Lucky

 

I feel like the luckiest person in the world when I have this for breakfast. Avocado toast made on something called "Super Bread" from Trader Joes. Kind of a weird, low-guilt bread, filled with with orange bits (carrots?) and twigs and bird seed.   

Anyway, I used up the healthy calories yesterday-- worked all morning at the Cafe then hit the canning treadmill in the afternoon. 

No, I didn't also hit the bottle. Ha! We rarely ever drink anything but wine, and I found this old bottle of cognac in the basement. So I made 7 pints of spiced brandy plums with a recipe from the Internet. 

No idea how they will taste, spiced with star anise and cinnamon sticks. Ask me around the holidays, because it's going to be that long until I can eat a plum again. 

Today a batch of plum chutney-- then the plum orgy ends. Hope to get as many off the tree as possible so they don't fall on the sidewalk and rot. We're taking a short trip this weekend, more on that later.

Now I remember...

Why I don't can quart jars anymore. I bought some new ones in Twisp for pickled garlic scapes and brought them back to use on plums, since we have so many. But quarts are heavy work compared to pint jars, just getting them sterilized, filled, then safely in and out of the boiling water bath.

Of course, this is just a hobby for me. I kept thinking about our mother, who canned dozens of quarts filled with fruit and vegetables for the winter, out of necessity. In a small old farm kitchen with kids underfoot. She would rather have bought her canned peaches at the A&P! Most housewives of her generation loved the new processed convenience foods. Who could blame them?

Anyway, the reward is seeing all those pretty jars lined up on the shelf. This afternoon, I'm trying a batch of Asian plum sauce. Tomorrow, our standby plum chutney recipe. John likes to do all the precision chopping on that one. And then, if I'm not completely plummed out, spiced halves canned in syrup with star anise and cinnamon sticks. Sounds good on ice cream.

OK, then. Switching gears. First day of school picture yesterday. Nova sure looks ready to take on high school!
 

 

 

Raining plums

 

Sure glad I drove home yesterday, because it's raining across the state causing all sorts of havoc on the roads. The rain is welcome, but people apparently forgot how to drive in wet weather. It's pretty simple folks-- just slow down.

Ready or not, a feel of fall in the air this morning. This is the first day since June when it won't reach 70 degrees in Seattle. The parched garden is perking right up. Soon the fall weeds start popping up. As you know, our summers are brown and winter looks green as Ireland.

We picked all those plums in about 30 minutes yesterday. Probably around 100 pounds there, and many more still left on the tree, unfortunately up too high to reach without a ladder. 

So I'll be busy this week. There are so many good plum recipes, where to start? I'd like to make some spicy Asian plum sauce. My neighbor is concocting a homemade plum liqueur that involves an entire bottle of vodka and lots of sugar. She got the recipe from a very elderly lady, who knows a thing or two.  It should be ready in December, so Wendy I'll be over for a Christmas tipple!

Late summer

 

I drove Nova to the horse barn on Sunday morning, the same place we went on that cold evening in March, when the muddy snow and frozen manure covered the pastures. What a difference.

In exchange for doing light chores, Nova gets to ride Ginger, a fine horse. Their excellent instructor, Annie B,  gave the girls a surprise lesson in the outdoor arena. 

Watching took me back to my own attempts with Sizzle to become a better rider through dressage lessons. An old Quarterhorse and a cowgirl at heart.  Neither of us were crazy about lessons and happier just ambling down a trail in a western saddle. A "lazy" rider.

But as you can see, Nova is becoming a fine and poised rider. She's also a good student with a great attitude around horses. It's hard work.

Anyway. It was hot and the flies were really pestering the horses so Nova gave Ginger a nice cool rinse afterwards with the garden hose.

Everyone is busy here with friends and activities, as it should be. School starts tomorrow, and things will get even busier.  But this was a good visit. Maya and I also had a bit of quality time making a cake-- a German style plum kuchen. As usual, I went to the Saturday market with Amanda and the girls.

Speaking of plums, time to pick and start canning ours. John said people have been knocking on the door, wanting some free fruit. They are pretty tempting from the sidewalk, and I guess people assume they are going to waste. The fact is, we always give the extras to our friends and neighbors.

Relaxing moments in downtown Twisp. 

Things are quiet on the river and the deer seem unnaturally tame. The construction does not faze them at all. The fawns walk right by my river chair, looking clueless and bleating for their mothers. I suppose they are being weaned and ignored. They pick at leaves but don't seem happy about it.

Back to the city today.

Birds are dinosaurs

 

And if birds aren’t dinosaurs, then we have no idea what they are. Birds share many features with theropods and there are no other candidate fossil groups.

Anyway, if there's still doubt in your mind, watch a flock of young turkeys grazing. It looks like Jurrassic Park in miniature. I'm always surprised how successful these hens are, raising large broods to adulthood. At least here in town-- there are probably more predators in the wild looking for a turkey dinner.

High in the sky early this morning, a wedge of honking Canada geese over the house. If that doesn't say fall, nothing will. The lower sun angle and dark, cool mornings give a real changing season vibe.

And in other birds news, I just heard a Kestrel call. I'm not a good enough birder to know that without my Merlin sound ID app. Well, it's not like you hear a Kestrel everyday in Seattle.

It's still pretty rough-looking down in our corner of town. For over a month, they've been replacing main sewer and water lines and are finally wrapping up. Despite the dirt and inconvenience, everyone says the outside construction company has been considerate.

People are a little more stoical and accepting here. For example, the water was off for almost 12 hours yesterday, which would be a national emergency in Seattle and a project like this would take hundreds of workers (most of them supervisors standing around.) My neighbor said it's all been done with a relatively small crew down in those dangerous, deep trenches. That said, everyone will be glad when our streets are repaved again.

I have the day ahead entirely to myself, which is kind of nice occasionally. Amanda and her best friend Gina are taking a group of Nova's friends to the water park in Chelan and won't get back until late. Decent air quality and not hot, so a good day for a long bike ride before it gets parked for the winter.

Back to school

 

Cute hair cuts yesterday for Maya and Nova. School starts for them around Labor Day. It will be 5th grade for Maya and 9th for Nova this year. So officially a high school girl. Goodness. 

I was reading in bed with the window open last night and heard an unfamiliar sound. It was rain. Not nearly enough to water down the dusty yard, but what a pleasant sound and the garden perked up. I did some transplanting yesterday-- good timing there. 

Already a feel of the seasons changing. Might as well think positive: 

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." -F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The air quality is excellent in Seattle (at the moment) and improving somewhat on the dry eastern side of the state. They also had some rain, never enough, but every bit helps with the wildfires. I'm planning to drive to Twisp tomorrow and maybe spend a long weekend. We haven't been to the house for over a month.