Search This Blog

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Little and Big Foxes

 Hello dear friends!  Sorry for being gone so long.  Seems like the past month has been one thing after another.   Big and little foxes.  Plus getting the garden in.  Are you having strange weather this summer?  It's 58 degrees today, but only a few days ago it was in the 90s.  We go from one extreme to another.  I guess that is what the Grand Solar Minimum is supposed to be all about, but it certainly makes for unusual gardening.  Even the plants are confused.  Phlox usually blooms in late summer here, but here is a patch that bloomed in late May!

Even stranger is that I didn't plant them there, they simply reseeded themselves from elsewhere.  My flowerbeds have a way of recreating themselves.  I can never tell what or where things are going to appear, but one thing I am none too happy about is that I have asters everywhere this year.  I have spent more time pulling them along with forget-me-nots than I ever have before.  But one thing I have discovered about myself that yanking weeds is very therapeutic.  Unawares to me, my husband snapped this picture of me in the garden:


It seems to be a very familiar sight these days.  Well, anyway the garden is in! Yep, we still have to wear heavy sweaters here.
Now the hoping, praying and weeding begins! You may not believe it, but we have peppers and tomatoes already appearing.  But on the other hand, I do not believe our corn will be knee high by the Fourth of July, as I said, it is a strange year. 

Jam Making Time

We are in a battle to beat the birds, rabbits and deer to gather our fruit before they get ahold of it.  Managed to get enough strawberries for a batch of jam.  And the other day we spied blueberries on sale at our Walmart for $2/lb. Unheard of! Couldn't resist picking up enough to make a batch of jam.  It was so good, I decided to make a second batch, but unfortunately when I returned to the store, they were now $4/lb.  We will have to treasure what we made.

Jam making is my least favorite canning chore.  Too sticky!  But we love our jam.  Rather than have baked goods, we eat a lot of jam on toast or graham crackers.  Jam making is an imprecise science, so many variables.  If you want to get good at you have to learn about sheeting.  When you are boiling your fruit and sugar let it drip off of the spoon, if it drips quickly and one drip at a time it isn't ready.  When it starts to drip off of the spoon two drips at a time and slowly, it's getting close, so start paying closer attention.  When those two drips sort of merge together, that's sheeting and the jam is ready to be bottled.  You can double check if it's ready by putting a plate in the freezer  and dropping a bit of the jam on it. Pop it back into the freezer for a few seconds, then run your finger through the jam.  If it doesn't try to run back together, but stays separated it's ready.  Anway, here's my recipe for Strawberry Preserves:

Strawberry Preserves

1 quart of stemmed, firm red-ripe strawberries
5 cups sugar
1/2 cup  of real lemon juice (do not use that bottle stuff)

Leave small berries whole, but cut up larger berries into rather large pieces
Combine berries and sugar and let stand for 3-4 hours.
Bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly for anywhere from 10-15 minutes, until thick.
Add lemon juice a continue boiling  until jam sheets.
Process 15 minutes in sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace in a boiling water bath.

Or you could go the easy route and just use pectin and the recipe that comes with the instructions. Ha!
These are preserves.  Preserves are larger pieces of fruit suspended in jelly.  Jam is crushed fruit and jelly uses only the juice of the fruit to make a clear, well, jelly.

On The Creative Front

In between being on the phone to banks, credit card centers, and post offices(sigh) I've managed to get a few, but not as many as I'd like, projects finished.  

I knitted this shawl, which was a kit from 

It's a super easy pattern, that any beginner could knit. And a great take-along project because the pattern is so easy to remember.

The skirt is a simple gathered skirt, but of course I can't make a simple skirt, can I?  I have to complicate it by adding pintucks that you can't see at the bottom, felling the seems, making lined buttonholes and covered buttons (they are my  signature).  I also made the waist higher and rearranged the pleats so they were more gathered at the back, because even though I'm ample enough from behind, these style of skirts tend to give me a very flat big bayview, as father used to call it. Here's a close-up of the back (mind you I haven't pressed it yet):
I love this fabric.   Reminds me of the early Laura Ashley fabrics, way back when her shop was a little cottage industry.  I still have to hem it.  Then I want to get back to finishing a quilt and work on some autumnal things.  There's plenty more I could write, but shan't bore you any further. Just wanted to write a little something to let you all know I hadn't forgotten about you.  Hope you all have a lovely week ahead and please remember to take time everyday to do something you enjoy!

Hugs
Jane     



17 comments:

  1. Oh Jane. so good to see you here. I have never used Pectin, and do the finger slide test on dollop of jam on a very cold saucer. Slide, if it has skin, it is ready. How prices vary even in a few days. I tend not to make jam these days, our small garden doesn't have enough room for too many plants. But the red guava tree outdid itself this year, lots.And a miracle, my absolutely favourite fruit, passionfruit, has a second crop, and we are in almost winter. Your garden looks wonderful,soon you will have produce galore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Jean! I do hope you are feeling well these days. How nice that you are getting such lovely fruit! Anything these days is such a blessing. Ha! I said I wasn't going to make any jam this year and I've already made a dozen jars. Just can't see letting all that fruit go to waste.

