Summery Corn Relish, Vivian Howard's Somewhere South

Summery Corn Relish-

With the warmer weather it was tome for some summery foods! It's been yard work weekend, but I wanted to squeeze in some homemade foods. This is my own recipe I came up with after reading many online, feel free to modify! Many people also can this. Keeps quite a while in the fridge, if it lasts that long! I love the stuff, has a nice crunch.

5 cans corn and the juice, (best using fresh, but not in season) 
1 each, diced/chopped Red bell pepper and Green bell pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
1 Tsp Celery seed
1 Tsp Mustard seed
1 Tsp Turmeric
1 large diced red onion (you cold use white or yellow)
2 cups Apple Cider vinegar
1 Tsp Red Pepper flakes (or you could use diced Jalapenos)

Put everything into a non-reactive large pot, still well, bring to a boil. Next lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Transfer to jars, let cool and refrigerate. This recipe made 4 Qt. jars. Some recipes have added cucumber, hot peppers, or tomato. Play with it and make it your own! I served tonight with beer battered fish, homemade tartar sauce, and veggies. Put on top hot dogs, bean whatever!

Vivian Howard's Somewhere South-

I always loved PBS's A Chef's Life show with Vivian Howard, leader in the farm to table restaurant movement. She's very honest, funny and charming. I stumbled onto her new show last week and love it!!! Here's the description of her show from her website-

"After five seasons of “A Chef’s Life,” chef and author Vivian Howard serves as both student and guide in “Somewhere South.” Exploring cross-cultural dishes through the professional and personal relationships she has with southerners of many backgrounds, “Somewhere South” lets viewers meet their neighbors while exploring the foods that bind and define the American South — one dish at a time ". 

Her new website has recipes and other things from the show Somewhere South  A link for her full episode of What A Pickle is here PBS.org What A Pickle, great ideas and looks at various foods!!! This episode really got me thinking about new kinds of fermenting I could do, very inspiring ideas. She has a great Facebook page with lots of fun posts, recipes and behind the scenes info.

Smoky Summers- The New Normal? Fermented Pickle Results, Movie Star Maureen O'Hara's Estate Sale

Today in Boise

Smoky Summers- The New Normal?-
We first moved to Boise in 1996, when our children were in elementary school, and they're all grown now. That gives us some perspective on what used to be normal weather here. We used to get occasional thunderstorms coming through in the summer with torrential downpours or hail. The thunderstorms that pretty much stopped except for very rare circumstances. We never had smoky skies here in the city until a few years back. The worst we had was 3 years ago when it was so smoky you could see the smoke looking down the streets. Seattle is really smoky, as are parts of Oregon, and meteorologists and scientists are saying this may be the new norm. When you have environmental issues, droughts, stupid people who light fires intentionally/accidentally, a combined with other events and fires rage. Ironically there have been very few fires in the Boise foothills this summer. Most of the fires in Californian and British Columbia are large enough that all the smoke comes into our valley. When it's nice outside and 80° you want to do something outside. All you have to do is look at the foothills, or where the foothills used to be, and say I don't think so. When you have respiratory issues and allergies it just exacerbates them even more. I've had to break down and use steroid nasal sprays because I've been so congested from this. I avoid that when possible, but wind up using them several times a week. We use a good furnace filter and we have a HEPA filter that I run all hours in our bedroom except when we sleep. You do what you can to keep the contaminants out but it always comes in anyway. I started thinking if I want to keep living in Boise long term is every summer going to look like this? Time will tell, but it's sad. I'm very grateful that we don't have any risk of fire in our city, like people in other areas.

Fermented Pickle Results-
Last weekend I made my first batch of Armenian fermented pickles! I checked them after 3 or 4 days, but they weren't very sour at all so I waited until today. Fermented pickles are one of those personal preference, taste choice things. The longer they ferment the more sour they will get. It's all about what tastes good to you. When I tested one this morning I was happy to see that they were crunchy! I had added a black tea tea bag in the bottom of the jar as I had read that helps with keeping the pickles from getting soggy or mushy. The flavor was good, but I think next time though I would add more garlic and more pickling spice. I strained the liquid and then put the pickles back into the fridge. It's very normal for the liquid to be murky and a lot of that will normalize after it gets cold.

My fermenting kit comes with a regular plastic jar lid and so you just take the fermenting lid off and use it on top. Into the fridge they went. They will still ferment a bit more slowly and get more sour and that's fine.

