Apple Pie Filling, Turkeys and Puppies

Apple Pie Filling Sauce...

I guess that is what you would call it. It starts out watery and ends up like gel. Last year I used a recipe with cornstarch but that's not supposed to be safe so I switched to Clear Jel. I kinda like the cornstarch better. The Clear Jel filling was so thick it was like goo. We'll see when I make something with it.

Bad picture, sorry but it got smooth after a while but was very prone to sticking so I had to stir, stir, stir.


Apples all cut up.

Put in jars and poured syrup over then noticed that the sauce was too thick to get to the bottom so I poured it all out, started over and layered it as I went.

Then capped them up and processed.

Some of the jars were sticky so I think it boiled out so I'll be watching those jars and not filling so much next time.

Looks really pretty though.

Remember the turkey with the broken leg? Well, she is fine and back to roosting on the spot where she got her leg caught. Kevin pounded the hooks off of it so they won't get caught again.

(Eileen, it looks like the one in the middle is a tom and on each side are are two hens so I'll be bringing one over when your ready.)

They are so beautiful!
The tom's starting to gobble and strut, just in time for Thanksgiving. (but we're not eating him though, just yard decoration.)

Newest puppy picture, they are getting so big. If you can count them there are seven in that pile!

Til next time,

Beth

YAAAY! A New CAMERA and PUPPIES!

Finally, finally I have a camera!

And this one I'm pretty excited about, that is if I can learn to use it. It is a Fuji Finepix S1800. It's no fancy, expensive one but I am thrilled with it.

I checked reviews and compared prices til I was seeing double but this one seemed to be the best for me. It's got all kinds of features that I have no idea how to use but I am determined to learn.

It's 12 mega pixel and has a macro function so I tried a closeup of this Honeybee on a Moonflower and then cropped it for a closeup.

I think it looks pretty clear, you can even see the shadow of his little antennas. I'm going to try to crop it closer and see what it looks like...

It still looks pretty clear. Awesome!

I am so excited to play with this camera!

Here's a picture of Husband taking the son out for his first tractor driving lesson. The son is not too excited and he did not enjoy it much. Maybe once he learns he'll enjoy it more... hoping.

Finally the canning season is winding down, when it's apples you know the end is near. I used all of our own apples to make apple butter so off we went to the local orchard to get a bushel of seconds for apple sauce and apple pie filling. Actually I should be making the pie filling and not sitting here typing right now but you know...

Cut them up and cooked them til soft.

Ran them through my wonderful Kitchen Aid Mixer attachment.

Set it on the stove to keep hot...

And filled up the jars and processed. This will be so good all winter.


I also have been experimenting with an apple crisp dessert that will work with a jar of my pie filling. I made this jar last year and this is what I will be making as soon as I get done with this post.

I think I have gotten it perfect!

I want to be able to just empty a jar of the filling and then have a quick apple crisp topping when I need a fast dessert. This was almost perfect but I have to maybe double the topping so it's crunchier around the edges but the flavor was yummy.

And now for some great news......


WE HAVE PUPPIES!

Here's the proud daddy, looking all leisurely cause he didn't do all the work.

Awwww, could you just die?

Shelties normally have three to six puppies, she had EIGHT. Poor thing. The first one was born in the wee hours of the night and I was not there to help her and she must have been so scared that I think she hid from it and it died.

But the second one woke me up crying so I was able to calm her down and help and the rest went pretty well. After each one I kept thinking... oh good, she must be done but ooooh no they kept on coming.

They all have really cute markings. One of the boys has a little white heart shape on it's head. So cute. The other two boys have perfect white collars and the four girls all have a little white that goes up a little on the back of their head, just like their momma.

Their eyes will open in a couple days and then I'm sure all hell will break loose.

But for now they are little angels that sleep all the time.

Although one morning at about 4am I heard a puppy crying and I couldn't find it anywhere. I finally figured out that it had crawled into the hem of a pillow that was exactly the same size as him. There was no way to get him out cause he wouldn't go backwards so I had to cut the pillow open. Crazy.

No words needed.

Mamma below is thinking....

GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!

More pictures to come as they grow!

Til next time, Beth

Ducks on the Pond

Maybe two months ago I went and found some ducks for our pond. I got a pair of Harlequins, hopefully male and female and a pair of Runner ducks. They have been stuck in this pen near the house for a while until they were ready for the water.

And we finally found a use for the trampoline that I have been wanting out of my yard for two years.

We wrapped it in chicken wire and used step in posts to create a space for them to feel safe. It's working really well as long as we get no raccoons ambling by. Plus, they need to be used to being away from the chicken house. The set up is not so pretty but it works very well.



Kevin extended the fence a little into the water so they can swim a little and get away from any land creature that might try to get them.

I think they're happy.

Our little side flower garden is really beautiful now.

Every thing's blooming and it's really easy to keep weeded.

If you can see there is a pretty butterfly on the Verbena.

There little guys are missing their sister. I went out to see the chicks last week and there sis was hanging from her ankle from their roost. She had gotten it inside of a hook. I felt so bad, so, so bad! It was my fault that I didn't take the hooks off but how do you know what can happen. The hooks were way below the roost pole.

Here she is in her hospital pen. She spent a week in the house with a large immobilizing splint on it. We changed it to a smaller bandage and put her outside in a small pen. She is much happier. Her would sister spend all day calling for her and she, in turn calling back when she was in the house so at least they can see each other. They hang around outside her door off and on all day.

It's swollen but she is putting weight on it so I hope it heals. It was absolutely broken completely, both bones and would move back and forth in a terrible way. I put some of those long wood match sticks (broken to a proper length) that you use for to light a fireplace on three sides of the break and taped it nice and firmly. I'm really hoping it works. Does anyone out there know how long it will take to heal and how long I should keep the bandage on?

Back to some plant stuff. We bought some Hardy Kiwi a while ago and have been waiting for a good spot to plant it. We finally got our fence in and we plan to have it grow up and along some wire we will put on top of the fence. Kevin plans to drill holes and run some high tensile wire along through the top to make a strong place for it to grow. It is very heavy stuff and it grows really fast. I guess it takes five years or so for it to fruit. All we have is time so we will wait.

You have to get male and female and this is the tag for the male.

You have to plant it about 15 feet apart so we planted then at every other post.

Here's the fence almost done. He's left the poles long at the top to enable the wire to run through with room for the plants to spread around.

Strawberries running all around. Unfortunately the chickens have discovered them so some sort of short fence is required.

Pretty petunias. The color was much better in person and would be here if I had a normal camera and not my phone for pictures.

Another beautiful day at my sister's house below...

Hanging at the Tiki Bar...

The boys fishing. Kevin and Tom (BIL) had the boat, trying out Kevin's new fish finder out (btw, the lake is 38 feet deep at the deepest point! Never knew for sure.) so the boys were stuck with the paddle boat, their tackle boxes barely fit in the back.

I think they really had fun, no matter the size of the boat.

Have to end with this awesome picture.

Til next time,

Beth