July, 27, 2015

It was hot again today.  It usually is in July in this part of the country.  I spent most of my day inside making pickles and relish with one voyage out in the heat to watch Zane learn soccer in the Park and Rec class.  Oh, I guess I did make another trip out to buy "ziploc" bags later in the day.

Accomplishments:

6 pints zucchini relish

6 1/2 quarts Caddie Pickles

Squash cooked and blended for soup base, 4 pint.s

14 pints of sweet corn

Messy kitchen cleaned up twice. 

Plus a bunch of other normal things that happen in a regular day.

The dining room floor is one thing that is waiting for tomorrow. It just has cracker crumbs all over it. 

July 24, 2015

Canning is keeping on.  I've made two more batches of relish with a total of 17 pints.  I've made 3 1/2 quarts of dills and 4 1/2 quarts of Caddie pickles.  Since my last post I made another batch of beet pickles ending up with the same amount.  I've been processing some of the summer squash into soup base for the freezer, putting some grated zucchini into the freezer and we are eating it every meal.  My beans are not setting on very quickly but I put a quart of them in the freezer and ate or gave away the rest.

The raccoons have gotten into our sweet corn, which we are also eating for every meal except breakfast.  Jim put up a three wire electric fence.

This is the dill we're using.  Think I've got a jar big enough?

with a yellow yardstick 

July 17, 2015

It has turned hot, very hot, and the fan motor on our air conditioner locked up two days ago and had to be replaced.  Luckily, the one cool day we had these last two weeks was that day and I was able to cool down the house with the whole house fan and open windows.  The next morning I cooled the house down using the same method and when the temps were the same inside as outside, I shut up the house and by mid-afternoon our a/c was back in business.  Yay!

Harvest is gearing up.  Our apple harvest is in, a little early since these fell off while Jim was pruning it.  They are not ripe and were nibbled on by little bugs called grandchildren.  

This is it folks, three unripe apples.  After last years beyond bumper crop, I'm rather thankful.

Our first onions must love us.

Our onions seem to be ready early. We're only getting a few peas.  The warmer weather is affecting them and we only got half a dozen seeds to sprout. 

First big squash picking.  We ate the first ones all up on the weekend. I made soup base out of what I didn't use for relish.

First beans.

5 pints relish.  

This was yesterday.  Today I made the rest of the beets into 6 quarts and 1 pints of pickles. 

July 7, 2015

 July 1

We have been waiting to see the effects of the Canada wildfires in our area.  This moon was rather pinky, but the photo doesn't show it. 

Yesterday, it was hazy all day, and those with good noses got a faint smell of smoke.  It wasn't surprising with the strong north wind we all day.  The week is supposed to be cooler, as well, in the 70s and low 80's instead of high 80s and 90s we've been having. 

I canned beets on the 4th.  We celebrated "make a loud noise with a bunch of kids" day, twice already.

Half my beet crop.

Washed and ready to boil.

All done.  I'm going to let the ones we left grow a little bigger so I can get a little more.