Plums, plums, plums.

Today was the first load of Japanese plums-- over 150 lbs. picked, washed, pitted, and bagged. I won't be canning them until Monday or Tuesday. Right now, I don't even want to LOOK at another plum.

But I will have to.... A neighbor of ours (curse him) has invited us over to pick Green Gage plums (Prunus domestica italica, for you botany nerds). Of course I couldn't say no to free fruit! So, I'll be canning some of those, but I think I will also freeze some halved, to use throughout the winter for tarts, pies, et cetera.

Also coming along nicely are the pears and apples. We're on the lookout for either a cheap cider press, or some kind of communal press. If I can get my act together, KTAO-- Taos's solar radio station, the world's only-- will allow a person to get on air and beg, borrow, trade, or sell stuff and services. As a novice at apple pressing, I'd like to borrow or trade. I could trade...PLUMS in return for the use of a press!

We're having a last of the summer heat wave, as high as 90 today, and no rain in our future until Monday. That means lots of dragging the sprinkler from one part of the yard to the other. Still, we've got lots of stuff still blooming, not to mention all of the veggies I've been yanking out of the garden daily-- cukes, cabbage, yellow squash, tomatoes, peppers, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, and dahlias! Yay! I've been getting a steady trickle of the smaller dahlias I planted, nothing much to crow about in the dinner plate department, and I planted over 35 dinner plate varieties. We've just had so much rain that every bug in the universe has moved in and settled down to dinner. Oh well, next year will be all pompoms and mid-sizes.

The dawgs and chickens are all fine, and I'm working on Brantly to get a couple of angora rabbits when the Taos Fiber Festival rolls around. I know the chickens would just LOVE them....

The canning has begun!

Yes, I've started canning already.... As Brantly and I were driving through Hondo, we saw a tree with apricots lying under it. Well, I couldn't stop thinking about those poor apricots just LYING there, so we went and met the apricots' owner. Kind Mr. Benndick told us many interesting tales of the area-- as a long time resident of Taos, he has watched some huge changes over the years. He also told us to pick as many as we wanted!

So, I made my first batch of apricot jam. I found a recipe online, but found the first taste of it to be WAY too sweet (I think it called for 3 lbs. of apricots and 6 cups of sugar!)

Anyhow, we had just noticed something very surprising growing behind the raised flowerbeds in front of the parking lot-- cherry trees!! Yes, 5 or 6 cherry trees that had somehow escaped our notice until just a few days ago. These are tiny tart pie cherries, and went perfectly with our apricots to take a bit of the sugary -sweetness out of the jam. The flavor combination is AMAZING! Unfortunately, the cherries are so tiny that it took Brantly about 4 hours to pit 3 lbs.

Our next batch will be cherry jam, and we are also going back for more apricots. We are going to try making an apricot syrup, much like the plum syrup we make from our own plums.

If you haven't canned before-- you need to. There is nothing quite as satisfying as tasting your own home-made jam, jelly, syrup, or conserve. The Bell book of canning is a great start. But after you make a few cases you'll be experimenting to create something that suits your tastes. Last year we made rhubarb/strawberry jams with 3 levels of sweetener, as Brantly likes much less sugar in his jams.

Happy canning from the Cottonwood!

Pow Wow Weekend at the Cottonwood Inn

First off, I'd like to thank Bev and Jim of Arizona for the great photos of the two of us with our chickens! Jim took several great shots of the nightly chicken herd in action, as well as several cameo shots of our local glamor-boy-- Bernard. Anyone else who has any good photos of the critters or the place (or yes, even of us) please send them along!

I know I keep yelling it from the rooftops, BUT THE HUMMERS ARE BACK!!! I'm so glad! It was awfully quiet around here without 50 or more of the boys buzzing around outside in the courtyard. Also, our guests had lost that reflexive ducking ability which the hummers had spent all last year teaching them. Yes, they're small, but you don't want one stuck in your forehead.

We've been eating broccoli, broccoli, broccoli from the garden. Also many BS&T sandwiches (bacon, spinach, & tomato). I have been watching the plum trees, and it looks like next week will be the start to "Plum Madness at the Cottonwood B & B"! What does that mean? Well, it mainly means that I will be boiling, cutting, blending, sieving, mashing, pealing, pitting, and generally rolling in plums for at least 2 weeks. We are going to make a double batch of the plum marmalade this year as hungry guests bought every bottle we made last year.

Brantly is also anticipating making loads of Hatch Green Chili Jelly again this year. Hey, I know it sounds weird, but don't knock it until you try it. I will post his recipe as soon as I can winkle it out of him....

If you are fiber crazy, you MUST go to La Lana Wools of Taos! What a great place. I have decided to embrace yet another hobby-- natural dying. I went to La Lana hopeful about using local plants to dye wool felt and didn't come away disappointed. What a wonderful shop with wonderful people running it. The yarn there is to "dye" for (sorry, sorry!), and many of the projects up on the wall are available in kit form. Make sure you bring your wallet when you go.