From The Quiet Man

Movie Star Maureen O'Hara's Estate Sale-

My daughter dropped by yesterday and told me a fascinating story. One of my favorite actresses from older movies, some made before I was born, was Maureen O'Hara. I didn't but about 3 years ago she moved to Boise to live with her grandson. She passed away a few years ago and she used to frequent a store called Ricochet. It's a re-sale store that specializes in furniture and home furnishings. Apparently said she and her grandson used to shop there, so her estate sale went to that store. Some of her belongings went to museums in Ireland where she was born. The sale started Friday, ran Saturday and finished yesterday. Here's the local news story- Ktvb.com  My daughter bought a pair of long leather gloves that went to her upper arms, and a leather ethnic belt that look like it was from the 70's. I dropped by the store yesterday for a few minutes and the only thing left for shoes and clothes, but lots of great photos of her. I thought it might be nice to buy a teacup and saucer, but sadly all gone. I looked at some low cut riding boots and she had very petite feet! She really had a fascinating life story and I always loved the spunky women that she portrayed. She had a interesting personal life as well and there's lots online. She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with her 1st husband who was in the military. Loved her movies!!!!

100 Degrees, Hawk Attack! Sweet Hot Pickled Red Onion, Making Corn Relish

100 Degrees-
Well summer is finally here and so is the heat! It was 100 yesterday and 80 degrees at 10:30 a.m. this morning. Now it's water, water, water. We added more compost to our beds to keep the soil moist, really helps. I'm very grateful we also have A/C and lots of ceiling fans. We dress for the weather and stay hydrated. Kept the chickens cool with the little mister. Both the hens stood right under it yesterday. I hosed down the chick area where they like to hang out. Pretty cool. The veggies are really taking off in the garden and the heat will help. And hey, I can make sun tea!

Sadly the fires have started too. Many fires were started on the 4th from fireworks, and there was a grass fire in the foothills yesterday. The sky was smoky in parts last night, at times obscuring the sun, but it's gone this morning thankfully. So we're staying cool and enjoying the summer. 

Image from Eastsideaudubon.org

Hawk Attack! 
You know how every thing's going really well and something happens that is so bizarre you stand back and think did that really happen?  Two days ago the chicks were outside having a good time and I was in the kitchen with the sliding glass door open. It was pretty quiet, the weather was great. I heard a terrible terrible, blood-curdling peeping from one of the chicks. I wasn't sure if one of the hens was attacking one, a cat or what was going on. I threw open the door and ran outside. As I was coming out off the deck I could see something long and low, jet black at the base of our garden gate going into the veggie area, was it a cat or?

 After getting closer coming off the deck a huge hawk flew up over our maple tree. When the hawk flew off it went and landed on our neighbor's tree behind us. I went into the garden, saw only two chicks and just had a terrible thought that the hawk had taken one. Annie the white chick was missing-

I thought well, that's it, the hawk took the chick. Then I heard another terrible peeping and looked around the yard. Annie was in the top of a boxwood shrub in the shade area, on the other side of the coop. I ran over there I was able to get her out of the shrub-

 Round boxwood shrub

 She was shaking like a leaf and peeping wildly. Poor thing was terrified. I checked her and didn't see any blood or any puncture marks. I took her back into the main part of the garden, closed the gate and put her down on the ground to see if she was okay. She seemed fine, but all three of the chicks ran and hid in a corner. I grabbed a lawn chair and brought it inside the gate so I was only a few feet from them and sat down. I didn't see the hawk at that point but when I looked up it was soaring over us. The chicks kept looking at me and I think they seemed comforted by my being near, and they all fell asleep.

Mantling Behavior from Hiveminer.com

Hawks spread their wings out to cover their prey when they first catch it. That's called mantling, then they eat. I learned this being a volunteer at the local Birds Of Prey Center.  It was low to the ground in front of the gate, just flat. When I came out and the hawk flew away I think it dropped Annie due to her size or weight into the maple tree. I suspect that she tumbled down through the tree, then landed in the shrub directly below. I think if she had hit the dirt directly she probably would have died from the fall. I stayed with them for about an hour or so and just make sure that the hawk didn't come back. Hopefully I startled it enough that it won't come back, but that's the risk you take. It had really black top wing feathers and I called the Bird of Prey Center. With it's coloring and size they thought it was probably a Swainson's Hawk. I had looked up the Sharp-Shinned Hawks that I know we have in the neighborhood, but they are smaller. So all in all everything came out okay. I'm just glad I was home and heard things or it might have been a much different outcome.

