Medlar

 Medlar.
New to me.
I read about it in this catalog, http://www.treesofantiquity.com/

 According to the catalog, medlar is an old fashioned type of fruit.
Growing in climates that get down to -25 degrees.

 "Taste of yesteryear.... revered for it's ornamental value, delicious unique fruit.
Texture and flavor reminiscent of spiced applesauce and pear".

 "Revered for their ornamental value".

"Medlar fruit is about 2 inches in diameter, soft brown in color, and born from large , beautiful white flowers".

'It can be eaten fresh, cooked, roasted or in pies and jellies".
Upon further research, I found that a lot of people make jelly with Medlar fruit.
Many people commented what an amazing thing it is, that the jelly turns out such a beautiful rosy color, when it is made from brown fruit.

We are striving to grow heirloom varieties of plants on our homestead.
Including , trees, shrubs, flowers and garden plants.
In the Spring, we are putting together and order from this catalog (see above for link), and I would appreciate any opinions on ordering Medlar trees.
Has any one grown Medlar?
Tasted Medlar fruit?
Tasted Medlar jelly?

Thanks so much for your thoughts and opinions about Medlar fruit.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that the landfill is open today, and more grateful that Brooke and Spencer were able to get a truck load of yard debris, and old sidewalk concrete taken to the landfill.
~I'm grateful that my sweet husband and I had a chance to go for an ATV ride last night, and more grateful that we beat the rain storm home.

Summer Bucket List

 Summer's are like that....
full of warm days, cool nights, and easy going activities.
At least that's the way we like summers to be.
So far, this summer is about on track. 
We dealt with the wildfires, and drought.... but we are rescuing the remainder of the long days of summer, and squeezing the fun out of them.
We've been on 'vacation' for the past couple weeks.
We got a ton of projects done around the homestead. 
I'll show you before and after pictures soon.
We've been to the drive-in quite a few times.  So fun.

 Everyone enjoys the drive-in.
What a cute couple ..... in their old pickup truck, and blankets and pillows in the back.

 This car made me smile.... hay  bales... perfect for sitting on and watching the movie.
We just had the Tahoe.
 Kinda boring compared to some of the other movie goers.

 We've been enjoying summer sunrises.

Summer drives through the canyon.
Love the mist that drapes over the mountain tops after an early morning rain storm.

And... summer sunsets.
We've also enjoyed and been blessed with rain showers now and again, during the past few weeks.

So, we are getting some of those Summer Bucket List items done.
I still would like to visit Kennecott. Haven't been there since I was a wee kiddo.
Click on the link to learn more.
 http://kennecott.com/visitors-center/ 

I would like to visit the Crandall Canyon Mine Memorial also.

Click on link to learn more.

  http://www.templetonsculpture.com/crandall-canyon-mine-disaster-memorial

 The mine disaster affected everyone in Utah, and especially in our small communities where there are many that work in the mines.

Plenty of summer left.
Plenty of time left to work on our 'Summer Bucket List'


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that we've been able to get so many projects done, and make a dent in our "Incredibly Long To-Do List".
~I'm grateful that I'm over my summer cold... or was it awful allergies? Either way, I'm grateful that my health has returned.
~I'm grateful that Spencer has an opportunity to play for the Military memorial program tomorrow in our towns Pioneer Day celebration.

A fine day

A very fine day.
Woke up to clouds yesterday.
Praying for rain.
I've heard reports that it has been more than 38 days since we last received any measurable moisture.
Finally, around 9:00 am ... it started raining softly.

 I lit a few candles.
Took the dog out on the front porch with me.
The two of us sat on the porch glider and watched it rain.
Mostly I watched the rain, and Rowdy snoozed.

 The old homestead across the street from our homestead.
No one lives there.
They just use the property in the Spring during lambing season.
How many times I've looked at that homestead and imagined it repaired and the cottage lived in.
It's been told to me, that the owners wanted to tear down the house and barns and build a new house to live in throughout their retirement.
The historical society told them 'no', and so their response was to 'let the house rot'.
The siding is starting to fall off.
I think it's cut stone underneath.
I'm pretty certain it would be a spectacular house if it were to be restored.

 One of our local artists has painted the house during lambing season.
"Sheep house"... by Joan Durfey.
Guess that's all it will ever be.... a sheep house.

 We needed some comfort food on our rainy day.
Browned off some boneless pork chops.

 Sauteed up some mushrooms.
How I love to cook and bake on our old Wedgewood stove.
Put everything in the slow cooker and added a can of cream of mushroom soup.
Mushroom smothered pork chops, served with buttered noodles.
Warm and savory.
Perfect comfort food on a rainy day.

 And, warm chocolate chip cookies.
I keep all the paper sacks from the grocery store and when we make a batch of cookies, those paper sacks come in handy.

Just sat on the front porch... watched the storm clouds roll across the mountains.

Watched it rain.
It was a fine day.
A very fine day.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for the power of prayer.
I've been praying for rain. The Lord blessed us with rain. Not only hours of soft rain, but last night at 9:00 pm, or so, we had a gully washer. The rain came down in buckets.
Answered prayers.
~I'm grateful that my sweet hubby is now on vacation.
We will be able to get so many projects done around the homestead, and we will be certain to have a few days away to relax and laugh together.

Good Morning Sunshine

 A fresh bouquet of chocolate mint.
I've been getting up before the sun, to take advantage of the somewhat cooler temperatures, and get the watering done.
This morning, I cut a huge bouquet of chocolate mint.
Smells wonderful, and I placed it on the kitchen island, to enjoy all day long.

 I'm delighted that the sunflowers are beginning to blossom.
Just barely.
I have started additional sunflower seeds, so that I may plant them in succession.
I'd love to have an abundance of sunflowers well into the Fall.

 Lucky me.
Watching the sun rise over the mountains.
No better way to start the day.

 Flowers are all growing beautifully.
How cheerful.

 Garden goodness.
Little baby squash, and new squash blossoms.

The 'girls' get to play on the lawn, and get a bit of sunshine too.
They are beginning to feather out nicely.
Now... we just need to kick it into overdrive the next few weeks, and get the barn renovation finished so that they will have a home.

Yes... it's shaping up to be a great week.
Full of sunshine, and blessings.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for lemons. I buy them in bulk at Costco.
Nothing tastes better on a hot sunshiny day, than icy cold lemon water.
The perfect fruit!
~I'm grateful that I found some of my fabric stash.
I found an adorable soft yellow, and golden yellow, paisley print quilt at D.I.
Now that I've found my fabric, I want to make a couple of co-ordinating pillows for the quilt.
~I'm grateful that I found a couple of gallons of white paint at ReStore.
Perfect for re-painting the old wooden bench that sits on the front porch, and for re-painting the old wooden swing with.