We're still harvesting apples - this has been a bumper crop year for all the apple trees. I think we can leave the rest for the three not so little fawns. The mother deer has abandoned them. They no longer have spots and are wandering around the garden and orchard forlornly finishing off what they can reach. As big of a problem they are, we still get attached to them as we begin to recognize them. "Look, that one has tiny horns now" Ron said yesterday. So far we haven't named them...
R and R travels
Random posts about family, gardens, crafts, and travels.
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
September 2024
We're still harvesting apples - this has been a bumper crop year for all the apple trees. I think we can leave the rest for the three not so little fawns. The mother deer has abandoned them. They no longer have spots and are wandering around the garden and orchard forlornly finishing off what they can reach. As big of a problem they are, we still get attached to them as we begin to recognize them. "Look, that one has tiny horns now" Ron said yesterday. So far we haven't named them...
Sunday, September 1, 2024
August 2024
Cash, home from ranger training in the Army resting and recuperating.
Martin, the youngest grandchild loving the fairytale book.
It was a strange month weather-wise...beautiful - even hot for 10 days, then we had a big storm. Fierce wind took down one tree and left debris covering everything. Then unseasonable cold and relentless rain for a couple of days.
But with rain in summer, we sometimes get a bounty of Chantrelle mushrooms. And harvest begins in earnest.Cabbage did well this year, so a crock of saurkraut is fermenting away. I realized that we don't actually use much applesauce, so I've been making apple butter for the past couple of years. This year, I decided to make apples into something we really use: apples for smoothies. We make smoothies nearly every day, so why not cut the apples up and freeze them to be ready? If I get more fruit and berries ready for smoothies and dedicate a shelf in the freezer to them, it will be easy to send Ron out to the freezer for smoothy fruit without him having to look for it.
So now I have nectarines, cherries, berries, apples, and peaches ready in quart size bags. Organizing a freezer is much like everything else...life is easier when you know where things are!
It's also fig harvest time, so I have a dehydrator working on figs, and some fig preserves on the pantry shelf.
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Chili Relleno Casserole
Well, I have to say they don't look like much - but my sister, Mona, says they are really yummy, and she's a great cook of all things Mexican, so I took her word for it and picked up a tray of the freshly roasted Hatch peppers at the local IGA. It's Show n Shine weekend here in our little town, so IGA has a pepper roast outside the store. Mona assures me it's hard to find freshly roasted peppers, and I've not seen them before.
I forgot some of the details, so I'm stumbling along to make the chili relleno casserole. I do love chili rellenos, but hate deep frying anything, so the casserole sounded good. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to remove the seeds (I did). It's kind of a lasagna kind of approach - layering chilis with queso I understand that only the proper cheese will workI had enough peppers for the bottom layer and a smaller layer on top of the first layer of cheese.
Topped with 4 eggs slightly beaten with salt and pepper (I used Johnny's Seasoning). And a layer of shredded cheddar. Then, since it's going to be 90 degrees today and we don't have A/C, I covered it well and froze it to bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes on the first day we get a break in this heat. Off to look at land boats with my car obsessed husband. Update on the casserole later!
Thursday, August 1, 2024
July 2024
A couple of grandkids came for a couple of days to give us a preview of our family gathering in August.
Saturday, June 29, 2024
June 2024
A tub of water, a sunny day, and a bunch of children! We all enjoyed watching the great grandkids' antics on our visit to the Tonasket family.
Stopped by the fruit warehouse in Pateros on our way home and picked up a couple of boxes of cherries. We ate a bunch fresh - so fun to find abundant cherries in season. Then home and the canning began. I pitted 6 quarts and froze for smoothies in the winter, and canned 14 quarts for the pantry.
The deer are keeping the peas pruned, but I do spot a few pods they missed. Deer favorite food: peas, beans, cabbage, raspberry and blackberry vines, and all ornamentals. We have a doe with two spotted fawns, and a doe with a single baby that are pretty much residents here.
In spite of all the wild residents, I still have hope of having cucumbers for pickles, onions, raspberries, blackberries, apples, pears, figs, cabbage, lettuce, corn, kohlrabi, potatoes, celery, tomatoes, and peppers for our use.
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
May 2024
While in Salt Lake, we spent a day visiting the Young Living farm in Mona, Utah, viewing the gorgeous grounds and amazing horses. Too bad we weren't there for one of the days they were doing jousting.