Sweet Hot Pickled Red Onion-
Speaking of food projects I decided to make some of these wonderful that red onion rings. I heard this recipe on the radio years ago, made some and it's a really versatile side dish. You can put it on top of salads, eat on crackers, lots you can do with it. Just follow the simple directions here and you could double or triple the batch if you like Splendidtable.org. The limes juices basically works like a pickling acid. I do like a little less heat, so I use Jalapenos, and skip the mint. A mandolin made quick work of this. This recipe made 2 packed Qts. Yummy!

Making Corn Relish-
Here's another fun summer cold side dish! I didn't make this last summer and regretted it, so I made some now. It's pretty simple, you basically drop all the ingredients into a pot and simmer. It keeps in the refrigerator for quite a few weeks since it's basically in a vinegar base. Some people do can this as well, lots of info out there. Since I don't grow my own corn I just use canned (horrors!) and make enough for the 2 of us. You can certainly make a quadruple batch. All three of my adult kids really love this recipe! The first time I gave some to my one daughter she said she sat down with a spoon and ate an entire quart jar! Too much acid for my tummy. Anyway it's simple and you could add all kinds of other veggies- tomatoes, cukes, hot peppers, etc. I started to chop the red onion and up came the fumes! I forgot to chill the onion, that cuts down on the tears. So I got out my manual mini veggie Chef'n chopper-

I chunked up the onion, put inside, pulled the handle about 8-10 xs, and had finely diced onion, no more tears! I HIGHLY recommend this chopper, VERY sharp, small and works fast. $19.99 on Amazon, click on photo for more info. So here's the version I came up with after reading multiple recipes online-

Recipe-
5 cans corn (I used low sodium) and the juice, or fresh or frozen
1 each chopped- red bell pepper and green bell pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
1 teas. celery seed
1 teas. mustard seed
1 teas. Turmeric
1 large diced red onion
2 cups apple cider vinegar

Put everything into a large pot, stir well, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Cool, then transfer to jars and refrigerate. This recipe made about four Qts. I really like making these kinds of recipes from scratch and add to my cold 'pantry'.

Vacation Day (Sort Of) Peach Blueberry Bread and More, My New Etsy Shop!

Curtido Making

Vacation Day (Sort Of) Peach Blueberry Bread and More-
I had planned on taking the day off work today to can peaches, etc. We've been giving peaches to our kids, freezing some, making jams, eating raw and making desserts. We didn't really have enough to bother canning, since we'd frozen and used up some last week. I wanted to do something different today with some of our peaches. I saw we had some frozen blueberries, did some research and made this- Bigbearswife.com peach blueberry bread. Excellent! Moist and delish! I did add some cinnamon sugar on top before baking. It's not overly sweet, and next time I might add some chopped nuts/ brown sugar/butter crumbles on top-

I also made a big blueberry peach cobbler using a modified version of this Nancy's Apple Blueberry Cobbler subbing peaches for apples-

I wanted to make Fermented Curtido Salvadorian Sauerkraut for a while. It's fermented, so there's lots of probiotics, and it's spicy! I made it a few years and it's worth the prep time. Lots of slicing on my little mandolin (very sharp!). Didn't cut myself :) I got 90% of the pounded mixture into my fermenting jar, amazing! It's setup is really fool proof and safe, so it was a good investment. A cheap mandolin was great for this too, just slice carefully. For the price of two heads of cabbage, etc., you have a great side dish!

I used a giant mixed bowl, and finished pounding with a french pastry roller, works great. Bought up the brine pretty quickly. Do this before you mop, it's messy!

Now on the pantry rack, but covered with a towel, 10 days to go!

My New Etsy Shop!
I'm happy to announce I have a new Etsy shop! It's called LittlehomesteadFinds, and there's a link on the right border of this blog. I have one item for sale right now. It's an amazing African tribal basket, leather with Cowrie seashells that I've had for years-

I've been downsizing lots of things over the years, and still had this. If you're interested, please let me know, might be able to give you a reader discount :) I will be adding more over time, and have a farm style organizing craft in the works. No details yet. I'm excited!

