Within the Lines

Building an Orchard - Before

We've been working hard this spring/summer re-vamping a hill.  We needed a place for the crabapple, pear and peach trees we decided to put in as well as expanded area for more black raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and cherry bushes.  So the project began with an excavator lined up to remove tree roots (we'd already cut down the jack pines that were previously there) and smooth the lumps and bumps.  He was able to remove the tree roots but didn't have much luck with smoothing; said the sod was just rolling and bunching up.  So we lined up to get a tiller, but in the meantime had to get those trees planted.

The hill:
In this picture, the crabapples are already planted; you can see three of them.  The orange-flagged area in the background is one of my chokecherry groves.  They're looking very productive so far this year.  Yay!

Husband digging:

Then each kid had to get in on the action:



We now have five crabapples, 3 pear and 3 peach trees planted and apparently thriving.  Yesterday, I worked on rock and root removal, and putting wood mulch around the trees while husband tilled an area for the black raspberries.  This past weekend we tilled the hill seen in the background of the last two pictures and planted lilacs.  It's beginning to look more as intended.  I'll post "after" pictures later.

P.S.  It'd been maybe only a week since I took those baby robin pictures and they've already flown.  I wanted to take some update pictures on Monday, but the nest was empty.  Amazing!!  I think it took longer for Mom and Dad to build the nest than for those babies to grow and fly off!

Chokecherries & Robin's nest

The chokecherry blossoms are fading fast.  Fortunately, this week I got all I could find on our property flagged so I can find those berries later.  Chokecherry jelly is delicious; although I do need to research and improve this year.  My first attempt last year tasted good but had the consistency of, well, to put it indelicately, snot.  But I've seen that of friends and it reminded me of currant jelly with it's smooth texture and rich color.

Thought I'd also share with you these picts of the nest a robin built in my garden gate.  I actually went to get picts of the eggs (if I could sneak in when mama wasn't around) but the babies had already hatched.  Here they are about a week or so ago:

and here they are yesterday:

They sure grow fast!  Probably due to their vigilant mama keeping them safe and well-fed.  It's wonderful having a nest built right in the garden gate, but it's not so great being told in no uncertain terms that my garden is now OFF-LIMITS!

She dive-bombs me every time I come in or go out!!  I'm glad she's protective, but my goodness, it is my garden after all!

Pray for NE Iowa

I came online this morning to post an idea that was rumbling around in my head all night, BUT then I remembered that Melissa from Down Mulberry Lane lives somewhere in Iowa so thought I'd check and see how they're doing.  So far, seems okay, just wet!  You can read about their weather problems at her site.  I don't have time to post my other thoughts, so thought I'd just say

Pray for the people of  Iowa!

Grumpiness

Monday was starting out as a grumpy day for me; well, actually it started Sunday night.  You know that feeling of needing to scream or stomp or throw something, tho you know you can't, but you're looking for a good reason?!  About mid-morning (Monday), I had a sudden revelation break in to my meditation on reasons to be mad -- I didn't have to give into the feelings; I could pray!  So, I took a break from my frantic drivenness, went into my bedroom, plunked in a chair and waited.  God focused my attention on a book beside the bed, Surrender by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  I weighed my options for a bit -- did I want to read the book? "certainly not"  so did I want to remain miserable and infect everyone else in the house, collapse into bed at night hoping no one would remember in the morning?  "NO!  more-certainly not"  So I got up, got the book and opened "randomly" to a section titled "Signing Our Surrender".  It speaks of signing a contract of surrender to God.  She goes on in the next section to describe the joys of those who have willingly surrendered.  Included is this "Covenant Prayer" written by John Wesley, based on a Puritan text:

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

Exalted for thee or brought low by thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Thou art mine, and I am thine.  So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

Let it be ratified in heaven.  Amen.

In the latest issue of World mag, the following is listed in Quotables (pg 18):

"I've had a very good life, filled with love and family and faith.  You can make life good, or you can make it bad."   Dianne Odell, who lived nearly her entire life in a 7-foot long metal tube due to complications from polio.  Odell, who despite her health problems gained a high-school diploma and wrote a children's book, died on May 28 at age 61 when a power outage stopped a pump drawing air into her lungs.

I chose (and choose) surrender.

Oh, and P.S.  Monday went amazingly well, so that I lay in bed that night marvelling at what God had done.

