When out in the yard feeding the hens this morning, three plums I picked at random from the feral plum trees (to have with breakfast) are well ripe already. Checking my records from previous years, this has them about a month and a half earlier than usual, since they are usually ready in late September or sometime in October. The apples on the tree are also getting close to ripe; the last windfall was almost sweet. This amount of change is worriesome.
I suppose it is near time to clear and defrost the freezer, and think about making preserves. In years past, plum sauce time was a pleasant fall chore. Last night at midnight it was 81 F outside, and 80 F in the living room, here at Acorn Cottage. This weekend we are forecast triple digits, and recommended to avoid outdoor chores. I am cogitating on how best to rig a shade curtain in front of my west facing porch...
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It has been a rough few weeks, but here is something lighthearted: this is what it looks like, when you start learning Gothic calligraphy, and then go to purchase some bulk Dr Bronner's soap...
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August SMART goals
| # | THINGS MADE | THINGS FIXED | THINGS GONE |
| 1 | charter #14 | rayon dress facing | Tundra flooring |
| 2 | charter #15 | - | floor padding |
| 3 | Tullia painted banner | - | bag to Goodwill |
| 4 | embroidered yoke | - | - |
| 5 | - | - | - |
| 6 | - | - | - |
| 7 | - | - | - |
| 8 | - | - | - |
| 9 | - | - | - |
| 10 | - | - | - |
| 11 | - | - | - |
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I put up a couple dozen jars of chokecherry jam, love that stuff. 30+ years ago when I moved into this house, I pressed wild chokecherries into the soil around bare spots at the edge of my property. Now they are extremely aggressive, I'm losing the battle of their spreading. They are so generous with themselves: jams, liqueurs, dyes. Usually the birds and squirrels eat them all but this year they didn't for some reason. If you want some I'd be happy to send you some dried cherries; it is so gratifying to harvest food from your own property. You have much more experience of that than I do.
ReplyDeleteAh Carol.. that sounds like the sort of plant I like, one that grows happily without attention or input from me... Unfortunately those sorts of plants also can take over! I planted one Euphorbia in my front yard, from a tiny 4" pot, shortly after I moved here, and am still pulling them out from random places all around the yard, the compost bin, etc, and have one next to the driveway that I allow to live and get large, because I love their lime green huge blossom heads.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very generous and kind offer of yours to send me some dried cherries, but as I am allergic to store cherries, I'd best simply appreciate them from afar and be glad you have such a bounty this year. I know that they are not *quite* the same plant, but don't want to risk it!