Fermented Green Tomato Pickles, Who Knew?

Fermented Green Tomato Pickles, Who Knew?
I had never heard of these before but it sounds like a good idea to me! I'll try this this weekend if mine survive the frost. Since it's supposed to warm up after today, there's still hope!!! Recipes here-
Fermented Green Tomato Pickles  and here Green Tomato Pickles Anyone else ever tried these?

 Happy Autumn!

Tangy Goat Cheese Dressing, Are You An Apocaloptimist? Great Off-Grid Video, Fast No-Heat Fridge Pickles

Tangy Goat Cheese Dressing-
I'm a big fan of buttermilk and I'm always on the lookout for salad dressing recipes. I've never found a really great "ranch" dressing blend, but I did find this. It has goat cheese and buttermilk, what a combo!!! I saw this on PBS Ediblefeast show, but can't find it online. I took some rough notes when I saw it channel surfing, and modified it slightly. It comes out really THICK! This made 1 QT. exactly. and here it is-

10 oz. goat cheese (1 Costco log)
2 cups buttermilk (I used low fat)
2 TBS fresh Tarragon, minced
1 TBS dried tarragon
2 cloves minced fresh garlic (I used 1 TSP. garlic powder)
2 TBL. olive oil
3 TBL. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
You could also add other fresh herbs, basil would be nice!

Put goat cheese in medium sized mixing bowl. Chop tarragon and mix with oil, in a small bowl. Crush it into the oil. Mix vinegar with oil, and dried tarragon, and add to the cheese. I used a large spoon to break up the big chunks. Add the buttermilk and use a whisk to slowly mix the dressing. I went up and down with the whisk to break up the cheese more, then just whisked it until it was smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit in the fridge a bit before serving. It's very tangy and smooth, nice on a chilled salad!

Are You An Apocaloptimist -
Someone who knows it's all going to sh**, but still thinks it will turn out OK. Example below:

"It" most commonly refers to the environment, or humanity, but could be other things as well.

Guy 1: "The environment is being degraded at an unparalleled rate, we're literally destroying ourselves... but, it'll probably turn out OK. If we fail, the planet will likely heal itself in our absence."

Guy 2: "Man, he's such an apocaloptimist."  From Urbandictionary.com

 Great Off Grid Video-

This guy has incorporated so many brilliant ideas! Like turning a new freezer into a fridge, awesome!!!

Fast No-Heat Fridge Pickles-

I've recently moved away a bit from just canning pickles, to fermenting. Still waiting on those. I do like making fridge pickles, except for the heating of the brine. Why heat up the kitchen? Last night I stumbled on to some really fresh, big pickling cukes, so I bought some. I found this recipe Quick Refrigerator Pickles and decided to try it. I did use classic pickling spice instead of just 2 spices. I also added 1 tsp. of black tea leaves for crunch, 1 bay leaf, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. It was SO much FASTER! I had 4 QTs. done in 15 minutes and the kitchen is cool! I'll let you know how the flavor is in a week :)  If I can wait that long!!! They smell divine.  I'll be trying this recipe next Refrigerator Pickled Cauliflower, Carrots, You-Name-It, photo below. I love other pickled veggies, especially carrot and cauliflower...

Great Thrifting Finds & Lamp Re-Do, Fermenting Pickle Recipe To Can, A Proper Summer Steak

Great Thrifting Finds & Lamp Re-Do-
We really scored in the last week! I found the lamp fixture above for $12.00 at the Habitat Store. It's $230.00 new! I knew when I saw it it was high end, based on the materials and design. It was like new, and I added the ivy to soften the metal a bit. I like the lighter finish. Dave got it up in about 15 minutes. I love it!

New lamp, naked

Old fixture we replaced, we'll be selling or donating

I also discovered there's one particular thrift store that had a whole section of antiques and vintage stuff. I'll be going back!!! Here's our other scores-

Craftsman tool chest $67.00. WOW, these are $400+ new. We're selling it on Craigslist :)

Rusty, HEAVY steel pot rack, $1.50 (half off $3.00!) 

Dark green frames we'll use for some of Dave's prints, $4.00 each

Vintage-y, floral scarf $2.00. Old Brownie Camera (works!) $5.00, my daughter can get me some film :)

Old WW2 German gas mask canister, reselling on Craigslist, then eBay if needed

Vintage 1940's/50's apron, faded but I love it, $5.00. I'll display in the house somewhere... 

