Wednesday, August 06, 2014

Summer's Day


While out in the back garden this morning I caught the lowly Barn Flower
looking splendidly gorgeous, don't you think!


It was a lovely morning, - still a cool breeze and the sun barely up and stirring up the fire he
plans to roast us with later in the day.

I don't have an apricot tree in my garden any more but the neighbours on both sides
have wonderful trees that very generously lean their branches over on
my side of the fence and drop the fruit as it ripens with a rather
disastrous splash. 

To avoid this, and because they are both nice neighbours, they
are also very generous and bid me help myself...
which I do!!!

I have canned a couple of dozen small half pints, just enough for a wintery dessert,
and made three apricot pies yesterday, as well as a crisp.

But this morning I was thinking about our youngest son's passion for dried apricots
and how he used to split buckets and buckets of them, laying them
on the roof of the chicken house (amongst other places)
until they dried in the hot summer sun and were a wonderful
soft leathery morsel to set aside for winter.

I decided I would try my hand at drying apricots again, found a wire cage that
Charles had conveniently included in our move down town.
I picked a pail of beautiful tree ripened cots, hanging over the picket fence
and I sat in the shade, split them and laid them on the wire, in the sunshine.


They are covered with cheese cloth to keep the flies and ants away, and I even saw a small green
grasshopper thwarted by the thin covering.
However, considering the skunks that are growing up under various back yard sheds,
and their night time perambulating,
I think I should probably put the drying cots to bed in the garage tonight.

Hopefully they will dry nicely and I can do more, and more and more,
as long as the sun continues to shine so energetically!!!

We had a lovely sunset last evening - I took my camera when I walked to get the mail
and here is what I saw....





 

In addition to the wonderful light reflected by these clouds
I walked back through it from the post box with a small parcel containing
five Wallace Stagner books that I am replacing on my shelves.

All the Little Live Things,   Crossing to Safety,
Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Spring, 
Angle of Repose and Wolf Willow

All books that I have read before but have a great yearning to read again, 
along with some of  Ivan Doig's and more of Wendell Berry.

Besides being wonderful reads, they take me back in time.......

6 comments:

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Barb said...

The barn flowers are the same shade as the apricots. My husband's grandmother was fond of apricots - your post today reminded me of her. My mouth is watering now at the thought of that crisp. We've had so much rain lately that sunset is thwarted by clouds. I was happy to see yours.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

The sheet of apricots looks like a tray of summer sunshine! And will taste like that next January or so!

I have bought a couple of Ivan Doig books for my Kindle -- not re-reading, but filling in gaps I missed. And now I want to do the same with Stegner. I remember a couple of those you mention very well but hadn't thought of him for years.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Canning is not something we seem to do here in the UK Hildred Apricts are one of my favourite fruits, along with peaches, nectarines and Victoria plums. Their seasons are so short.

Hildred said...

Well Pat, our valley now has more vineyards than orchards, but years ago it was all apples and peaches and pears and apricots and plums and anybody who didn't can or freeze fruit and tomatoes (I forgot about tomatoes) was really suspect - I quit canning when we moved to town and certainly it isn't as prevalent among young people now, but I see a trend back that way as young parents grow more aware of a healthy diet and the value of growing your own garden.

Louisette said...

Nice captures sky fotos, important recolt abricot,greeting from Belgium

http://louisette.eklablog.com/-p842116