dehydrated onions before and they were worse.   Oh well just think of that wonderful garlic powder I will make.  I think I will dry some oregano, basil, thyme and lemon thyme when the garlic is done.
Going to Renee's house for supper tonight, she is serving several fresh salads that she made today.  She has a nice garden and like me eats from her garden a lot.  She is getting a bumper crop of green beans and had a nice crop of peas.  Her zucchini is also doing very good and she has shared several things with us and even used some of her fresh vegetables to barter with.  She needed some programs loaded on her old laptop so she had her brother, my son, come over to do it and gave him some things from the garden.  When she was here this morning I shared some of my peppers with her; her peppers are not ready yet and she swears that mine are on drugs or something the way they are producing.  Last year we hardly had any peppers  and this year I have a lot and they are so early.  The raised bed that they are in had a good amount of straw from the chicken coop and that chicken poop is powerful stuff.  Those girls lay some nice eggs and provide some wonderful free poop fertilizer. 

Guess What I'll be Doing for the Next Couple of Weeks?

After a delicious supper of super nachos that were served with 2 kinds of homemade cheese and fresh picked red onions, tomatoes and 4 kinds of peppers I went for a walk down the field line checking on the blackberries.  The below is all I found tonight but by Monday morning there will be plenty to pick.  I will pick every other day until they are done or we are in Texas.  Jam will be made first and then pie filling.  I saw several trees along the tree line that have been completely been striped of their leaves by the Japanese Beetles.  I saw some evidence that they have been eating the leaves of blackberry plants also.  They need to keep away from the berries until the season is over.

Blackberries from today.

Look at those beautiful berries.

Don't they look good.

Raspberry Pie Filling Canning Day

Up early because I couldn't sleep so I started the pie filling.  I ended up with 19 quarts and part of another quart and had everything done and cooling by 9:30.  Thanks to my oldest daughter Gina who picked up a water bath caner at a garage sale for $2.  Having 2 of them sure comes in handy at times like this and for $2 that was a steal.  The partial quart will be used to make a cobbler that we will have tonight.  This is the first time I've made Raspberry pie filling and to think that Ron and I picked everyone of those berries.  The berries were free, wild, organic grown and you can't get much better than that.  I used the recipe that I found on this blog:
 http://creationsbydina.blogspot.com
There are several other canning recipes that she has that I plan on trying.  Take a look and you will agree that she has some good looking stuff.
Now I'm ready for the blackberries, I will check on them again Friday and there should be some ready by then.  I will make some blackberry jam and blackberry pie filling and like the raspberries that will be free, wild and organic grown.
I am so enjoying retirement; when I worked I didn't have time to do all these things.

Everything set up, just waiting.

Time to get started.

This is my 20 qt pan, look how full it is.

19 quarts of Raspberry Pie Filling; partial qt to make a cobbler.

 

Tomorrow Is Canning Raspberry Pie Filling Day

Jars washed; check
Supplies out; check
Dry ingredients measured; check
Berries out of the freezer; check
Recipe adjusted for the amount of berries; check

All that is left is actually making it.  I have everything out to make about 18 quarts of raspberry pie filling in the morning.  I took a walk along the field line this afternoon to check out the blackberries and a lot are turning red already so I thought I better make some freezer room for them until I have enough to make pie filling out of them also.  I plan on making some blackberry jam too.  I guess with the 2 inches of rain we got Saturday night and the heat is speeding the ripening process up.  At the rate they are going I might be picking them by weeks end.  Some of the plants are just getting berries so the picking of the blackberries might last about 3 weeks.  That is good news; I will be able to get them picked and canned before we go to Texas the middle of July.

Cheese and Butter

I used about 5 gallons of milk this morning and made some mozzarella cheese and took some of the cream and made butter.  It doesn't take that long to make the stuff but it takes longer to clean up and wash everything.  I use my two 4 gallon stainless steel pots to make the cheese and then I have the two 4 gallon buckets that we use to get the milk, then the 2 1/2 gallon glass jar for the butter churn and then a zillion other items.  Every thing is washed in bleach water by hand to make sure it is all sanitized.  When using raw milk you can't be too careful and if you knew me I am kind of a clean freak.
My husband is stopping at my daughter's (Renee's) house after work to pick up some fresh veggies she picked this morning from her garden.  She is so nice to share her garden goodies with me.  She is sending me some peas, already shucked, green beans that I think she has already snapped and some zucchini.  I know she's not grating the  zucchini but I will do that and freeze it in packages of 2 cups each so I can use it to make zucchini bread.
Later, take care. 

Morning Exploring Walk

Got up early and started on my walk around the back field.  At the edge of our property is a hay field and then at the edge of the field is some woods.  We have plenty of deer, a few coyotes, skunk, raccoons, possums and various other small animals.  I walked around the whole field/tree line looking for raspberries or gooseberries or anything else that looked interesting.  I found zero gooseberries, 1 very small raspberry bush and about 1/4 mile or more of blackberry bushes.  Almost the entire tree line is loaded with the bushes.  I am on cloud nine right now.  I see blackberry jam and pies in the near future.  I've never seen so many blackberry bushes before and they are in various stages of development.  Blackberries get ripe around here the last of July and the first of August. My berry picking partner has a long time to rest up and then it will be a couple of long weeks of picking.  Just to think that they were practically out my back door all this time.  I took my small camera out with me so the below pictures are not that good.  I guess I need to practicing using it again; I am so used to the big camera.

Does anyone know what these are?

They're back; the horrible beetles.

Does anyone know what this tree is, they are little and brown.

Not a wonderful picture but here are some blackberries.

    (If you click on the pictures you can see them full screen.)

I Think I Did It

Well I think I did it, ran the well dry watering the gardens and trees.  I unplugged the pump and will have to wait until Ron comes home from work (3 hours yet) to prime it and hopefully the water table will have risen enough in the well so we can have some water.  I was afraid this would happen with the horrible shortage of rain.  When we don't get rain for so long the water table beneath the ground takes longer to fill up and I hope that is all that has happened.  We had this problem about 6 years ago and we really had to watch our water usage.  I have dishes to wash and about 12 -16 cups of raspberries that I picked this morning that need washed and put in the freezer.  I guess I'll just dust and vacuum and call it a day until Ron gets home from work.

Update:
All Ron had to do was plug the pump back in and the water storage tank filled up and the pump shut off.  Got the dishes done and berries all washed and in the freezer, I got 16 cups.

Identify this Plant Please

Here are a couple of pictures of a bush and the berries that are on it.  I ate a couple yesterday and 1 today.  They are sweet with soft seeds.  I was hoping you would answer this Mr SLB, you were the person who I thought of yesterday when I told Renee that we needed a guide with us to identify other plants that we could pick.

Bush with berries.

This is a close up of the berries I brought home today.

I'm sure there are so many plants out there that are good for something.  I tried looking up some things yesterday but with no luck.