Fermenting Pickle Recipe to Can-
I've never heard of "canning" fermented pickles, but here's a recipe if any one's interested- Garlic Pickles Recipe- Ferment Then Can  My fermenting is going well, bubbles are bubbling!!!

A Proper Summer Steak-
Dave's been wanting me to grill up something, anything! I stumbled on some nice sirloin steaks today, 2 for $6.00. While we rarely eat beef, once in a while I want a steak! I followed a simple recipe- rub with olive oil (or canola), a little salt and pepper, then grill. I fired up the charcoal barbecue, and got it nice and hot. They sizzled, then I stood back and enjoyed the show. I  used a meat thermometer to watch the temp, and they were a nice medium when done. I added some roasted "steakhouse" taters from the oven with olive oil and salt. I bought them at Costco- purple, yellow and dark tan. I added my homemade corn relish, and green salad to round it out. We have a fresh, organic strawberry parfait I whipped up for dessert. Got the berries at Costco too. Just crushed vanilla wafers, whipping cream and it's dessert! Wow, I'm full!

Back To School! Independence Days Challenge, Juven For Foot/Skin Healing

Dave's photo from a couple of years ago- I'm ready for Fall!

Back To School!
I went back to work last week, so my posts will start to thin out a bit. I hate going back to work in the high 90's, it's just too hot. In an aging school, with no A/C in the gym and halls, the kids and adults all suffer. We had an open house with some of us in the gym last night, and I thought I'd pass out. Bring on some cooler weather PLEASE! Normal weather in late August should be mid 80's not 90's. This may be the "new normal". The fires have finally subsided, at least as far as the smoke goes. The Rim Fire in California isn't sending anymore smoke this way either. We were hit hard about a week or so ago from that. Smoke and heat, never a good combination. Blue skies this morning and 60! Cooler today....

Independence Days Challenge-

1. Plant Something- 

Nope, we're done. When it's 90+ you can't really plant a cool, fall garden sadly.

2. Harvest Something-

Good steady supply of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, herbs, squash, collard greens, kale, eggs, and my first lemon cuke! Dave picked all the apples last weekend and I canned 10 Qts. of applesauce. Great flavor! I opted not to use the canning food processor, since it takes a lot longer, but creates more apple product. While it wasted some of the apple I could have used, time was of the essence. The chickens got lots of scraps! I basically just cooked the apples til soft, drained off most of the water, then reserved it. I started mashing, adding water, then switched to an immersion blender. I left the skins on.  I added some lemon juice, pinch of salt, a little sugar, fresh nutmeg and lots of cinnamon. Nectarines will be ready in another week or 2. Those will probably all be frozen. Time allowing, I may can some. Weekends are always crammed with everyday chores once work starts.

Home grown organic pippins

3. Preserve/Store Something-

 Canned 10 qts. of applesauce, bought breads to freeze. My organic Pippins (I think) had wonderful flavor! I made a big cobbler with crumb topping, with fresh orange juice and took it to a dinner potluck for staff. Everyone raved about it!  I gave away one 5 gallon bucket to a friend who lost all their fruit to an early frost.

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep-
Gourmet french breads and protein bars (helps my foot heal) from the grocery outlet, dress shirt for the wedding that Dave got at a thrift store. Froze homemade pesto.  Froze about 8 Qt. bags of rhubarb, free from a neighbor. Found some nice things at a local discount store for my daughter's bridal shower, here, on Monday. Getting car ready for fall- new wipers blades all around.

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe-
Eating lots of fresh basil and tomatoes.

I made a Patricia Wells recipe of a traditional French-style fried fish (I used pollock), with a flat leaf parsley salad and sauce Remoulade- capers, mayo, diced pickles, fresh herbs and cayenne pepper. Delish! Think French tartar sauce. From a library book I got, called Salad as a Meal The fish recipe is below, minus the directions, since I know how to dredge fish and fry it. Basically beat the eggs and then dip the fish, dredge in the flour, breadcrumbs, cheese and cayenne pepper. I cute the fish into squares, and used a frying skillet on medium high with about 2" of canola oil. Gorgeous, and golden brown!Use a simple vinaigrette on the parsley and toss. Add a wedge of lemon and it's dinner. Next time I will do lettuce with the parsley mixed it, as it a bit tough.

