Adventures In Berry Picking

If you have ever wondered why my blog is called Cackles and Berries, it has to do with the abundance of berries found in the pasture on our farm.  The Pasture, I believe was once used to graze cattle but since has been turned into a haven for wild life. It is however loaded with wild black raspberries, blackberries, and mulberries as well as wildflowers.

The "cackle" has to do with my love of chickens.

Every year my mother and I go berry picking. Prior to moving here we used to hunt for berries along the canal and other public wooded areas. Now we are blessed with being able to step out our door and into a secluded private haven, of berries!

Mom and I both attended mass on Saturday evening so we could get up early and pick berries this morning.
She was at my door slightly before 7. We dressed in our "gear" and sprayed ourselves liberally with OFF before heading out. She wasn't to keen on getting her picture taken but it didn't take much to talk her into it. She just wasn't going to pose.


We picked up the face nets last year and they have been wonderful at keeping the mosquitos away from our faces. I try not to think about all the little critters but they are everywhere.  Spiders especially seem to love berry plants.

Ewwww... and I move on.


In all fairness..this is me!
It can get pretty hot. Especially when you have to dress in long sleeves and pants.  So early morning or evening hours are really the best time to pick.

Mom has always out picked me. I've always carried my bucket but this year I agreed to use one of her ropes and tie the bucket around my waist. I thought perhaps this was her secret to picking more berries but I still came up short.



If this is the biggest critter I stumble upon I'll be happy! Once I walked up on a coyote. He ran the other direction, thank goodness.

hmmm..Mom left her bucket of berries on the seat of the mule.


She's in the thick of it and would never know if I snuck a few of her berries into my bucket.

 
But, I would know- She still out picked me!!


We picked for about 3 hours and I think we ended up with about 3 1/2  ice cream pails of berries.
Time to make a fresh batch of jam.

This wonderful juicer was handed down to me by my mother with the stipulation that she could borrow it when ever she wanted.


What a deal huh? Its great for juicing anything- no cheese cloth required. Drop the berries in the top, water in the bottom and the juice drips in the middle and comes out the spigot.


My pail and 1/2 yielded this much seedless jam- plus plenty to eat.

Even with all the mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, the sweat running down my back and fearful dread of getting poison ivy- I wouldn't change a minute for anything. I love the berries but even more I love the time spent in quiet with my mom in the heart of nature.

God is good!!

Thanks mom for being a good sport and letting me take your picture.

Fall in love with pears!

Its been a crazy fall. Can it really be the 17th today? This weekend has gone by so fast. Everyone I know is fighting colds and allergies. The dust in the air is thick from the corn and beans being combined. It doesn't help any. Our youngest has been fighting a bad cold and wakes during the night with a coughing fit that lasts about an hour. The sun doesn't want to shine until after 7am and it makes it very difficult to pull ourselves out of bed. But winter will soon be upon us and there is so much to get done before that happens. Thank goodness the weather remains beautiful and that helps our motivation level.

This weekend I spent catching up on my canning. If you couldn't have guessed from the title of my post, I've been canning pears - all weekend. Yesterday I canned two batches of regular pears and today, I canned cinnamon pears.

We put in 2 pears trees at home here last year. These pears however were from another farm. The tree was absolutely loaded this year. I wish I had time to do more...but I think this is gonna have to do.

I start by making a syrup for the fruit. I like to make an extra light syrup so I taste more fruit then I do sugar. 1 cup sugar per 1 quart of water. For cinnamon pears I add 2 sticks of cinnamon(per quart of syrup) and a couple drops of red food coloring.

I know adding the food coloring goes against my "all natural - no preservative" philosophy BUT

it makes such a pretty presentation and I consider cinnamon pears a treat and I didn't add that much. So, we make an exception.

After peeling the pears I drop them into a solution to keep them from darkening. The solution is 2TBSPs each of salt and vinegar to a quart of water.

After they soak in the solution for no more then 20minutes, I drain it off and rinse the fruit well.

Then I fill the jars and can as usual, using the hot syrup to cover the fruit. I use the water bath method and process pints for 20minutes, quarts for 25 minutes.

The finished jars - don't they look so pretty?

The cinnamon pears are to the left with the lovely pink blush.

Nothing goes to waste either...all the peels and cores are a real treat

For the chickens!

I also managed to find the time to make some Hot Pepper Jam

This summer was my first year making this and I love eating it with cream cheese and crackers.

Sooo Good! Now, I admit, the peppers used in this batch weren't from my garden- I bought them at the store. You see, I made a batch earlier in the summer and was anxiously waiting and anticipating while the next peppers grew in size and were ripe to pick. I knew they were there-  I saw them on the plants. I went out early that Friday morning and couldn't believe my eyes. They were gone. Yup - Plant and all. I knew what had gotten them. It was my 18 year old son. He got mower happy. - Sigh - nevertheless, I have taste tested this batch and I am happy to say- it is just as good as the first! He will however be reimbursing me for the cost of the peppers.

We also managed to get my new green house brought home and off the trailer this weekend.

Friends of ours no longer needed it and offered it to me. God has truly bless me with wonderful friends, family and life.

Well, blogger continues to freeze up on me  - so I guess that's its.

~Count your blessings!
~ Kathy