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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Canning Update

100% success!! all 27 quart jars sealed properly!!

My kids are going to get so sick of pickles :^)

"Don't Bogart That Can......Man"

So...you're probably asking yourself....what does a throw-away line from the 1994 Gen-x coming-of-age film "Reality Bites" have to do with canning vegetables? (actually....I'm sure you AREN'T asking yourself this....BUT....if you were....the answer would be: Nothing....except maybe the word "can".) It's been a really long night so....forgive me if I'm a little mental.
Right now it's 1:27 am. I've been at this since 8:00pm. Part of me never wants to see another pickle again for the rest of eternity....the other part of me wants to eat nothing but...
Anyhow...this is my first attempt at canning. I don't have a pressure canner so anything that I can has to be able to be processed in a water bath canner. The first victim was a huge batch of pickles:



27 quarts in all. I've read a million articles and blogs about canning. Everyone seems to have their own take on it. I'm coming to find that it's more an art than a science. You ask 100 gardeners how to can pickles and you'll get 100 different takes on the how-to specifics. I took the knowledge that I found and added my own spin....At the end of the day....I'm hoping for an 80% success rate. I guess that means....out of the 27 jars I processed tonight....I'm hoping for 21 or 22 of them to seal properly.
If that happens...I'll be thrilled.
I'll letcha know tomorrow how things panned out. As for now....I think I'll finish my drink and then head on to sleep. This stuff's like a part-time job...the "simple life" certainly is work....but fun work.

Friday, July 29, 2011

The Summer Stretch

This time of year is special. It's that 4-6 week stretch where there's tons of sun and 90+ degree cooking-hot Summer days. A pre-dinner dip in the pool becomes a given and, if you stand still enough, I think that you can actually HEAR the garden growing. The harvest is daily and plentiful. Here's a shot of today's take:



There's my boy snagging a cuke to nibble on. Here's one way that I know that it's Summer...I find these all over the house:





You'd think that I've got mice but, alas, it's just the kids grabbing a little garden goodie to munch on before supper.

I'm going to try my hand at canning tomorrow. I have 50 lbs of cukes that need to be processed. I've done lots with freezer and fridge preserving in the past but have never used a bath canner. I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to put some food on our pantry shelves that will last for a year or so.
I've read the books, I've looked over the recipes....I'm going to add my own twist and hope for the best.
The crazy thing is that...let's take cucumbers for example. They cost about $.75 each on sale at the grocery store. I've got about about 24 cucumber plants. I payed about 10 bucks for all of them. They are putting out around 15-20 cukes a day. The savings that you realize by growing stuff yourself is insane. It becomes practically free. All told, I've got about 100 bucks, out of pocket, into my garden...and, when it's all said and done, If you had to pay retail for all of what we harvest, you're looking at easily $2,000-$3,000 worth of stuff. In this economy....how can you not grow something?

Hope all your gardens are heaving and all your crisper drawers are full.

God Bless.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Next Level



There are constant milestones and paradigm shifts that occur in the life of a young child....kicking, rolling over, crawling, laughing, standing, walking, running ....that sort of thing. It keeps happening throughout their precious little lives. Most of us parents have got something on our doorposts that look something like the photo above (that's Gavin's...Ivy's is on the opposite wall)....milestones of height....growth. There's this weird dichotomy with all of this...on one hand you LOVE the fact that your child is growing, but on the other hand...you hate the fact that they are getting bigger....and more mature...you long for the things that they used to care about....or say. I remember Gavin, as a baby, when thirsty, used to say "wahwee?!" when asking for water. That doesn't happen anymore. When he used to ask for his grandmother he used to say "maber?"...but no longer. These little endearing things have passed by in the name of growth and maturity and, on one hand, it's wonderful that he's progressing and growing but....it seems like it's happening so fast....too fast. I'm not sure I like it. I mean....I dig the growth but....slow it down a bit Lord.



Ivy has this great word.....when she's in the zone and loving life......when you are giving her tickles and hugs, and she's laughing like crazy and wants "more"....she says...."maaawwww?!"...I swear, it's the cutest thing that you'll ever hear. But the reality is that, in a few months or so, she'll mature to a point where she won't ask for "Maaawww" anymore. She'll mature out of that. I'm excited that she's growing....but I kind of mourn those little parts of her life that, as she matures, can never be revisited.
It becomes this constant balance of growth....the willingness to sacrifice aspects of your children's young lives that are replaced with new skills and experiences as they grow older. It just seems like it happens too quickly.
Teenagers wish they could grow up twice as fast....parents wish their children could grow up half as quickly.

Today, I reached a milestone with my son, Gavin. He's 4 1/2 and will turn 5 in December. He got stooged with a lame birthday 2 days after Christmas....he's still a champ, though. He's grown so much this past year....so much so that it's a 50/50 shot as to who gets that biggest fish in our daily fishing derbies (he won today....but not by much :^)
Today, my 4 1/2 year old son took his first trip paddling a canoe all by himself. His grampa and I were in our boat close by him should anything happen but....he handled himself like a champ and learned some amazing skills. He was so excited to do this today. I was so proud of him.
But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wish that I could stunt his growth....if only to keep him little for just a bit longer.
Here's my boy....out on his own:







There is so much that goes into this activity....balance, direction, risk assessment, overcoming fear....and my boy handled it like a champ. He's learning so much this Summer.....gardening, harvesting, fishing, boating, dominion.....and he's only 4. May the LORD give me wisdom to teach my children ever more. Thank you, LORD, for your provision and blessing.



