Want to see what I've been doing?

Well here it is. I started on Sunday, with just a few items (some of the blackberry jam), then on Monday and Tuesday I finished up everything else! WHEW! I'm tired.

I've canned and 'put up', blackberries (whole in syrup, jam and sauce), peaches, blueberries (whole in syrup and jam), dill pickles (spears and slices), bread and butter pickles, tomato's, jalapeno's, banana peppers and hot pickle mix.

Let me tell you, that's a lot!!! I've only put a bit of everything in the pictures, the rest is already on the 'larder' shelves. I've got one problem though. I'm now out of shelf space and harvest is only HALF OVER! I guess I'll have to empty some cabinet somewhere!

Besides all the canning, we've managed to get the pool up and filled, put the solar cover on and get it warm and today I turned on the pump and cleaned it out good. We are ready for a swim! I know I am!

Now, about that storm that we got on Saturday. Here I was just getting ready to start 'jammin' with some blackberries, and the storm starting coming up. So I waited. Then, out of nowhere, came a big lightening strike, and a huge pop in my house. It was just a little later when I went to start working on the jam that I realized we had no water. HUH? We go out and check the pool which we were filling, and nope, no water coming from the hose either. After some inspections and checking, we discovered the lightening had gotten the motor on our well pump! (it was the following day when I realized it got my coffee pot too!). So needless to say, the water that was in the pool came in very handy as we went without running water from Saturday night till Monday afternoon, when the motor on the pump was replaced. ((SIGH)).

I went ahead and did the first 'batch' of blackberry jam without running water, but I made it. We had to haul water from the pool to do the cleaning and such and went out and purchased drinking water for the weekend. Was it tough? Yeah, but it makes me appreciate my ancestors even more, those who had to haul water every day just to get through a day.

So that's been the last few days for me down on the farm, besides picking the blackberries and the blueberries and the rest of the garden bounty. Much of the 'summer' garden is almost done and it's time for winter planting now. I've got about two weeks left before we get into that! WHEW!

So, I could use some help, why don't you get on your work aprons, and meet me here..down on the farm! Till next time

Sage