Hot, hot and distressing

July 29, 2012
The fence is working as far as the beasties is concerned.  Not going so well as to convenience.  It takes a bit of time to undo the "gate".  So, I put off care of plants and weeding.
They are finally showing new growth.  I am sure the weeds are growing nicely as well.

So far, they are not bothering other plants.  As the weather continues in the 100's for this whole week, more green things will dry up.  I have a few patches of lush grass as a result of watering the flower beds.  They will probably start on that and maybe leave the flowers alone?

This time last year, we had already had 30 or more days of 100 and no rain.

All anyone can do in this type of weather is mulch and water.  The mulch does work. Gets expensive however.  I have even mulched the pots.  Not many, pots right now.  When the weather cools, I will think of potting things again.  I am also using a product that "feeds" the plants nutrients but is not considered a fertilizer.  It is more to put something back in the soil  that has leached out because of the watering.  Chlorine in the watering is really not good for plants.

This is such a difficult time to keep enthused about gardening.  It is more a war against the elements.  There are still 3 275 gallon rainwater tanks.   We kept it to augment the watering when it gets this bad.  The water bill will double, at least.

I don't have anything in the front flower beds, so that will cut down on water.  That area is on the agenda for reworking when the weather cools off.  

Now, it is just a waiting, watering and wishing for rain time.

It is hot

July 22  
105 yesterday and 101 today.  Everything  was watered  this morning.  The mulch is keeping the soil damp.
This morning was cool and overcast.  I did a bit of tidying up and checking mister hoses.
When it is this hot, there is nothing that can be done in the garden except a bit of weed pulling and watering.  Then hunker down in the house and read a good book.

On to other subjects

July  18
I am officially at war with the bunnies!!
I saw myself in the mirror at the fitness center. The face looking back at me was depressed, hang dog, woe be gone........................you get the picture.
I have been losing plants to the little beasties no matter what I try.  Every morning, I check the poor cone flowers and there are more nibbled off to pitiful sticks.
I decided to try another idea.  I gathered up some chicken wire left over from tomato cages, some T-posts and good ole cable ties.

My hubby and I spent a few productive hours circling the area under attack.  He came up with a clever "gate" idea.
The  black horizontal line is a bungee cord stretched to pull "gate" tight..
The rocks are treasures from trips to New Mexico and South Dakota. When I travel I take home as many interesting rocks as my car will safely carry.  They line gardens, paths and some just sit lookin' pretty.
These around the fence are to try to block openings for the bunnies.

These nubby things should be over 18 inches tall now.

Hopefully, they will get a chance to show off this fall.

Last batch, hopefully, of peach jam

There were at least 20 pounds of peaches ready to pick this morning.  My neighbors are ducking back inside when they see me.  There are peaches in the refrigerator and on the cabinets.  They all have to be dealt with tomorrow.  They turn bad in a hurry now.

I was in need of a hair cut and thought "why not?".  So, loaded up a basket with peach cobbler,  paper plates and plastic ware, a jar of plain jam and one of  jalapeno/peach jam and  delivered the treat.  Bet the cobbler was gone before lunch time.

I came home and made another batch of ginger/peach preserves.   Haven't tasted it yet.  The jars look so pretty, I am going to assume this batch is a success.
There are one or two more interesting sounding recipes I want to try. Not jams however!

July 11 Peaches ad infanitum

The peaches are still ripening, falling, getting eaten by critters, and being made into more jam.
This batch was made from fresh overnight, dropped peaches with bruises and blemishes.
They were not pretty enough to share with neighbors, so cut up what I could salvage from them and dumped the slices and chunks on a non stick cookie sheet, stuck them in the freezer and headed for the super market. I needed sugar first of all and a few other necessities.
I DID FORGET TO GET SMALLER JAM JARS.

I used the food processor again, leaving some larger chunks.  Love the processor for the jalapenos, I used 5 in this batch.
I ended up with 6 pint jars of jam.  One did not seal, tasted it and could not get a hint of  "kick".  I did forget to check the jalapenos for heat.  Oh well, still tastes pretty good.  We are going to try it on Blue Bell ice cream (vanilla of course).

peach damage culprit solved (?)

We have decided the culprit(s) are squirrels.  My husband watched a squirrel force the peach off the branch, go to the ground and proceed to eat the top layer closest to the stem then go on to another one.  I think the rabbits then finish eating the rest of the peach.

He also thinks it is not a wasp that is "stinging" the fruit.  He saw finches (house) peck one or two.  I haven't seen this activity, so not sure if this is the case.

Sunday July 8th

Well, the peach jam with jalapenos is done.  I found a blog that has very helpful instructions on making this jam.  I followed the instructions as closely as I could.
I have learned something every cook finds out somewhere along the cooking adventure.  What works for one cook, may not work for another.  There are too many variables.  So, one tries, learns and tries again.

