I picked elderberry flowers again, this time to make elderflower jelly. Most recipes called for ingredients I didn't have on hand, but one used apple juice as a base. I didn't have juice, but I did have cider. The recipe called for soaking the flowers in the apple juice for 24 hours, so I have a bowl of the prettiest, tiny white flowers soaking in juice in the fridge. Not unlike the pan of elderflowers on the back of the stove, quietly fermenting into (I hope) wine.
One of the big benefits of covering an entire garden in mulch is that you can get in the garden in the wettest weather. Today I was able to harvest baby beets and baby carrots (thinning the rows really), kale, lettuce and green onions. I pulled a few weeds that had ventured out from under the cardboard-and hay mulch while I was in the garden--they're so easy to pull right now.
Tomorrow I will harvest the garlic scapes. We have a lot of them, on garlic that has self-seeded here and there. I never knew the scapes could be harvested until a friend posted about it, so I will gather them, chop them up and dry them.
Other than garden things, I worked on a dresser I'm painting. I wanted to have the frame of the dresser painted and the drawers stained a light oak color. But for some reason the stain is taking in a very uneven way. Today I tried sanding the drawers again and re-staining, but they don't look a lot better. I guess I will have to paint them which will look okay but not nearly as cool as my original plan.
I also had paperwork to attend to. My least favorite job. I paid more taxes, renewed the truck's license plates online, packed ebay, deposited checks via my cell phone, sorted mail and receipts and all that kind of thing. Necessary but not creative or fun. I'm thankful that I can pay all our bills online and was even able to pay the taxes over the phone.
Larry has started building more shelves for the root cellar. We cleaned the cellar out a few weeks back in preparation. We really need these shelves as we seem to be putting up more food every year.
Last year we had full jars stacked in boxes and totes because we had too much junk in the cellar and not enough shelving. I am looking forward to the new shelves!
It's funny how these days seem to pass so quickly. We stay busy and are never bored. I am grateful for living in a place that allows us to go in and out freely without worry about coming into contact with anyone. Evenings on the porch or on the patio are quiet and relaxing as we talk over our day, our plans, and whatever we heard on the news. A simple life, but I'll take it.
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
It's a good life here in the country. I'll take it any day.
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