FLOWERS, JAM AND PICKLES

This morning (Wednesday), when I went to post on Facebook, I wanted to include a photo and no longer use the widow crying one because while I may be a widow, I’m choosing to no longer cry. So, I posted a photo you’ve probably already seen of my purple poppy. Looking out the window, I decided I’d go outside and take a photo of each and every bloom currently available…just so sorry some of the great ones are already gone.

Beginning today, I’ll include a photo of a flower and explain what it is, that is if I do know. If I’m unable to identify, I’ll say so and perhaps someone else can tell me what it is that’s living in my garden. For today, I’m including a photo of a pea vine blossom. The vines have been growing like crazy and I was beginning to think I wasn’t going to get any peas, but the few blossoms I found today gives me hope. Now, if the squash and tomatoes would just get busy too, I’d be very very happy with my sort of green thumb.

Haley came today, but was only here for about an hour. So many of the boxes out of the further reaches of the garage attic had rat poop in them, that for the most part, we deemed the contents to be garbage. Next week, we’ll make a trip to the King County Recycling and Transfer Station. Besides what we’ve piled up, there are other items about the place that could take that trip too, so I’d best be busy gathering them up and adding to the pile.

Last week I was amazed to see the raspberries were getting ripe…in fact some of them were already too ripe. I picked then and then again today and now have a gallon freezer bag full that I’ll use to make jam some time this fall. That’s probably the only jam I’ll make. I still have one jar from last year’s raspberries and should probably send it home with one of the sons because I would take me a year or more to get through a pint jar.

In another six weeks or so, it will be time to make dill pickles. Last year, I had three of my friends over and did a tutorial on how to make dill pickles. I doubt we’ll be able to do that this year, so I hope they can pickle on their own…no pun intended. I’m also going to find a new place to purchase the pickling cucumbers. Last year, we all pretty much bought from the same place, but there were a lot of the cucumbers that were bad after soaking overnight in cold water. That place may be less expensive than, say Yakima Valley Fruit Market, but I think I’d rather pay a bit more and have the majority of my cucumbers go into jars rather than yard waste.

          Well, I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I feel as though perhaps I’ve lost may way with my blog. I sit down and don’t seem to have a theme to follow. I no longer want to write about John or about being a widow, but it seems as though I’m just sort of typing out whatever’s at the top of my mind. I feel rather that I’m not really providing anything anyone wants to read or that has any kind of message. Maybe future blogs are going to be about the photo of the flower I include and not much else. I guess we’ll have to see