Category Archives: Cherries

Jammin’

June 29, 2022Blueberries, Blueberry jam, Cherries, Cherry Jam, Reflectionsruthsoaper

Normally this time of year I would be putting strawberries in the freezer and making strawberry jam, but last fall we noticed that our strawberry plants had lost their vigor. We would need to start a new bed this spring. It was still winter when we placed our order for 75 strawberry crowns that would be delivered in late May. The plants arrived as scheduled and were planted in some of our raised beds. They are doing well but starting over means we will not have strawberries for our favorite jam this year.

After seeing how productive our cherry tree was this year (I had more than enough for a couple of pies) I decided it was time to try something new – cherry jam. While I was at it, I thought I would use up some of the blueberries I still had in the freezer from last year to make a batch of blueberry jam.

On Tuesday I made 3 pints of cherry jam and 3 pints of blueberry jam.

As we sampled them with breakfast this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder if strawberry is still out favorite jam.

Do you have a favorite jam?

Who’s Guarding the Cherries?

June 21, 2022Cherries, Reflectionsruthsoaper

Last winter my husband bought this fake owl in hopes that it would deter starlings from seeking shelter in our chicken coop. It did not work. The starlings were persistent, and he thought the owl was a waste of money.

Two days ago, when I mentioned that the robins were stealing our cherries, he brought the owl home and staged it near the cherry tree. I’m happy to report the owl is now paying off.

What The Future Holds

June 18, 2022Cherries, Pie, Reflectionsruthsoaper

I’m no psychic but –

I see cherry pie in our future.

Our one cherry tree is not at the farm but grows right next to our deck at the house. It is loaded with ripening cherries.

It’s been a couple of years since we have had a good cherry crop. Last year the blossoming tree faced several nights of freezing temperatures, then it fell prey to the gypsy moth caterpillars. Our crop was nil.

Our late warm up this year seems to be beneficial for this crop.

I suspect I will be making cherry pie next week. 🙂

Asparagus, Daffodils and More

April 17, 2021Asaparagus, Cherries, Daffodils, Flowers, Forsythia, Primrose, Reflections, springruthsoaper

It’s an early spring here in Michigan. This week my husband noticed asparagus shoots popping up. I didn’t get any photos of it but I wanted to give a heads up to anyone living in our area who grows asparagus or hunts wild asparagus to watch for it. As I looked back over previous posts I noticed that in the past few years our asparagus has started coming around the last week of April or the first week in May so it’s two to three weeks early this year. I didn’t want anyone to miss out.

I did, however, get lots of photos of daffodils and some others things that are blossoming.

There is so much to love about daffodils.

They are a reliable, low maintenance, perennial.

They will grow in full sun

or wooded, wet, shady areas.

An early bloomer, they come in a variety of shades that say “Welcome to Spring”.

They also vary in size.

They continue to multiply each year so eventually they may need to be thinned by digging some up. The best time to dig the bulbs is in the fall. They can then be transplanted or given to friends.

They grow in harmony with other plants so keeping the area weed free is not really necessary.

We didn’t wait until fall to transplant these. Instead we dug them with a good size root ball (keeping the soil surrounding the roots/bulbs intact). We then dug a hole large enough for the entire root ball, placed the plant in the soil and filled in around it. You can see they brought some of their companions (mayapples) along with them.

Last but not least they top the list of being deer and rabbit resistant.

It’s kind of hidden amongst other plants but my primrose has more blossoms this year than it has since I first planted it. I am so happy with it that yesterday I picked up two more of these plants (one with purple blossoms and one with yellow) to keep this one company. (I should not be trusted in a store that sells garden plants. LOL!)

The forsythia have been in full boom for over a week now. It seems they are much earlier than last year because when I looked back through my photos my album from April 20, 2020 has photos of them beginning to blossom.

They create an impressive array as the backdrop for the pond. From a distance neighbors and passers-by enjoy the blast of color amidst the greens and browns that monopolize the landscape this time of year.

But walking along the berm surrounded by these brilliant yellow blossoms is an experience to behold. It felt like a natural high with my husband using the term uplifting to describe it while I found it breathtaking.

The cherry tree next to our deck began blossoming the week and while it’s delightful to see it is way too early. With snow and freezing temperatures in the forecast for next week we can expect a less than optimal cherry crop this year. I’m not ready to write it off completely though. I will hold out hope for a least one homemade cherry pie or crisp. 🙂

Thanks for visiting. What’s blooming in your area?

Coveting The Cherries

July 5, 2019Berries, Birds, Cherries, ReflectionsHomesteadingruthsoaper

As quickly as spring turned into summer, strawberry season turned into cherry, blueberry and currants season.

As my husband and I sat on the deck yesterday, looking at all of the cherries that needed to be picked, he commented that he was surprised that we hadn’t seen any robins eating the cherries. I told him I would pick cherries tomorrow.

Along toward evening Scout needed to go outside and as I opened the door to take him out a robin flew out of the cherry tree. It had a ripe cherry in it’s beak and flew on top of our neighbors house so I could watch it eat it’s prize.

It is now game on – to see who can get the cherries first.

As soon as Scout was done with his business I got busy picking cherries. We didn’t have a cherry crop at all last year but the tree seems to be making up for it this year.

I picked about a quart of cherries while the robin sat on the neighbors house and chirped at me. As darkness began to fall the mosquitos chased me inside.

I picked another two quarts this morning. For now I am just freezing the cherries but as soon as this extreme heat wave is over and we turn off the air conditioning I will be baking a cherry pie.

There are still enough cherries left on the tree for me to pick a couple more quarts and the robin to have it’s share as well.