Refried Beans

During my "Jonah" years, I was married to a Mexican man -- the real thing, not Mexican-American; he came illegally from Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso.  This entry, tho, isn't about him, but about food.  Ex's brother had a girlfriend who was from Michoacan.  Watching her, I learned the authentic way to make refried beans.  (Actually, virtually every woman in Mexico has her own way of doing them, but hers seemed more authentic because they were really re-fried.)  She started with soaking the beans.  When they were good and swollen, she drained off the water, added new and some flavorings (salt, onion & garlic cloves, if I remember right), and cooked the beans until done.  She would then fry them the first time; dumping them into a sizzling skillet (part at a time 'cuz there was a huge quantity), bringing to a boil for a bit, then mashing them with a potato masher.  As each batch was mashed smooth, she dumped them into a bowl.  Pretty soon she had a whole bowlful of mashed, "fried" beans.  This was refrigerated until needed.  Then she'd take a scoop or two, dump in a sizzling skillet, fry this second time till bubbling, maybe add more seasonings (according to the meal), and serve.

However, that's just bonus information for you.   I certainly don't go to all that trouble when I'm the only one in my house who will willingly eat them.  I get a skillet sizzling a bit of oil, open a can of Flavorite chili beans (pinto beans in chili sauce), and dump in the pan.  Put a bit (1/3 cup?) of water in the can, swish around and dump in with the beans.  Add some seasonings, such as a sprinkle of garlic (they never have enough garlic -- refrieds are best with plenty) and cumin, and cook till boiling.  I boil off part of the liquid -- not too much! you don't want dry beans -- and mash till smooth.  If they're still too runny, I may boil a bit after mashing.  (Too dry?  add a bit of water, mash in and boil till just right.)  Add a sprinkle of cheese, turn off heat and put a lid on till ready to serve.  MMM!  good flavor and a snap to make!

Tomato Sauce Questions

I am so sorry, morningsunshine, to have taken so long to respond to your questions about the tomato sauce. 

Paste?  Actually, it isn't nearly as thick as the "paste" in the store is.  I don't know how long I'd have to boil it to get it that thick, but it's more time than I have!   No, it's just a sauce; probably looks just like tomato sauce from the store with no seasonings or anything added.  

Seeds?  In order to have no seeds, I use the greatest boon to food preserving: a Victorio strainer.  Halve or quarter tomatoes, heat till soft, dump in the strainer, and out comes beautiful sauce (from one end--the other gets rid of the peels and seeds)!  This, then, is the sauce I simmer the water off till of the thickness I desire.

How long?  I can't remember for sure.  I do know it varied according to the batch--how watery it was.  Often I'd start one afternoon, pause overnight, and then finish the next day.  I tried using the crockpot after hearing that idea somewhere (which would be nice if you wanted to leave it going overnight), but found it too slow and too small -- I was using my great big pots -- plus mine bubbles around the lid and I didn't like the sauce running across the counter.

Quarts/pints?  I bottled in pints because that's what I use for my pizza sauce recipe.  I'd just grab 2-3 of them if I was doing spaghetti or something that called for more.  I haven't decided if I will stick with pints or go to quarts this year; probably, some of both.

Hope this helps!!

FLU!!

(not my most pleasant blog entry, but life, nonetheless)

Yecchh!  Husband came down with it Monday night, but we didn't think much of it because he often gets sick in response to something he ate.  So I took care of him and and the work needing doing and the errands needing running ...'til Wednesday morning when Bug(10) started vomiting.  So I took care of both and the work needing doing and the errands needing running ... 'til Wednesday afternoon when Son(6) and Bee(3) started in within 20 minutes of each other.  I got everyone settled, had a light supper, and went out to do some weeding to prove that I was NOT going to get this.  While weeding, I began to feel nauseous but continued to disagree with my body.  Checked on everyone in the house, trying to hide from husband's eagle eye, but barely got the animals cared for before I couldn't take another step -- had to sit down.  So five very sick family members hunkered down for one miserable night Wednesday.  (I'll spare you the details.)  All of us stayed mostly to bed Thursday -- I could hardly move from flat on my back.  The poor kids!  It's so hard to watch (and listen to) their little bodies go thru this. 

Little by little, a cracker here, a small amount of clear soda there, we're recovering.  Yesterday we had our first normal family meal, tho the youngers just nibbled a little still.  We're starting to do a bit of the work that's overwhelmingly piling up, with lots of rest in between.

Today -- AAGH!!  There is so much to do.  The house is a disaster, and laundry, ugh, I don't even want to think about it.  Outdoors, I think the list would be shorter if we named what didn't need doing.  Everywhere we turn, there's some urgent project.  Not to mention all the "afters" ("after the garden is in, we'll..." or "after the tilling is done, we'll...").  It's a bit overwhelming to lose most of a week in arguably the busiest time of the year.  I guess I better get at it; it won't get done sitting here.  But I go out the door with this thought:

"Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ for you."