"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Welcome To Flavor Country

Squashes are paying out steadily.
Red Raspberries are providing daily post-swimming snacking
Tons of green tomatoes soaking in these steamy-hot sunshiny days, getting ready to ripen.
Green peppers plodding along and quietly handing over the goods.
Cukes plants are pumping them out, dozens a day....which inevitably brings about:



Leo Family Pickle Factory. Our biggest single batch ever....three gallons worth. We've got our garden cukes and green peppers in there. Our onions won't be ready until late Summer.
Now that's what Summer ought to taste like.
No wait....actually:



Now.....THAT"S what Summer ought to taste like. Some folks ought to come over and help us eat these.

Keep the garden green.

Blessings,
Mike

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cucumber Cash-Out

Pulled our first legit batch of cucumbers today:



Pickles forthcoming.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Boy's First Bass

There's something iconic about the Largemouth Bass. It's really the unofficial "posterfish" of American freshwater inland fishing. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of fish species out there that are total trophies but, there's just something about a Largemouth Bass....the way it looks....that HUGE gaping mouth, that unmistakable dark stripe painted down the length of it's strong body...it's jet-black eye...it's blood-red gills...the way it hunts, the way it strikes, the way it fights....There's a reason that the store isn't called Pickerel Pro Shops.

So, I've documented at length about our fishing experiences this year...that Gavin was introduced to fishing about 3 months ago with a simple rod and length of line...and, honestly, that's what I thought "fishing" was going to be for him this year, just dangling off the dock and snatching up bluegills and sunnies all Summer. That rig lasted about a month, then he said that he was ready to cast. I did a few weeks worth of hand-over-hand with him on my rod and reel...he'd flip the bail and hold his hands right under mine as I casted out. Then he wanted to try it on his own. The only reel that I had for him was an open-faced reel and, for those not in-the-know, is MUCH more challenging to use than the traditional kids training reel called a "push-button". I put a bobber at the end of his hookless line and taught him a thing or two and within one afternoon, he was able to cast out on his own fairly well. That led to him casting out a baited hook and eventually nabbing his first completely solo catch: casted, hooked, and reeled in all by himself.
And that's pretty much where we are at. he's still too little to bait a hook or unhook a fish but he's pretty much got everything else down pretty well. There's definitely some "proud papa" moments when I watch this little 4 year old boy sit there as something is nibbling his bait....paitent....waiting for just right moment to set that hook. It's impressive.
A few weeks ago we started dabbling in plastic and rubber bait. I picked us up some off-set hooks and rubber worms/flukes. Personally, I like the live bait. I love catching big fish, but most days I'm more content to catch 15 small/medium fish than 1 lunker. Live bait, on our pond, is a sure thing....and I'm good with that. For me, just being out there on the dock with my boy is the highlight...the fish caught is just the gravy. Gavin, on the other hand, has been much more interested in the rubber baits. He's had this white rubber super fluke on his line for the past week. He'll cast it out and pretend to have something on his line and yell "get the net"....sometimes even before his bait hits the water. He's got nothing all week....and he couldn't care less....I think that he too just mainly likes being out there.
So today, he and I are out there fishing, I'm snatching up the occasional bluegill and he's casting and reeling in next to me. Then he says "I got one"...I don't even really react at that point, thinking that it's just another one of his little pretending sessions. He says it again " I got one...a BIG one". At that point I glance over and see his line laser straight heading into the water and his pole bent sharply. "Yeah...you do" I say...."Reel! Keep your line tight!".
He handles himself like a champ and, in a classic yet inevitable shift in roles, I grab the net to help HIM land HIS big fish:



My boys first Bass. Signed, sealed, and delivered all by himself. Just under 2 lbs. Just over 16 inches. He was psyched, I was more psyched for him. He got his Big Fish.

I am so grateful to have rediscovered my love of fishing, especially with my boy. There is nothing in the world like getting to spend that much time with him, so close together, talking, joking, teaching, laughing. Being out there gives me so much time and opportunity to pour into his little life on so many levels. I look forward to many more years of quality time on the dock with my boy. Big Fish or not.

"Many men go fishing their whole lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after" - Henry David Thoreau

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Fourth Fun with First Campout

We're very blessed to live with the pond out back. It allows for all of the elements of camping without actually camping...fishing, boating, frog-catching, campfires w/ s'mores....then bring the kids inside, give 'em a bath and off to sleep in their nice, familiar beds. Very nice, indeed, but it was time for Gavin to experience a night out in a tent...with our home in sight just in case the sounds of night freaked him out. Really, that was what concerned me most...the sounds, and how he would handle them. We've got these trees out back filled with tree frogs that get so crazy loud at night, they sound like howler monkeys...add to that the bull frogs, the heron screeching, and the occasional shriek of a red fox or fisher cat and I was almost certain that we'd wind up back in the house after a few hours.
Nope...Friday night, the kid handled himself like a champ...slept like a log all night. Chrissy and Ivy hung out until it got dark and then retreated inside. We snapped some pics of the goings on:



Our little setup.






Some heavy-duty marshmallowing


'Shmallow Art courtesy of Chrissy Leo


Tent Dance Party!!


Of course the obligatory illegal fireworks had to make an appearance....thank you New Hampshire. Don't worry, we read the warning labels...no fingers were blown off in the making of this blog.

At one point, it rained for a 1/2 hour or so...we huddled in the tent, all 4 of us, laughing, tickling, wrestling...then we looked out of the tent and saw this:






Unbelievable, right? It was one of those magical times when you feel as though God just *winked* at you and whipped up something special just for you. It was the brightest rainbow I've seen here in years and hung around for a good 20 minutes...with our tent right underneath it.

All in all we had an amazing time...so amazing, in fact, that Gavin and I slept out Saturday night as well.....Well, it's Sunday afternoon and we left the tent up.....just in case :^)

Thank you Lord for all You are and how much You love Your children. Thank You for Your Creations and for allowing us to enjoy and explore all that You have made!!




A fool would ask for more.