Let it snow!

Spring like weather, then frigid temperatures, snow then rain. Our weather has been all over the place, but that's not unusual for around here. The snow was beautiful and sure wish it had stayed around for a few days. The Pine tree boughs, across the street from us, were drooping with the weight of the snow.

 

The quail come to feed almost every day. We had at least 50, of them here scratching around for seed. 

The old prune tree

Well, my husband's uncle gave us a grafted prune tree nearly 40 years ago. This year it has lost 2 large limbs due to age, and the amazing amount of fruit it's bearing, in spite of the fact that the branch was propped up... the prop snapped into 2 pieces! It's been such a great little tree and has had huge crops every few years, but this year it was just too much for it. I am brokenhearted. The tree can be saved but not sure how many more years it will be around. Hope to graft a new tree onto some root stock in the form of seedlings that have come up. Wish me luck!

This was in July, we didn't start picking ripe fruit until September

Prunes ripen in late August through September ~ So sweet & juicy!

Prunes cooked then spice to taste with ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. No sugar needed!

Apple Cider pressing time!

Went to a friend's place and spent a few hours cutting and pressing apples for cider.  The apples are washed, rinsed and cut (to check for mold) before grinding and pressing. Took home 4 1/2 gallons! I'll be pasteurizing and canning most of it.

Purple Basil & Sweet basil!! Win-Win!

Sweet basil is one of the most common varieties. Popular in salads, pastas, pesto and more, most of the basil you will find in a grocery store is sweet basil. One of the beauties of basil is there isn’t a real, definitive harvest time – just pick what you need as you need it. And the best part is the more you harvest, the more a basil plant will produce. Regular harvesting will keep plants full and round. Harvest before the plant goes to seed, or “bolts.” When basil goes to seed, the leaves will often have a bitter flavor. I just cut my sweet basil and have some drying and some to put in oil for later use.

Green Basil ~ grew really well in part shade

While the flavor is not as sweet as some basil varieties, purple basil has a clove-like, slightly spicy flavor is wonderful fresh in salads, pesto, or preserved in oils and vinegar's. Until I researched purple basil, I couldn't pin down the flavor... yep, it is slightly clove like and spicy! Will be drying some and can hardly wait to see how it flavors vinegar and oil. Hints from another blogger: Fill a large jar with half white vinegar, half cider vinegar, stuff it with purple basil, and let it steep for a week. Then you strain it and pour the resulting gorgeous magenta vinegar into a pretty bottle with a few sprigs of fresh basil.

Purple Basil ~ did fabulous this year! 

Banner year for huckleberries!

Most years we get to pick just enough huckleberries for a couple of pies and a batch of jam, two if we're lucky. This year has been amazing! We are finding beautiful, large berries as well as the usual smaller ones. Whatever the size, they are delicious! I was using a different camera, so the pictures aren't great, but you get the idea!

Well, this could be a problem! Pawpaw Trees and Genetics

The two little Pawpaw trees I purchased 3 years ago are doing great! They are growing well, have been potted up to larger containers and even have some new leaves emerging.  They are beautiful!

BUT!! What I didn't know is they need a genetically different partner to bear fruit...

"Pawpaws are picky about who pollinates their flowers. Many fruit trees are self-fertile, meaning they can use pollen from one flower to pollinate another flower on the same tree to produce fruit. Pawpaws require pollen from another (genetically different) tree to achieve pollination and fruiting. Furthermore, pawpaws are not pollinated by bees. Instead, beetles and flies are attracted to their flowers and spread the pollen. Because of this, you must have two trees growing within 10-15 feet of each other."

All I can hope is that the nursery where I purchased them had a diverse genetic stock of trees, or that they can tell me where the trees were grown and if they can find out about the genetics. (sigh)

"Dancing Bones" and "Drunkard's Dream" cactus

Hatiora salicornioides looks like something from an underwater dreamscape. Composed of many tube-like branches that grow from upright, woody stems, Hatiora salicornioides is often called by its common names -- "Dancing Bones" and "Drunkard's Dream" cactus -- because of its contorted growth habit and bottle-shaped segments. Each stem can grow to be quite long, and eventually the Hatiora will gently cascade over the edges of its pot. When the cactus blossoms, tiny bright yellow flowers develop into small pink berries. Personally, I have never had the berries develop.

A jungle cactus, Hatiora salicornioides is epiphytic, meaning that it grows in the crooks of trees in its native forest habitat. This means that it requires little soil to survive, and is tolerant of lower light and more moisture than most cacti. As such, it's an exceptionally easy houseplant to care for, perfect for houseplant beginners and experts alike.