Canning Season has Started

My first attempt at canning Cherry Marmalade and Cherry Pie Filling.

The jam seems ok. I made 4 little jars and they retained the color nicely.

The pie filling is proving more difficult. I had a hard time finding a pie filling recipe that uses sweet cherries. Then, when I used potato starch as the recipe suggested, I found that it breaks down in the pressure canning process. Also I noticed that for some reason, 3 of the 8 jars do not have enough liquid in them. I'm trying to decide if I should re-open those jars and mix those cherries in with the next batch... they'd be overcooked, but I don't think it's safe to have the jar only half full of juice.

Anyway, I've still got more cherries, so I'm going to give it another go. I've got to pick up some more jars, and some liquid pectin (since the potato starch didn't work properly). Hopefully the next batch will be better.

Bird Drama

Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus

I first saw these cute little birds on my way into work yesterday. They look and act more like water birds than something you'd expect hanging around the flowerbeds on a college campus.

Drama Queen

While the first bird was racing around the flowerbed, this bird ran straight to the middle of the sidewalk and screeched and acted like it had a broken wing - all to distract me from the flowerbeds and the nest that must be hidden there.

Time to Start Dehydrating Again

Cherries and Strawberries from our Garden

We have more fruit than we can eat right now. I've already got some rhubarb in the fridge ready to make a pie, so I thought I'd dig out the dehydrator we got last year and try it out on some of the extra fruit.

At the end of the season last year, I bought a cherry pitter. Surprisingly I'd never used one before. It's a pretty neat little tool.

Cherry Thieves

Our cherries are starting to get ripe.

Doesn't seem to be as good a crop this year - of course I didn't get many last year either. I waited too long and the entire tree was picked clean in one day.

Our tree is in the front yard.

I could just hear the animals feasting on the cherries while I was still in bed this morning.

Here's what I saw when I got up.

It's not just the birds either.

The squirrels just right across the wire from the back yard to the front yard and stick whole cherries in their mouths.