Jelly, Applesauce and Bulbs

Last week I pressed grapes and ended up with way too much juice. Some has been frozen for enjoyment over the winter, and today we made 22 half pints of jelly! This is the best batch we have had in years, too. Perhaps this is due to the ripeness of the grapes. Perhaps it is the happiness that the cook felt as she stirred the pot. Whatever it was, the end product is fabulous!

We also made applesauce on Sunday. We sliced up so many apples and cooked them down to a mere 4 pint size freezer bags! So guess what we need to do some more of? There is just nothing like homemade applesauce, though, so it is worth the time.

The last work I will do outside this year will be to strip my garden and pull out every last weed, and plant. Then I want to fertilize it. Once this is complete, I will plant my bulbs for next year around the yard. I have all the bulbs, I just need to set aside a nice fall day to get this completed.

It has occurred to me that you may all be getting the wrong idea about me. It may seem that I am a real “mother earth” type, who cans all their food and cooks from dawn ’til dusk. Nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, this is the first year I have canned to this extent. Or had such a large garden.

I’m really a potato chip and brownie loving hot chocolate drinker who craves McDonald’s fries and a Big and Tasty Burger far too often.

But there is something to be said about the call of nature this year. It’s been a loud call, and with time, land and the sun, who am I to ignore the chance?

Maybe I’m going to become the next Mrs. Greenthumbs!