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Checking in!

I talked about making a black raspberry pie using the raspberries in the back yard, and I made sure dad heard me talk. He swears he didn’t spray anything in the back yard, and he didn’t change his tune when I said the pie would be for Mom’s birthday party, so I think those berries are safe. They are now on the list of “things dad will be eating too”. I’ve picked 2.5 quarts from a tiny 3x5 patch. And there are more waiting to ripen!

Still gathering supplies to build a camper on the back of my truck. I saw a slide-in that I could afford, but when I clicked on the pictures it was nothing but a wooden box. No bed, no toilet, not even a window. Just a bare, empty, uninsulated box. I can build better than that. I’ll have to, if this winter is anything like the last one!

I tried making the yarrow bug repelent, but I think I did it wrong, because it looked and smelled like water, and the bugs ignored it. On the other hand, I have verified that I can distill water using my pressure canner and a hose. That might be usefull someday.

Peas are starting to dry down, and I have little green tomatoes on one of my tomato plants! The other 7 tomato plants are a bit behind, this one was the only one out of the first planting that made it, so it’s had a good 8-week head start on the others.

I stopped at a garage sale and got 2 oil lamps (the “genie in a lamp” kind, not the glass chimney kind), some incense burners (seller threw them in with the lamps, since it was a matching set), and about a mile of fishing line, all for $2. The seller had a crate load of foothold traps, and I seriously thought about getting some, but my shoulder won’t let me set the traps I’ve got. Foothold traps are tricky, too. If done wrong, you end up with a 3-footed critter running loose. I can’t do that to an animal, I may kill and eat them but I won’t torture them.

If the pie recipe turns out, I’ll post it later. I couldn’t find the exact recipe I wanted, so I sort of meshed 3 different recipes together.

My flour mill arrived this week, but I haven’t had a chance to test it yet. I’m looking forward to finding out what my home-grown cornmeal tastes like :)