Peaches - Freezing

With no BC peaches this year I was worried I would not get any.  Friday, my sister let me know that Superstore had some.  When I walked in the door they had cases! 

I bought a case and this morning I got down to the task of freezing some.

They get a dip in hot water to help the removal of the skin, then into cold water, peel off the skin and cut into chunks, onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper, into the freezer, when solid into bags for the winter. Since they were frozen seperate it makes it easy to just take the amount I want for breakfast. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

On the weekend I went for a big walk at the wetlands.  It has been so dry that they are in pretty sad shape and the wildlife must be wondering what is going on.

I did find a few dozen Lesser Yellowlegs in the river.  They were feeding along the edge of the river which also very low.  

These birds are shore birds which feed in marshy areas and muddy edges.  

I expect with the number I saw that this could be the start of the migration process. They will be heading to the southern states in the next little while.

Really a gorgeous bird.

I found a masher for my processing of fruit and berries.   I visited a thrift store which I have not been to since the start of the pandemic.

It has changed hands and now supports a different charity but mostly not much has changed inside.  I am just thinking now that I forgot to visit the second floor. Darn!   It is a bit out of the way so just a few customers, easy to social distance and good variety of goods.

I could have used a masher when I did my chokecherries so I had added it to my shopping list.  This one turns out to be Pampered Chef and it cost me a buck.  

Love it!

I worked on my office chair this morning.  It has been dropping black bits so I wanted to investigate if I could find out where and why.

I have own this chair for years!  I got it when it was being thrown out at the place I was working.  It was made by Doerner Faultless in Waterloo Ontario Canada in the early 1950s.  It was old when I got it, so now it is very old.  

As you can see I tried to clean a stain on the seat and made it worse.  I will sew a cover for the seat which can be washed.

I was going to get rid of it but I think I have solved the problem.  I have put paper down under it to see if any black stuff comes down from it in the next few days.  

I did learn what the three knobs under it did and adjusted it to be more comfortable to sit on.  

The Rudbeckias are a nice hardy flower and are still providing gorgeous colors in many of the gardens in my neighbourhood.

I love their bright yellow coloring which is similar to my favorite sunflowers.

I have taken many pictures of these flowers over the summer.  

I think this one may end up in my 2022 annual flower calendar.

I found this wonderful tea light holder at a small garage sale.

It was very dirty and cruddy so I had to soak it in soapy water then in vinegar to get calcification off from some of the areas.  Not sure what would produce that kind of residue.  It took several hours and some elbow grease to make it shiny and transparent again.

It showed no signs of having a candle in it.

I love the Moroccan star design with the textured glass.  Nice to have it clear which will go with any decor.  It has a long chain so it could hang on the balcony at night.  

Very happy with this purchase.

I saw Blue Herons at the river.  They were pretty far from the path I was on but I was so excited to see them.  The second photo is one stalking some sort of prey.  It was very focused and moving very deliberately.

The first photo shows that in many areas of the wetlands it is dry!  I have not seen that ever in the past.  When it has water you think there will always be water but I did not realize how shallow some areas were.  The ducks were sitting on moist dirt not even mud, I am sure wondering what was going on.  I wonder how many have perished due to lack of water.  There was still a bit of water in the deeper areas but not a lot for the number of birds who would need it.

Fortunately, it has been raining pretty steadily for the last 24 hours

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays was Leading Lines.  This photography technique is used to draw the eye of the viewer to a particular area in the photo.  This example would be better if the end of the grass stayed within the frame.

You can see the shot I submitted on my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics).

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #144 and

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #302. 

Have a great week!

Recent Photos

I was so thrilled to see my first BIG bird.   I was at Patricia Lake early one morning this week and investigated a white patch across the water.

It was a Blue Heron.  This is the best shot I got and was hoping he had decided to go fishing or at least stand but he was content to sit there and look at me.

I will go back in a few days but they must into migration already headed to the States so it likely will not be there when I return.

This creature was a more cooperative.  It is a Yellow Dragonfly.  I love the bright spots a the ends of its wings!

The structure on it's back where the wing attach is very interesting and detailed.

It has big eyes and looks like a being a person could connect with.

I was glad to have spotted it in the yellow green grass in the meadow.

This the latest book I had on my night stand.  "The Road to Paradise Island" by Victoria Holt.  My Mom had read the book and passed it onto to me.  I enjoyed the book very much.



Annalice Mallory, the sheltered daughter of a family of map makers, discovers the cryptic diary of her long-dead ancestor that includes a map of a mysterious far-of island. Philip, Annalice's brother, sets sail for the island, lured by the promise of incomparable riches to be found. But when he doesn't return, Annalice sets out to find him -- and the secrets of the diary -- in a desperate journey that leads her through the worlds' most exciting outposts . . . and finally to the tropical islands of the South Seas, where she encounters heart-stopping peril, but also the promise of love.

I found the discovery of the diary very compelling.  She grows up from a teenager to an independent woman during the experience of searching for her ancestor.  Set in England in the early 1900s and included travel on a ship to Australia. It all ends well in the end. 

Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert (1906–1993), better known to readers as Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr, and Jean Plaidy, was one of the world’s most beloved and enduring authors. Her career spanned five decades, and she was heralded as the “Queen of Romantic Suspense.” She continued to write historical fiction under the name of Jean Plaidy and romantic suspense as Victoria Holt until the time of her death.

Of course, it is time to harvest so I was fortunate to be able to pick raspberries in a friend's patch on 2 Sundays.  The first Aug 4th garnered enough to make a double batch of Raspberry Bavarian with my Mom's recipe.  I shared half with my sister and brother in law when I visited to pick saskatoon berries last week.  I have frozen a container of raspberries with enough to make Bavarian again!  I picked saskatoons at our regular UPick - Farrant Junction on Wednesday last week.  The berries were really nice and big and the picking was easy.  I picked 2 ice cream pails which made 4 bags of berries for the freezer.

I was driving down to my sisters to pick berries and it rained the whole way.  I was concerned berry picking would not happen.  I was prepared to pick in the rain if necessary. We decided to make our other preserves on Tuesday and hope of better weather on Wednesday. I made chutney and she made berry syrup which she serves with club soda on a hot day.

I stuck to last year's recipe with a few tweeks.
I halved the sugar in the recipe this year but did add a few extra dried cranberries.
I added garlic which was not in the original recipe but I like it.
I switched from dark raisins to golden raisins to keep the color in the gold colors.

I made 6 one cup jars this year.  That will be plenty.  I have some leftover jars from my experiments last year.  It is great to spend time with family and put some good food away for winter.

Sharing with Through My Lens #203 hosted by Mersad.