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  2. Did you notice I can comment now? LOL

    Looks like a handsome gardener is on staff! You always have the loveliest garden and it is again this year! Did you plant celery this year?

    Love love love the skirt! I particularly love the buttons! Such precise handwork! Did you do it all by hand or use your new-to-you machine? It does look very like Laura Ashley fabric.

    Walked by the cherry bush today and I have enough ripe for one more round of jam tomorrow. I'll pick when the sun goes down. Mister has gone to fish (finally!) with instructions to bring home supper... Or we'll have tea and toast, which, you know, is fine with me!

    I love seeing an update! Looks like you are content and busy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, we did plant celery. Hadn't planned on it, but decided this year to plant everything but the kitchen sink.

      Yep, used the new machine for most, with plenty of hand work thrown in. Just can't leave well enough alone. Ha! Wish we lived closer, we had so much fun in your atelier.
      Hope Don catches lots of fish for you!

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
    2. Good plan on planting! No telling what will come up this year with this crazy pants weather!

      We would have a blast and probably need bail money.... :)

      Delete
    3. It's called throwing everything against the kitchen wall and seeing what sticks gardening. Ha!

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your beautiful hat with your gardening photo, thanks to your husband! Your gardens all look so lush. Same here with the temperatures! Crazy weather. I thought those were garden phlox! Mine are not blossoming yet. They are one of my favorites and I love the old-fashioned scent. Beautiful skirt and material. Good points/advice about jam-making. You never can know how much juiciness is in the fruit. Our blueberries from North Carolina in our grocery store is also $2/lb. I did get back for more and we are getting all-blueberried-out here! lol. hugs, andrea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do smell wonderful, Andrea! Phlox blooms around here towards the end of August. Everything is confused. Blueberried-out is a good thing to be! Ha! They are Jamie's favorite fruit, so we try to eat as many as we can while they are priced so well. Wish I had boughten more to freeze. We do have some bushes, but the deer ate them down to their nubbins and they never recovered, we only get a couple of cupfuls a year in spite of the bushes being about ten years old. Have a wonderful week!

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
    2. JulieT from MinnesotaJune 20, 2022 at 9:14 AM

      Jane I just want to say I found your blog thru another blog and I have read every post! Such a wealth of knowledge you are. I copied off your slipper pattern and knitted up a pair. I love the skirt. In the summer you will find me mostly in skirts or dresses so much cooler.

      Crazy weather here as well. Big garden planted and we are staying home a lot. We are retired and gas is just too expensive. But home is heaven where I can garden, sew, knit, and preserve food.

      I feel like we could be sisters as our lives in many ways are mirrors of each other. Thank you for the blog and I hope you continue to give us advice and show your projects.

      Delete
    3. Well, hello, Juliet! It's always so nice to meet a kindred spirit. I'm glad you found the slipper pattern. I first started knitting that pattern when I was around 8. It has been around a long time! We are staying home a lot also, I think many are finding home is the best place to be. Well, it's raining cats and dogs today, I'm sure the garden is loving it, but tomorrow will probably be a major weeding day. Hope your day is lovely!

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  5. The shawl and skirt are lovely! Your mention of lemon juice reminded me to make sure I have enough for tomato canning this summer. I use that, now that the recommendations I'm following for healing eczema say not to use citric acid. You mentioned beating all the critters to your fruit. I know that well. Yesterday, I found the Japanese beetles had already started munching on our apples, young as they are. It's always an adventure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Laurie! Yep, they say to use that bottled lemon juice, but it gives the tomatoes an off taste. It's the real lemon juice for me. I hadn't heard about that for eczema, my husband has psoriasis, I'll have to look into it.

      Just went outside to inspect the garden and the deer have eaten all the tops off the green beans and some of the peas. You'd think I live deep in the piney woods with all the problems we have with deer. It sure is frustrating! Hope your garden grows well!

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  6. Planting all we can, but our strawberry crop is below expectations...hopefully the raspberries will come through better. Your skirt is lovely; so nice to take time and be precise in needlework. Pleased when I take time and do it well, but some things 'slide' if necessary... Our weather here is all over the place too. 10 days ago I washed all the woolens, then got out the cardigans again, only to search next day for a comfortably cool cotton dress! One year when we lived by the ocean, an August hurricane did lots of damage, BUT the September outdoors wedding was graced with blooming lilac bushes!! Really!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have lots of raspberries, but they are like they are in suspended animation. We will see. Sounds exactly like what we are experiencing, weather-wise. But, to be honest, I'm kind of enjoying it. Right when you think the heat is unbearable, you get a reprieve with an almost Fall-ish day. However, I'm am concerned about what it is doing to the garden. Guess time will tell!

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  7. So happy you are back. I love reading your posts !

    ReplyDelete