Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

The call of the Flicker is so unique that we know when they are hanging about. They prefer the suet blocks but will eat the grubs and various seed that we offer in the stand feeders. Once in awhile we get lucky enough to watch them but rarely get a good picture, they seem to know when I grab the camera!

The Northern Flicker is larger than most woodpeckers in Oregon.

The Flicker and Starling seem to have a standoff! Eventually they shared the food.

American Kestrel Falco sparverius (formerly known as a Sparrow Hawk)

Is it a drawback or a huge plus that we feed the birds and squirrels and they, in turn, feed the hawks? Everyone needs to eat! It isn't often that we see a hawk, but they do leave their calling card when they feast in our yard.... feathers everywhere! I cannot, in good conscious, begrudge them a meal, after all they also eat the mice that hang around the feeders and find their way into our home from time to time.

What a surprise when we looked out and saw this beautiful little guy feasting...

The American Kestrel (Sparrow Hawk), this is the smallest (dove-sized)
and most familiar member of the family Falconidae in North America

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

Looks like the little Downy is trying to tell us to feed him! Well, no sooner asked than done! Seems like he prefers the peanut butter suet blocks! I've had to resort to taking pictures from inside my house as these little birds are very wary and will fly away rather than wait for me to take his picture although he did wait around to get fed!

The Downy Woodpecker, the smallest in North America

9 degrees Fahrenheit this morning!

Well, it's a very brisk 9 degrees Fahrenheit this morning! The sun is reflecting off of the gently falling snow. I love watching the snow especially when it falls from a cloudless sky! One of the many wonders of our beautiful world.

The squirrels and magpies are eating and hiding the peanuts. It's funny to see the magpies stealing the nuts the squirrels think they have well hidden.

This looks like a good spot to hide a peanut! 

Apple Cider

Information on pasteurizing the apple cider (please check this for yourself as information varies and gets updated from year to year.)

Pasteurizing the Juice Unpasteurized (unheated) apple cider has been linked with illness caused by E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. If these bacteria are in the feces of deer or cattle, apples that fall on the ground could be contaminated.

Pasteurization kills harmful bacteria. Heat the juice to at least 160 F. If you don’t have a thermometer that registers in that range, heat the juice until it simmers (when bubbles appear on the surface).

Preserving the Juice Pasteurized cider can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week. For longer storage, freezing is recommended. When freezing, be sure to allow at least a 2 inch head space since the cider will expand during freezing and can rupture the container.

Apple juice may also be canned. Heat the juice to simmering (185 -210 F). Pour hot juice into jars. Process in a boiling water canner: 5 minutes for pints and quarts; 10 minutes for half gallons. At 1,001-6,000 feet, process pints and quarts for 10 minutes and half gallons for 15 minutes. After processing, take canner off heat. Remove lid and wait 5 minutes before removing jars. 

For additional information on making juices or cider, contact your local county Extension office.
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/sites/default/files/documents/sp_50_455_preservingfruitjuicesapplecider.pdf

If you plan to press your own apples, precautions might be in order. Photo by Tiffany Woods.

End of the Season

We finally have the rain that has been so badly needed! Several days of rain with some sun to warm things up a bit. It's wonderful!

It hasn't frosted, as yet, so still have produce in the garden. Thinking if the rain holds off tomorrow I'd better get the peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and the last of the green beans. Oh! and the herbs! Have some very nice basil ready for picking. The carrots were a small variety, but they came out Very Small! The beets aren't very big either, but beet greens sauted with some onion and garlic will be a delicious

A friend is bringing more pears and crab apples, another friend has grapes almost ready, and I scored 3 gallons of apple cider just for helping clean and cut up the apples! The cider will need to be pasteurized if the little grand children are to have any.

Feeding the birds

One of the many things we enjoy is feeding the birds. We get several different varieties coming to our feeders throughout the year. Some come every day and others only at certain times of the year. A few are rarely seen and it's a real treat when they do show up.

This morning one of our first visitors was a Magpie (Black-billed Magpie - Pica hudsonia), who flew off before I could snap a picture! The Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura), don't fly off they move away till they feel the coast is clear and go right back to feeding. I could hear a Crow (American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos), but it was not to be seen. One of our frequent visitors is a covey of California Quail (Callipepla californica) which were introduced to our state in the early 1900's.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has a great page you can visit that has great information about our native and nonnative species which inclues a link to allow you to hear the bird calls:
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/species/birds/doves_pigeons.asp#Top

Fall is here

Just before sunrise this morning the valley was cool, calm and clear. As the sun rose over the mountain tops to warm the valley and color the sky with shades of red, a light fog rose from the valley floor as the coolness of the night was replaced by the warm fall day.

The windows are open, the coffee is hot, and the day begins...

Pears, Pears and more Pears!

Worked up about 30 lbs of pears, which sounds like a lot!! When all is said and the food mill is put away, you end up with 12 pints of sauce or less, if you cook it down to a thick consistency. The pears were so sweet no sugar was needed and since the 1st batch was for the grand babies no spices were added either. So, the 1st batch made 6 1/2 pints the 2nd will make less as it will be cooked down even more for pear butter. Since these pears are so sweet adjustments will be needed when adding spices as to not detract from it's natural sweetness and flavor. Maybe a touch of cinnamon and cloves will do it.

