Pecking out a message.

 And its back to winter yet again. The weather is very much bipolar lately. 

Took this lovely wood peckers pic last season of course. It was sometime in September and I happened to be outside enjoying the last of the pleasantly warm weather before the grim stuff comes along. I kept hearing this strange rattling sound coming from some place but couldn't quite figure out where exactly. And no I didn't think it was a rattle snake. Those are rare around here. But yeah we have those. No, I actually though it was the neighbor doing something in the back yard or playing a trick. So I continued to listen as it still make that rattling sound what ever it was. Eventually I determined that it was coming from the bushes that surround our little pond. Sound tends to bounce around in that area because of all those bushes and the noise of the water fall doesn't help to determine direction either. So I decided to look around in the bushes and low and behold I saw the little wood pecker going to town on a old and spent yucca flower stem. I left it behind and forgotten about it but I usually clip those off when they're finished flowering. So anyways he or she must have found some tasty grubs in those and as the little guy pecked away at the stem. The sound of the rattle noise must have come from the seed pods themselves and so that's why it made the sound of a rattle. Sorry about the quality of the photos but its the best I can do with an old digital camera. Still it is a pretty cool pic. Thanks for viewing! 

 

 

Not imPossumable

A curious possum visits my yard, one night in August of last year. He decided to climb the terris covered in blue wisteria vines. Not sure if its the same possum but we usually get one every so often. Its probably due to the old propane barbecue covered in decades of rotisserie grease. I really don't know why, there is always an issue with getting things clean around here or to even have modern enmities but it is the ways it is. I really don't understand much about this life and family of mine even after living with them a life time. I just shake my head and just go on with my sometimes confusing and complicated life. But at least moments like these take some of the sting out of it doesn't it? Always nice to get some unusual moments you don't see every day. 

Anyways here's some pics of this curious fellow. My cat was there too. But he usually doesn't do anything and just watches our strange pouched company. If anything he just wonders when will our company leave so he can leave his mark on his many scratching posts. 😜😸

 

Happy yellow snap dragons.

 Some lovely yellow snap dragons that grew in our container of strawberry plants last summer. Some how the seeds from a small pot I placed near by, fell into the containers I guess. They were pretty showy so I snapped a few pics. The plants survived long into January if you can believe it. Very unusual for where I live. But I don't think they'll make it to spring since we're heading for an extreme deep freeze this weekend. Bummer! That would have been so cool! I was really rooting for those buttery popcorn looking blossomy plants. They also remind me of scrambled eggs in which I'm making alot of lately. 

 

 Its amazing to me that you can still find beauty in the chaos of our "dumpy" back yard.

Saved a bit of summer for winter

 A little bit of canned summer I prepared and made from last season. It was well worth it and very nice with my homemade almond and peanut butter spread too. Only I prefer my strawberry and mulberry mixed jam for this. Soooooo good. If only the good parts of life can be saved as well and enjoyed during those times where its not so pleasant.

Here we mostly see some of my process of making peach jam. I had made other type of tasty jam too. 

I basically cleaned and boiled the peaches till they were blanched. About a few minutes in boiling water. Then I took the hot peaches and poured cold water till they were cold enough to work with.

If they were nice and ripe peaches, the skin should slide right off. Cut the flesh off discarding the pit along with the fuzzy skin. 

 

Make sure you clean and inspect your jars beforehand on the day you plan on making your jam. Store them in a heated oven. On the most minimal heat to keep the jars pretty warm to almost hot. Must stay sanitized.

Then measure and grind/crush the peaches according to the instructions on the packet of pectin.

Then I placed the peach mush into a tall pot. I put in a pouch of pectin in. I mixed it all till I had a hard boil for a few minutes.

Then I took the tall pot of stuff off the hot ring to place the many cups of sugar in. Placing only a few cups at a time. Must have all that sugar! No if ands or buts!

 Me putting in all that sugar.🔺

 

After you finish pouring in the sugar. Bring the whole pot to a hard boil again.

Boil away till the mixture rises to the top a bit. Then you know you're done and you can remove it from the heat.

At this point put a table spoon of margarine in. It will reduce the foam to nearly nothing. At least you won't have to skim the top Afterwords. (a pain if you ask me).

Place it in the warm nearly hot jars and close the lid tight! 

If you are going to give the full jars a little rinse because you split some on the jar, make sure you use hot tap water. Don't use warm cause the jar can explode in your hand. Water you use must nearly be the same hot temp to clean as the jam inside.  

Then put the full jars in a canning pot est. This is good for first timers. But I just put the jars upside down in another pot of some simmering/boiling water for a few mins to seal the deal. Then I place them on the table to cool off. Jars must have some time to self-seal. You will know by the button on the lid. It will kind of cave in. Must seal, if not, you may run in to botulism in the future. Which is not a good thing.

An unsealed lid will make a clicking noise when you press the top.

Jam is good for a year and more. I have had some for several years with no problems. 

 Some of my finished peach jam placed in the fridge. 

Some of this year's strawberry and cherry jam with blueberries.  

 

My jams are delicious even if not perfect. Sometimes I do a bit of compromising depending on how much fruit I have and ripeness. The consistency of the jams varies.  Sometimes there's a bit of foam in with the jam too. But it's no big deal. Doesn't change the taste of the jam even it not exactly pretty.

I hope this helps and good luck in making yours. 😊👍

The box of pectin usually has very good instructions in them for beginners. Then there's always the internets for supplementing info.

Enjoy!