Monday, August 3, 2020

More berries and a nut

Far Guy and I picked about two ice cream pails of chokecherries yesterday.  There will be one more picking later this week...some of the trees that don't get as much sunlight will be ready by then. 

I am not sure how many cups of juice we got yet as it is cooling...and thanks to Far Guy all the dishes are done and the kitchen cleaned up.  The juice will be jelly one day soon or frozen depending on the weather. 

Far Guy was wondering about these berries.   My baby brother has a whats this plant app on his phone...we just have a little book   Wild Berries and Fruit field guide for Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

This is an opposite leafed Dogwood, the berries are not edible when they turn color...birds and deer will eat them and leave the red stemlet that is pretty in the Fall.

We have lots of Hazel Brush...some of the fast growing branches make Hazelnuts. 

Most are being eaten by some kind of worm who likes the foliage and the nut.

So much for the Minnesota Horticulture lesson of the day. 

I completed another shawl and it is being blocked.  Another has been started.

All the Christmas Cards have been stamped...some new art supplies should arrive today...that is my reward for stamping them all!  I am trying some different water color "stuff" so we will see how it all works out. 
Stay safe! 

Far Side

19 comments:

Val Ewing said...

Can't wait to see your new art supplies. Cold here this morning...laughing at me thinking 51 is cold. However I am lining up my projects for this fall and for when dark comes early. I hate to think about it...but best have something planned for it!

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

You 2 are doing great with the chokecherries. I've found some hazelnuts here but I don't care for hazelnuts. I love your warning for spammers! LOL! You finished another shawl? You are fast! I was watching Misty Percel's podcast (Luminous Fiber Arts) and she was raving about Tulip Crochet hooks. I'd never heard of them but I looked into them and they are highly rated. I'm thinking about them. The set is about $107 but I have used the darn metal ones for years and these would be comfortable especially with the RA. Have you ever used them?
Art supplies coming? please do a show and tell when they arrive! I love art supplies, office supplies and craft supplies! LOL! Have a great Monday!

linda m said...

You have really been busy the last couple of days. Your recipe sounds very easy to make. However, I have never seen any chokecherries around here. Glad all is well and you are staying safe.

Linda Reeder said...

My goodness, you two are productive! You put me to shame. Right now I am mostly useless. But then August is for slowing down.
Plant identification is fun. I like to know the names of things too. The squirrels and Jays get out hazelnuts.

DJan said...

More chokecherry jelly on the way! And thanks for the horticulture lesson. I learned something. :-)

Martha said...

Thanks for today's lesson :)
If you happen to have Five Below stores there they have some great watercolor pens that work beautifully - and you can't beat it for $5! New art supplies are always such fun, enjoy yours!

Sara said...

We have a tree just down the block that has berries that turn orange. The birds eat those but also drop hundreds of them on the sidewalk and make such a mess. I can't remember what it's called, but we had one in our backyard too. When it got kind of sick looking we replaced it with a red maple and I don't miss tracking in the berries on our shoes.

Terry and Linda said...

You are always so very and completely busy. I have projects laid out to do...and there they sit!

Tired Teacher 2 said...

Sounds like your pantry will be well stocked with jelly. I bet you gift jars of jelly to family and neighbors, too.

The Feminine Energy said...

Such good progress on your Christmas cards, Connie... and your other projects as well. I've toyed with the idea of making our Christmas cards this year too... but the idea quickly fled. *lol* Happy Crafting! Love, Andrea xoxo

At Home In New Zealand said...

It is so interesting to see what berries/nuts are growing wild around you. A lot of our native berries are inedible (some are poisonous) so it pays to be positive about identification!

Red said...

We juice and freeze. When we want jelly we pull out one jar of juice and thaw it.

Betsy said...

Two more pails?! That's a lot! You're going to have lots of jelly and juice.
It's starting to get dark earlier already. This summer seems to have flown by, even with all of the strangeness that is abounding all over the world.
Blessings,
Betsy

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

I found this interesting

Bonnie said...

You are making great progress with your jelly, Christmas cards and your crochet! I wish I knew the secret to your energy! How is the milk can coming? Inquiring minds and all that! ; )

The Furry Gnome said...

That's a lot of berry-picking!

Pamela said...

Sometimes my plant ID app is totally warped. Ha Ha.
I would love to try your chokeberry results. I have that beautiful service berry tree -- maybe next year I will try to do something with the fruit. So much goes to waste. I'd hoped for far more birds. Although the waxwings did show up for some treats this year. But they were EVERYWHERE in the valley -- I've never seen so many waxwings here before.

Thank you for kind comments, too.

diane in northern wis said...

Wow......you picked more chokecherries with even more to come. Good for you! I guess I would have to give the worm my portion of the hazelnuts as I'm allergic to them! You are so industrious...stamping all your Christmas cards and ordering some neat new pens or paints for coloring.... you sure stay busy! Stay well you two!

Granny Marigold said...

It must be a very good year for chokecherries.
I have several trees and plants of B.C. books but still find it hard to identify anything. That plant ID app sounds like a great idea but I'm pretty sure we'd have to get a better cell phone in order to use it.