Morning walks...

 

I'm actually beginning to enjoy taking the puppy out for morning walks.  It is peaceful and the sunrises are beautiful.  If we get up early enough, I see the flying squirrels.  It seems our little piece of the forest is full of them. I had one go right over my head the other morning.  I thought he was going to land on me.  My enjoyment came to a quick end when I saw the fella below on our game camera right behind the cabin.  I always carry a walking stick and a small gun when we go.  There have been many pets taken by lions in this area.  My cousin had her dog snatched up right in front of her.  Since I am not a morning person, Dollor could be gone before I know what happened. 

 I cleaned out the rose bed this weekend.  Somehow the daisies got ahead of me and were choking everything else out.  I also had to thin out the iris.  Would anyone like some?  I have plenty.  On Saturday, I went to the Deadwood Jam.   Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives played.  They did not disappoint.  I was even able to get in the front row.  

This is my last flower.  The deer have eaten everything else.  It is close enough to the cabin that it has managed to evade them. It slowly turns pink as it ages.  

I am extremely happy to report that I have pears.  I never thought I would see the day.  The trees were planted in 2013.  They aren't the biggest pears or the prettiest, as they have been hailed on numerous times.  Still, the one I ate was delicious.  

My poor chipmunks can't catch a break.  As innocent as he looks, Dollor is obsesses with them.  This is the one time he wasn't following them all around and under the porch.  It is exhausting just watching him.  Finally, this morning I had enough and put the pup in the house so I could sit outside and feed the chipmunks.  Isn't the little bugger just adorable?  I'm glad we were on the porch with them eating out of my hand. 

That is because our resident hawk in the photo below has figured out it is chipmunk heaven here.  She perched above the cabin in the pines.  One chipmunk alarm chirp and every creature in the area disappeared.  

That is life at the cabin.  It sure keeps a person busy.  I'm beat.  I have to go to work to rest.  

A few more early morning walk photos.  I have to say they are growing on me. Now if I could just get a picture of the flying squirrels. 

Are you a morning person?  Do you take morning walks?

Eyes to the sky...

I harvested tomatoes this weekend.  I always plant purple bumble bee tomatoes.  My favorite way to save them is to quarter them, sprinkle with olive oil, onion salt, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Then I roast them for 20-30 minutes.  After the cookie sheet cools, I stick it in the freezer.  I keep a bag of them in the freezer for pizzas all winter.  They are so delicious.

I do the same thing with my carrots.  I had a pretty good harvest from the greenhouse.  I made parmesan eggplant out of my little eggplants. They were delicious.  Below is my husband's great pumpkin.  It is making phenomenal growth these last few weeks.

The clouds have been awe inspiring this weekend.  The cloud formation below was all over facebook.  People all over were taking photos. 

The dark clouds in the front mushroomed up in record time.  Within five minutes they covered the white clouds in back.  I couldn't take my eyes off of them.  

Clouds below were from last night.  They were further north.  Later that night the lighting was racing through them.  I took some video.  

This was the calm before the storm.  

The leaves are slowly starting to turn.  We have had such a wet summer there is no hurry. 

The colors and clouds have been pretty inspiring.  I am loving this weather.  

When was the last time you watched the clouds?

Exhausted...

 I did absolutely nothing this weekend.  I was exhausted.  I canned the prior weekend, and the weekend before that I had company, and the weekend before that I was getting ready for company.  I had a rotten week at work filled with naughty students and even more vexing parents.  How embarrassing to be 22 and your mom is calling because she doesn't think things are fair.  Does she plan on going to his job interviews and chatting it up with his bosses?  Anyway, I was pretty crabby by the end Friday.  I didn't do anything this weekend but sleep.  

I think Dollor (that is how it is spelled) understood, because he also slept a lot.  Bless his little heart, he even let me sleep late on Sunday. The above photo is us catching a little sun and sleep on the porch steps. 

I have tons of tomatoes, but I didn't do anything with them.  Except wander through the greenhouse and eat some.  Here is my husband's giant pumpkin.  It is gaining weight daily. 

I don't have any giant pumpkins, but I have quite a few white pumpkins.  I planted plenty of varieties, but these are the only ones that came to fruition. 

I think this photo turned out grand.  The sun was shining though the grass this morning, so I grabbed Dollor, plopped him in front of it, and told him to stay.  By golly he did.  I think it made for a pretty nice photo. 

I feel rested tonight.  I'm hoping for a better week.  At least I won't be running on empty.  

Have you ever had a sleep filled weekend?  How do you recharge?

To everything there is a season...

This is my campfire rose.  Isn't it amazing? The photos are a week apart.  It just keeps evolving.  

These are the first photos.  It started out somewhat light and then the colors get more vibrant with time.  It is just about the only thing blooming so I need to enjoy it.  

I picked my sweetgrass last week.  I didn't get as much as I normally do.  I had a partner, and he was an impatient puppy. Especially since it was very hot that day. 

To everything there is a season, and this is the season of harvest.  I got a pile of plums and a peck of peaches.  It makes for an exhausting weekend, but it is by far the thing I look forward to in the summer.  I am forever thankful for a mom who taught (at the time I felt it was child labor) me how to preserve and use the food from her garden.  I am proud to have this skill.

Something I learned on the internet was the best way to remove the seed in stone fruit is to cut it in half and then gently twist the two sides.  Voila.  They separate easily.   It only took 50 some years to learn that.  I do appreciate the internet when it comes to finding new recipes.   

I ended up with 9 jars of Spicy Peach Preserves, 8 jars of Maple Whisky Peach Jam, 10 jars of Vanilla Peach Jam, 8 jars of canned plums, 2 jars of plum syrup, 2 gallons of plum wine, 2 gallons of peach cider, and a bowl of peaches and plums in the fridge.  There is NOTHING better than a bowl of peaches and cream.  I've been gobbling it up.  

I also harvested some of my carrots. Seasoned them and roasted them in the oven then froze them.  I also canned 6 jars of beans from the garden.  On the herb front, I picked and dried some sage, oregano, and basil.

I forgot to take a photo of my Minnesota midget melons.  They were delicious and I did save the seeds.  

Besides canning, gardening, and chasing a puppy, I managed to braid the sweetgrass.  I am so glad my mom bought me a sweetgrass braid for Christmas one year. Until then, I didn't know it was possible to capture the essence of summer. I take this as seriously as I do canning and freezing food.  

As for puppy chasing, Dollar has us busy. On the positive side, he is keeping the deer and turkeys at bay.  They don't know what to think of him.  

While Ella loved pinecones, Dollar loves sticks.  He is always picking them and carrying them around.  Our yard is littered with them.

The bigger the better.  We can't go for a walk without stopping to inspect every branch and log.  The one below is his absolute favorite stop.  He is determined that someday he will take it home.  

Right now, he is crashed out at my feet.  We are finally getting into a routine.  For a while there he thought 5 am was a great time to eat.  Finally, he realizes 6 might make for a happier household. 

There are some nice sunrises at 5:30 am.  I do appreciate that aspect of getting up early.  

When was the last time you got a new pet? Do you do any canning or freezing?  If so what are some of your favorites?  Who taught you to preserve?