Huckleberries from the past

Huckleberry pie.  Looks like mostly blue-must have been gathered down by the creek.

 

Paintober instead of Inktober 2021

       This year I've been working on a Nature Journal that I started January 1st.  For October I want to paint at least some each day in that journal.  I use watercolor, white gouache, and brown/sepia ink.

Day 1-Before and after painting

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Alder leaf

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Day 27

Day 28

Day 29

 Day 30

Day 31

Do rags

 

Bobby-Joe

Bobcat-we named him Bobby-Joe-waiting outside the front door.  For our cats.

(Where did he come from? Where did he go?)

 

Isaac's shoes

Isaac painted some shoes for himself yesterday.

 

Dandelion Jelly

 On Sunday, April 18 Michael, Isaac and I picked 3 bowls of dandelion flowers.  I took them in and started to separate the petals from the green part.  It took much longer than I had anticipated and M. and I. came in to help after  awhile.  We only used part of one bowl of flowers.

  After we collected 4 cups of petals that was enough.  Enough to make the tea and we'd had enough of the tedious task.

Four cups of dandelion petals and eight cups of hot water mixed together to make a "tea".  (Tea from dandelions is an actual thing.  It can be helpful to reduce water retention, lower blood pressure,  regulate blood sugar, and improve eczema.  Or so I've read.)

Strained and squeezed, below is what was left of the four cups of petals. (The black bits are coffee grounds.  I forgot I wanted to take a pic of the petals and put them in the compost.  Had to fish them out.)

The tea after 24 hours soaking and in the fridge.

Boiling jars and rings and lids in one pan.  Dandelion tea waiting to be made into jelly in the other pan.

Hot jelly liquid into hot waiting jars.  I use Pomona pectin.  First you add calcium water to your juice or fruit, boil it up, add sugar w/powdered pectin mixed in, boil it up. Then add any additional sugar and bring it to a boil.

     Finished jelly below.  Only it never really set up.  Then next day I boiled the contents of two jars for 3 minutes and it was much thicker, even before it cooled.  Taking the test a bit further, I boiled part of that batch again for another 2 minutes.  It is very thick and doesn't spread very well.  The other is the consistency of honey.  I plan to boil each jar for a few more minutes as we open them, to make them the consistency of honey.

     So, the finished product does taste like honey-almost.  Smells like honey, too.  We've had it on toast and biscuits.  Maybe I'll try some in tea next.  Overall I'd say it was a success and fun to do.  Dandelion jelly has been called, "poor man's honey".  And that may be true these days.  Sugar is cheaper than honey.  But some years ago sugar was less accessible and more expensive.  So maybe it wasn't so cheap to make any kind of jelly-depending on the time period and the country.

Gingerbread house and people

In early February Sarah, Isaac and I made gingerbread houses.  I also made a gingerbread person to represent each of us with the leftover dough.

My house.

Isaac's house.

 Sarah's house.

Our family in gingerbread.