You may wonder how we prepared them for sauce...

1. Sorted through and removed the over ripe pears.
2. Washed in cold water.
3. Cut them in 1/4's, removing the flower end. No need to peel or remove seeds at this point.
4. In a large cooking pot add pears to almost the top, add 1 to 2 cups of water.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally, till soft, use a potato masher to squash them down and cook a bit longer.
6. Remove from heat and let cool enough to be easy to work with. Mine sat in the refrigerator over night. Then, using a food mill, milled all of the cooked pears to remove seeds and skins.
7. Now you're ready to cook the pear sauce down and add any sugar and spices you'd like to flavor it with. Put the sauce back into a large cooking pot and bring it to a boil, stirring as needed, lower the heat so it's just simmering. You'll need to keep a close watch on it so it doesn't scorch... keep stirring!

When it gets to the consistency you like it's time to either freeze or can your sauce. For recipes and more on canning and freezing refer to safe canning/freezing guidelines that can be found on line or by purchasing a canning/preserving book. I like books; you can make notes and keep them in the book for the next canning season!

https://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/

Green Beans (Snap Beans), end of season

Our cousin invited us over to pick blackberries from her garden a couple of weeks ago, and after we had picked those she offered us the end of the green bean crop as well. You would think that I would have thought of this, but having rarely had mature green beans in my garden it was a nice discovery... our cousin (who is in her 70's) said that when they have mature beans and young snap beans ready at the same time they shelled the mature beans and mixed them in with the snap beans and cooked them till all were nice and tender. Ok, why didn't I think of that!! We brought the beans home snapped the tender ones, shelled the older ones seasoned them with some pan fried onions; precooked, chopped pepper bacon, all season salt, onion & garlic powder and let them cook up for about an hour so all the beans were tender. What a treat! Great way to use up those end of the season beans!

Now, here we are in mid September and my green beans are just now producing. Thank goodness we haven't had a frost. I had planted them twice and they just didn't do very well, not enough sun in the spot I chose. Well, the fruit trees that are shading that part of the garden will be getting a good pruning in the spring and that should help the garden beds get more sunlight.

All in all, still learning and pushing the limits of what plants will grow in the conditions we have around our yard. You're never too old to learn new things!

Happy Gardening!

Growing Elderberry Trees/Shrubs - Sambucus cerulea –Blue Elderberry

Sambucus cerulea –Blue Elderberry.

 Blue elderberry (S. cerulea) is native to the western U.S. and grows throughout Oregon.

Tall deciduous shrub will grow in a variety of conditions and can reach from 15 to 20 feet at maturity, often taking a broad, tree form. This is the Oregon, eastside Elderberry, more tolerant of dry and hot conditions, though it too thrives with regular moisture; in the wild it is most commonly found along streams and waterways.

The plant is relatively pest-free, and other than pruning, requires little labor. Because they grow very quickly as seedlings and saplings, they tend to get rangy; some severe pruning early on will encourage fuller growth. Prune and remove the dead canes yearly, starting the third or fourth year, to maintain a healthy hedge. Elderberry also spreads by rhizomes, layering, and suckers as well as by sprouting new canes

Yellow-white flowers, displayed in flat-topped clusters, are followed by intense blue berries that are ready for harvest in the early fall. Birds love the berries so you may need to put netting over the shrubs if you want your share.

Toxicity: Though the berries of Oregon, native Sambucus are edible, they must be cooked first, as they frequently cause nausea and stomach upset when eaten raw.

Food Finding Around Our County ~ Prunes and Rosehips

Just a caution, be sure you aren't picking fruit from areas that have been sprayed with herbicides or pest control sprays recently.

Ripe & Juicy prunes. 

Prune tree grove
on an old highway

Guess who gets to climb
the hill to pick a few rosehips!

Wild Rose bushes
full of Rosehips.

Blue Elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) Expedition

On our latest wild food expedition, we were searching for elderberry trees with ripe fruit. After seeing these shrubby trees for most of my life and knowing that jams, jellies, syrups, wine and home remedies were and still are made from the fruit I decided that this was the year I would try making some jam and syrup. Check for updates on that project!

While we were searching out the elderberries we also found some fruit trees that had self planted or were started from seeds critters or birds had dropped. You can find many different types of apples and prunes along the roadways and on old farmsteads. Our area was once full of apple and prune orchards and we even had a market for dried prunes. There are still many orchards in the area but now days mostly cherries, apricots and peaches.

Sometimes you have to get
creative to pick Elderberries!

One of many Elderberry Shrubs
we found today.

Loaded with berries!

Good morning! I'm working on some fresh coffee! Darn bug drowned it's self in my first cup while I was outside watering and having my coffee, guess it wasn't to be. Oh well, almost ready for another, bug free, cup! It's a cool 65 degrees, with a clear, smoke free sky.

I've hung out some laundry to dry and plan to catch up on my pictures and such. Hope you are all having a fabulous day.