We tossed the peels and cores into the stock pot. Covered it with water, then cooked until it was mush. We poured the mush into a cheese cloth and let it drain overnight. The resulting juice is pectin.

To test the strength of the pectin, we poured a little bit of rubbing alcohol into a glass and then dropped in a spoonful of pectin. It coagulated into a jelly-like mass. Each 12 ounce jar translates to a packet of store-bought pectin. How cool is that? We can’t wait to try it out.

Finally it got to the top of the list. Over the past 3 days we have been carving out a level area on the east side of the house with access from studio and kitchen.  Summer’s return and hot days limited our digging to morning hours, thus the three day time frame. It is quite an interesting process engineering this collection of corrugated clear plastic panels and hollow/square aluminum tubes for structure, 50 pages of instructions with hundreds of individually numbered parts … we are now referring to self taping screws as S02′s. A trial to be sure but all should be in place before the next planting season comes around.

The pickling cukes are perfect. After last year’s success with fermented pickles, we have 12 lbs. of them fermenting in a crock. The process takes about 3 weeks and requires daily skimming of scum. I assure you, this process is well worth the end result.

Picked up Mary Bell’s wonderful book on drying. “Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook” walks you through the process of drying nearly any food item.

Next project, rhubarb leather.

Used a low sugar pectin and got 8 pints out of two batches. Jelly uses up a lot of fruit for yield but the flavor is so intense that it’s worth it. There was also some pickle packing, discovered cucumbers were in season so JQ picked up 25lbs and I made ‘bread & butter’ out of about 10 pounds she is fermenting the rest.

We are taking care of Tammi’s pack while her house sale is full on and summer travel is peak. Molly, the golden and Izzy the beagle are basically inseparable and a lot of trouble because they love to follow izzy’s nose … a couple of days ago that lead to the main road before we caught up with them. Those stubby legs can cover a lot of ground.

More summer like weather is coming back tomorrow … have some gardening and chores around the house that have been put off too long but for now we are finally enjoying a taste of summer … js

I like the dreaming and planning of projects as much as the implementation of them.

The roof flying off the house put us three weeks behind schedule. A new greenhouse, still in the box, waits for assembly. We plan to get to that shortly, but meanwhile a couple of cold frames will help protect newly planted peat pots nurturing seeds of peppers, herbs, peas, beans, and assorted greens.

Last year’s experiment to use hazelnut shells to mulch the berry patch proved to be successful. We just need to strengthen the fence where the elk leaned in to munch fresh shoots.

Should we try the new grafted tomato plants Territorial Seed is offering? Anything and everything seems possible.

The shift of seasons is underway. With harvest marking the close of summer we are finding lots of local fruit and produce.

Have made two trips to this orchard to pick peaches, same place we went for blueberries. First time we got nearly 30 lbs of Suncrest which were canned, some in light syrup, a few as spiced peaches and a few sliced to freeze. Last week we pick 20 lbs of Veterans which are going to become chutney … more on that when it happens.

It’s great to be able to pick peaches a few minutes from the house. This place is only open on specific days, and then typically from 8am to noon and this last time we got there at 8:15 only to find the place packed and the trees picked over pretty heavy. The Alberta crop will be ready in another week, going to try to get there early and hope to not have to fight the crowds.

In the mean time we are cutting/stacking firewood and killing blackberry bushes. Days getting shorter, nights cooler and the feel of fall is in the air … school is going to start very soon and then summer will be over … hard to think of fall with a ripe peach in your hand …  js

On Red Alder Hill we’ve lived through a very wet June and a scorching start to July since that last post. One thing we did manage to get done was plant the garden and install an irrigation system install … quite a bit of mess’n before it watered all beds evenly. All that fiddling came in handy when I helped some friends with their system.

The other challenge is to post, the stuff directed at what is happening on RedAlderHill and it’s inhabitants, a bit more frequently than once a month. I’m also working on getting a new page up and running, which I’ll post a link for so if there are any readers interested in my technical wanderings they can read that as well.

Looks like we are though the worst of the heat wave which means we can get back to the chores around here. Plus attempting to make regular posts and hopefully you won’t find yourself asking where you been … js