LOVE HATE

I hate pears -

Well - no - that is so untrue -

They are delicious and I love them -

sort of ...

I never can be definitive on things like this.
Things like what is my favorite __________?

GOOD GRIEF! Do people really have favorites?

Doesn't that get a little boring? I love blue but please don't inflict it on me everywhere! And which blue? Except when I love red, pink - no yellow - wait - what about green,  but my bedroom is periwinkle - and orange is an age in and of itself ...

Pears are like that.

Each pear is its own category.  I prefer Bartletts, ripened just so, not grainy (uggh the skins!) but so good to eat in hand - except that stringy part near the core - and dried they are heavenly.

Canning them is the same.

 They must be peeled smoothly

(  This year my son's wife, Casey, was here to help out -she's fast! )

- and cored,

firm and white.

We like a light syrup - only 1 cup of sugar to about 4 of water - and yes always a hot syrup to start them off with.


It's such a process.

Just call me picky.

My husband knows

- he helps every time.

(he's fast and strong)

And since Casey was here, and she hasn't participated in canning before,

we demonstrate a jar of grapes and a jar of tomatoes.

But that's not the pears fault!

And you do have to admit they always look so satisfying all washed clean and lined up on the shelves.

I think I'm in love ...

PRESERVED

Here are the 14 pints of peaches my husband and I managed to preserve from the birds.

We also managed to put some peach chunks into the freezer and another tray went directly down the hatch!

They are working on our apples now - birds AND wasps!

Pesky critters those! We are finding whole apple skins hollowed out completely and still hanging on the tree with the core intact inside.  Occasionally an apple like that will be zzzzzzzinnnzggg like crazy and inside it will have dozens and dozens of wasps in a frenzy.

I would try to get a picture but I stay as far away as I can - I am allergic to apples and wasps - frankly Scarlett, I don't .... uhm .... really care if the birds or wasps eat the apples - except of course that there are those that do care, and I care that they care!

Maybe they will take an interesting picture.