How to Make Tomato Sauce

 

Cut the tomatoes in quarters. Blanch for three minutes to easily remove peels.

Boil for nine hours

Puree

Strain

Boil for another nine hours

Boil the jars for nine hours

Fill jars.

Use the gauge to test fullness.

Add some lemon juice.

Put on the lids and boil for nine hours.

Cool for twenty-four hours. The lids should pop after a few minutes.

The Big One

The cucumbers keep coming. Lisa is still making pickles. She made some tomato sauce today.

Sweet Potato

It has been hot the last couple of weeks. We have had plenty of rain so the grass and garden keep growing.

Lisa planted the sweet potato and it is doing nicely.

We picked a few of the tomatoes.

The ground for the chicken shelter has been broken.

Oriana and Jazz are in the east pasture now. Oriana is in front and Phoenix is running behind her. You can tell it’s Heidi in the rear because she isn’t wearing a disguise.

Happy Birthday Lisa

Anne was here visiting for Lisa’s birthday. She came up from Anderson with Marianne and Ashley. They were picking up half of the baby chickens. Not too soon either. The little habitat was getting small for twelve.

Lisa opening gifts. This one was a wind chime from Kathy and Bill with a lapis lazuli clapper and wind catcher.

Marianne and Ashley with Gracie.

The Kentucky chicken catchers.

Charlie was interested in the chicken catching. He likes birds.

Barbara and Gracie were watching the proceedings.

Chickens caged for the trip back to South Carolina. Did they ever stop peeping? We expect to see a report on Anne’s blog.

Marianne and Ashley got some bunnies from Heather.

This picture has a story. I tilled up this little patch in the garden. The original intent for this spot was the onions. They didn’t work out so this seemed like a good place to plant the sweet potato that came to life in the kitchen. I made the little mound but we didn’t get around to planting it yet. This was about the time that Anne went on a cabbage moth killing spree. They are the moths that come from the cabbage worms that eat the collards. They are also, of course, the progenitors of the worms, so wanting to kill them is natural for anyone who likes collards. Anne likes collards. The white specks on the mound are the carefully placed carcasses of the dead moths. She got quite a few. Liking collards is normal, disliking destroyers of collards is normal. Posing the remains of a deadly rampage is normal, right?

The Third of July

We are getting ready for Independence Day. Lisa is making pickles. Cathryn and her mother came to visit. Anne and Marianne will be here tomorrow with their friend Ashley.

Mini horses grazing.

That is not a water tower in the distance. Or is it?

I picked some more cucumbers.

Piper was relaxing.

Heather came to move bunnies over to the barn in Hope.

The first batch of pickles cooling.