Sauce Remoulade recipe-
2/3 cup mayo
1 TBL. capers
I TBL. diced dill pickles  In France they use Cornichons, a tarragon-based pickle. Didn't have those but I know of a European grocery store so I might buy some next time I'm near there. I found this recipe on Pintsized Pioneering  I may try that too, with bigger cukes.

2 TBL. minced parsley, tarragon, chives.
pinch cayenne pepper
Mix and chill.

6. Build Community Food Systems-
Sold my first eggs at work yesterday. I charge $3.50 a dozen, and it off-sets the feed. I gave away one 5 gallon bucket of apples to a friend who lost all their fruit to an early frost. Will do that with some of the nectarines too.

7. Recycle/Re-Use-
I used my yard sale Kerr jars for canning that we got really cheap. Our neighbor had canned once and lost interest. I just ran them thru the dish washer and wala! Composting is going well! The chickens got lots of wormy apple scraps :) MAde donations to local thrift store. 

8. Skill Up-
Learn to make French fried fish and how many different kinds of  Sauce Remoulades there are. I know more about wound care than I will probably ever need! Read about amino acids and what they can do.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something-
My foot! 

Juven For Foot/Skin Healing-
I posting about this because I had never heard about it. Right before I started going to a "wound center", I stumbled onto this. Part of my foot surgery incision was healing really slow. I'm not diabetic, and am healthy, but the incision is on the outer curved part of my heel. A bad spot. After I found out about this stuff, I read up on it. It's an over the counter supplement made by the folks who make Ensure. It basically supports tissue growth and protein absorption. It had rave reviews all over the Internet. I tried it, then I mentioned it at the wound center. They recommend it and the flavor's not bad. It actually works as a bit of a stimulant too! I may have to have my other foot worked on next summer (oh joy), so this is a good tool to have. I read that many hospitals recommend this pre-op as well. If you know anyone with surgery coming up this might be useful! You can also buy the amino acids thru a health food store, use the same dosage and make you own much cheaper. Mine was 8 packages for $17.00, using 2 packs a day. I should add- the wound center I'm going to has a lot of great things they use, and my foot is healing up much faster! Never any infection, just slow. Hopefully in about another month or so, I'll be back in normal shoes and have intact skin! I'm sure the Juven is helping.

Smoky sunset from the fires

Hot/Sweet/Tart Red Onion Relish, 10 Chicken Supplies At Dollar Store, Dave's Cobbler, Fruit's Coming!

Rainy Day

Sorry some of my pics are blurry, I'm still on 1 foot, not the best for photos! Stitches are out and 1 more week til I can start trying to put some weight down, Woo Hoo!!!!

Hot/Sweet/Tart Red Onion Relish-
After hearing about this on a radio food show I tried it out. It a keeper! Spicy, crunchy, sweet/sour. Recipe here Splendidtable.org   WARNING- wear gloves doing peppers (I would leave some seeds in next time) and refrigerate the onions beforehand. I forgot to, bad fumes, teary eyes!!! I hand sliced these as my cheap food processor sliced, then chopped them. I let it sit 2 days, had some last night, very tasty! I added a little seasoned rice wine vinegar too, to beef up the liquid.

                                    
10 Chicken Supplies From The Dollar Store-
Great info here- Muranochickenfarm  There's also some other good chicken info on that site.

Dave's Cobbler-
Dave got some free rhubarb next door while I was laid up. He did a great strawberry rhubarb cobbler with a crumble topping. Thanks hon!

Fruit's Coming!
Man, I'm stoked! We have fruit galore this year, and since last year's sucked, I'm ready! Too hot, too early last year I think. We have planted all the fruits on the lot since we bought the house. I'm happy the baby pear tree is healthy, but no fruit yet. Maybe next year. I couldn't get a picture of the French nectarine tree, but Dave said it's loaded too. I'm hoping everything doesn't ripen at once. Usually the berries come on when I'm home. It's tough to can around work and the fruit, but I will if I have to. Freezing space will be made too. We have-

Tone of apples, McIntosh I think

Raspberries

blackberries

Marionberries

Choke Cherries, and these made the BEST jelly last year, wonderful!

summer flowers

My view from the "recovery" couch

 Anya's little portrait

Anya glaring- 

turn off the freaking camera already- I'm trying to sleep!