I was working
away at my desk and noticed something going on in the tree outside my window.
The squirrels can’t hide as well now that the leaves are gone.
This guy was not only scoping the yard out but he was sniffing the air.
He could probably
smell the remaining plums that were turning to brandy right there on the
branches.
This summer has
been a good one for gardening and farming.
We’ve had bumper crops of all kinds, our plum tree included. DH and I picked and picked and after we ate
all we dared we made plum jam, plum jelly, plum fruit leather, plum juice,
dried plums and frozen plums. I carried
bags of plums around to the neighbors until they started closing the curtains
and pretending they weren’t home when they saw me coming.
Finally we just
gave up and left the rest for the animals.
They have been
doing their best to clean them up but there are still plenty.
The starlings, chickadees and woodpeckers have stopped by for a meal. This flicker was really enjoying the treat but flew to the power pole when I went for my camera. There is still purple goo on his beak.
Today I brought out some frozen plums and chopped them up to make this recipe:
It’s called plum
pudding but since there are only three of us in this house and none of us need
a lot of sweets I made the batter into cupcakes. That way I can freeze some for
later. I also changed the granulated
sugar to brown sugar and decreased the amount to a half cup.
I only put nuts
in half of them since Beavis doesn't care for walnuts.
We decided they are plenty yummy even without the caramel sauce.
I’m also excited
about my success with yogurt making. It
is surprisingly uncomplicated. Since our
house isn't real warm this time of year I made an incubator out of a small
cooler and jars of hot water. This
set-up also works great for keeping small batches of rising bread dough warm.
