Preps This Week

Blessings, Darlings!

We're having a heat wave, and moderate drought, here. So I've been only working on the yard and garden in 15 minute spurts, then coming in and trying to cool off. As a result, I'm behind in the garden, and most of my carrots died.

But the beans are well up, the tomatoes are doing great, the peppers have some issues, the garlic and onions are ready to harvest. I need to sprinkle urine around the beans every other day to keep the rodents (?bunnies?, ?squirrels?, ?chipmunks?) at bay.

Started cabbage seeds, celery seeds, and rutabagas.

Missing are the honey bees. Granted, last year we had more than I've ever seen, but this year I saw ONE early on, and that was it. We have bumble bees (not lots), and tons of wasps of all sizes pollinating their little wings off. Of course, the oregano and peppermint aren't blooming as impressively this year, either. Still, zero is not a good sign.

I've starting the spring stored water rotation a bit late, but at least I've started it. I'm beginning to fill the freezer with ice (bottles and cubes) to prep for inevitable summer power outages due to storms. I will probably defrost the dang freezer, as I have been threatening to do, next week when the temperature and humidity drop.

Physical Therapy on my knee continues. It is finally improving! Not that I've started aerobic anything again yet, but now most of the time that I have to stoop to do something the knee doesn't hurt at all.

I need to rebuild food stores, but without money that's hard to do. Yeah, duh. I did buy one can of interesting veggies, one package of crackers, 4 cans of mushrooms, a bag of sugar, and a jar of salsa this week. I need to restock tomato sauce (Bob's been making a lot of BBQ sauce), paprika, catsup, mustard, etc.

Cherries are on sale, I'm probably going to start to dry them tomorrow. Bob wants some canned, too - he LOVED the previous batch. But these don't seem to have a nice a flavor, so I'm thinking that drying them will concentrate what flavor they have. And I want to get a lot of dried fruit in place by the middle of July, in case the astrological shit DOES hit the fan.

What have you done to prepare this week?

Frondly, Fern

Post Halloween Pumpkins

Somehow I had the impression that after about November 1 the harvest is supposed to be over and all the food will have been safely stored. It's sure not that way in my house!

Yes, Fronds, I picked up my annual supply of 10 pumpkins. This year a few days after Halloween one of the churches that had been selling them even put a post on Freecycle inviting folks to take them. So far I've only fully processed ONE of them. Half of another will be blanched and put in the dehydrator this evening. I'm getting well and truly tired of hearing the fan of the dehydrator, but I'm never tired of eating.

It was easier to can them, but I just don't have enough jars or room to store them. I had thought that I had 10 dozen jars, but I only have about 100. Which is only about 1/3 of how many I'd LIKE to have.

Next year, Gods willing and if the creek don't rise, I'm going to get some of the leftover 'little pumpkins' that they had, too. No meat for cooking, but they looked like they were incredibly full of seeds! Yum!

Off to cook dinner, then blanch the slices. Laters!


Frondly, Fern