The recipe does not take into consideration the type of peach.  These peaches are an old stock. I am not sure the stock is still sold.  That being said, my peaches (Ranger) are very, very juicy.
Next, using the food processor is a faster way to cut up the fruit, except..... they cooked down to nearly nothing.
I am glad I used the processor for chopping up the jalapenos however.
The recipe called for 6 jalapenos, I opted for caution and used 3.  Sampling along the way makes me happy I did.  This batch is HOT.
So, my batch looks like lumpy jelly.  The flavor is strongly on the side of the peppers.  That's ok, we like it hot.  Instead of having 8 - 8oz jars, I have 5.  The plain peach jam was "supposed to" produce 8 jars, I came out with 6.

   The jars on the right rear are jalapeno/peach jam, the jars on the left front are peach jam.   All in all, I am happy to have made a good use of my bounty and plan to make more to give to friends.  We Texans like things hot and I know just the people to share with.

Taste for Adventure
The blog site has very good instructions and it looks like lots and lots of yummy recipes.  I am going to use this site to look for ideas a lot.

Happy day, the jam is done and I learned how to do several new things in the process.  Always my motto. "You are Never too Old to Learn!!"

more on peaches

This has been quite a day.  I finally got the jam issue resolve and was winding down the kitchen mess.

We suddenly had a high wind blow through and, wouldn't you know it, it blew peaches off the trees.
So, hubby and I gathered about a peck of bruised, beautiful peaches and brought them in the house.
The thought of finding room in the fridge for more peaches was too much.
I gathered up a bag of this treasure and got in the car to look for likely suspects.  Two men were in the  yard not far from our house, I jumped out of the car and marched up with bag of peaches and a bribe of fresh peach jam, and got rid of that batch.
Then went to a neighbor of theirs and knocked on the door and offered more peaches.  She was nonplussed, but her husband remembered me from last year's visiting.  Told them of the bounty and that I was just to tired from making jam all afternoon, to deal with the fallen peaches.  He was happy to follow me home and collect another bag of peaches.

I peeled and cut up enough peaches for another batch of jam and quit for the day. I am going to check out jams with jalapeno added in the morning.

So, peach problem solved for today.
I am sitting here with a glass of vino, fresh peach jam and saltines.  Yum. 
I am finished for the day.  Will deal with the peach flood in the morning.

Live and learn (peach adventures continue)

July 7, 2012
As I have said before, one is never too old to learn.

I have attempted to make peach jam.  It was "only" going to be 6 or 7 small jars......................... I have made lots of jam (40 years ago!)

First, I didn't have all my supplies cleaned and at hand.
Second, my husband came home from the coffee shop. He didn't catch the hint that I was really up to my eyeballs in peaches and boiling water!! He wanted to share information from the visit with his buddy.
Third, I didn't tell him to please go mow the yard, get groceries, take my car to the car wash, or ANYTHING!!
Fourth, you should never make jam and chat with your spouse.  You lose concentration, don't ya know.

So, I FORGOT TO PUT THE SUGAR IN THE PEACHES!!

Not a problem, I am letting it and myself cool down, then........................I will open my lovely jars and dump the ingredients into the pot AGAIN. Then, I will ADD THE SUGAR. Not sure at this point how long to boil mixture, but hope to have sweeter jam at the end.

Keeping my fingers crossed. This episode does NOT remind me of the movie Julie and Julia!

More on peaches July 5 2012

I am doing this spot for my diary because pictures in a group seem to get lost over time.

I have one picture of the sting holes from whatever insect.  They have to be dealt with quickly, as the bruising begins almost over night.  After a short time, the whole peach will be mummified. They will not fall from the tree at this point either.

Next is my dehydrator tray with peaches ready to slice up.  You can see some of the damaged ones.  I cut away the "bad" stuff, and any bruising  that is on the flesh.

There are 8 tiers to this dehydrator.  I have had it for so many years, I don't remember the brand


It has been so long since I have dried anything, I went to the Web and found the instructions (just to get me started) printed off a copy and then put it in a plastic page protector. 
Dunking peach slices and working with peaches in general is messy and the page can get dirty in a hurry.






Next, the dried fruit.  If I don't soak the fruit in a bath of, in my case, pineapple juice, ascorbic acid and water, the fruit will come out looking like faded leather.  Not pretty, but my son loved them anyway.

butterfly

July 3 --We had a visitor this afternoon.  I am going to save it to look at and hopefully identify.  I know it is a swallow tail. But not what kind

Peaches anyone?

http://www.ehow.com/how_6539614_dry-peaches-dehydrator.html

My first attempt to link to a web page. I have a lot to learn.

Well, the two peach trees are so loaded the branches are drooping.  So far, they are looking safe from what ever has stung them in the past.  The fallen ones are providing a feast for the bunnies.  I had no idea that they would eat peaches!
They are ripening fast in this heat.  A friend picked a bag full and didn't make a dent in the bounty.

I have a dehydrator that  has worked well in the past.  I think I will dry a batch.  My son reminded me of it and hinted broadly that he sure did like the peaches dried in it.
It has been a while, so I looked up how to ideas on the web.  Hundreds of recipes out there.