Maximum temperature here today 31⁰C, minimum 13⁰C. Dry. 12km/h South-Easterly winds with gusts up to 24 km/h.
Apologies for lack of blogs and lack of visits, but with the dehydrator not working, I had to keep up with bottling, and then when the dehydrator returned in working order, there was still a lot of figs (and they have not stopped yet) to be prepared for dehydrating. I am sorry that I did not weigh all the fruit but I didn't. We have though 5 large bags of quartered figs dry and a couple of bags of sliced figs also dry. Now the apples are ready! I have already bottled some stewed, and some apple sauce from the fallers. But will pick out a few good ones for dehydrating, we have two Granny Smith apple trees. In between we rescued a few quinces from the top of the tree, thankfully there was not a lot this year. The quinces made up 4 large bottles of fruit and 8 jars of jelly. Oh, and of course an overload of haricot beans meant bottling curried beans which we prefer to frozen.
Proof that I have not been loafing!!
I have though each day managed to get out and take at least get one photo - I needed to keep Blip going. If you have never tried it, meet the great community of Blip Here. If you should join please let me know so I can follow. I Blip under the name of 'Charente'.
Unusual sunset. I was a bit late and missed the best of it.
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| Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria). |
Californian poppy (Eschscholzia californica).
Bee on the Sedum.
Bee drinking.
Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), also known as the yellow-legged hornet.
Believed to have arrived in France in boxes of pottery from China in 2004. They have since spread all over France and are bee-killers!!!
Robber fly but not sure which one. Family: Asilidae.
Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).
As above
Common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus).
As above - Male.
A feather plant 😀
Cosmos.
Cyclamen.
Common Spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica).
So-called because it spits a venomous sticky silken substance over its prey. It has six eyes instead of the eight spiders usually have.
Ladybird (Coccinellidae).
As above.
Pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne).
As above.
Californian poppy with bee.
Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis).
The dehydrator using every other shelf as the fig quarters are too big!
Hi Diane - wonderful photos - and yes those species that have 'crept in' and are now invasive and very nasty ... a sign of our travels and trade.
ReplyDeleteYou have as you say been very busy - that dehydrator is quite amazing ... while your stocks are pretty impressive. Well done is all I can say - obviously kilner jars aren't a problem ...
It's Blipfoto.com ... you might want to update ... I looked quickly ... all the best - and lovely to have the update ... cheers Hilary
Hi Hilary. Thanks for the comment and letting me know about the link. It took me at least 10 goes to get it to accept the link properly, I was on the point of giving up! Only got it to work eventually working in html!!
DeleteHope you are well and still keeping safe. Diane
Amazing how much work you are doing with all your produce. Even past the peak point, your sunset photo is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Yvonne, it certainly keeps us going through winter and we depleted a lot of things during lock-down, it is good to be fully stocked again. Keep well and stay safe, Diane
DeleteHi Diane, you have been very busy with all the canning and dehydrating. Very impressive. I would love a dehydrator like yours. Your photos are exquisite. Have a great week ahead.
ReplyDeletePenny the dehydrator was one of our best buys ever. I make our own cereal and we so enjoy the dry fruit mixed in with it. Of course it is not only good for drying fruit, but that is our favourite. Keep well Diane
DeleteA wonderful collection of photographs, the colours in the 'unusual sunset' are amazing.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Thanks very much for the comment, hope you are keeping well, Diane
DeleteThat’s a lot of work. I have begun to preserve tomatoes but nothing like the amount of work you’ve had. The dehydrating sounds like a great idea.
ReplyDeleteMarie we love the dehydrator, it is been certainly one of the best buys and most used equipment that we have. Keep safe Diane
DeleteWooow, all of these jars look spectacular, what treasures you have! Wonderful pictures as always!
ReplyDeleteLots to eat in winter, and so nice to have plenty of bottled fruit that I know exactly what ingredients go into the storing of them. Take care Diane
DeleteThank you for showing us the storeroom of the French army with provisions for a month! Even in the hay day of our pickling and canning venture we never did that much, and we haven't done it at all for a couple of years. I think that the kids miss it more than we do since they can no longer go home with a few jars under their arm.
ReplyDeleteFriends often go home with a jar of something but in winter we can get through quite a lot, especially the fruit which we really enjoy. Knowing exactly what ingredients go into each bottle is a big bonus on bought things.
DeleteHope that all is well, keep safe and all the best to you both. Diane
I marvel at the so many bottles of fruits preserves. So much work involved to get bottled. Beautiful photos of flowers and critters. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteNancy it is a lot of work but hopefully we can appreciate having it all at hand over winter. Keep well Diane
DeleteLook at all of your canned goods!! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, we are certainly not going to starve over winter and we still have masses of butternuts and pumpkins to bring in from the garden in a few weeks time!! Keep well Diane
DeleteWow, that's a lot of work, and future delicious. Amazing sunset. OK, I recognize most of your flowers, but the feather plant is new. ;) As always, your skill at photographing insects amazes me. I do miss seeing Joan's bugs.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gaelyn, yes the feather plant was interesting 😉 I also miss Joan's posts though I often refer her her older blogs fro reference. Take care and keep well Diane
DeleteWhat a stock you have there Diane, I have to say fig jam is a huge favourite of mine. Your macros as always are superb, the common blue is always a pleasure to see, the feather plant brought a smile to the face.. endangered species is it 😉
ReplyDeleteGrace we have never had so many figs, and large ones, as this year, we have been overwhelmed with them and even now there are still a lot of small very edible figs on the trees. The feather plant is dong well 😉
DeleteTake care and stay safe, Diane
To say that I am impressed by your food preservation efforts would be a gross understatement, Diane! I hope that shelf is sturdy - I'd hate to think that your hard work might end up crashing to the floor. I now also see why you scoffed at my suggestion for buying a cheap replacement dehydrator - that one you have looks fully professional!
ReplyDeleteYour photography is, as always, delightful, with a wonderful variety of subjects expertly presented. A close call, but I'm going to pick out the sunset and Speckled Wood as my two favourites!
My very best wishes to you and Nigel - take good care - - - Richard
Hi Richard and has been a busy summer and more preserving than normal because of the dehydrator being out of commission for a few weeks.
DeleteThere has been, I think, a shortage of insects in general this year, but there has also been some interesting ones.
Take care and stay safe, best wishes to you both and the family, Diane
I can't believe that cupboard with everything you've made! Respect!!!
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
It has been a busy summer, and I still have apples to sort out yet and lots of pumpkins and butternuts to reap. Keep safe, Diane
DeleteHopefully I have figured out a way to leave comments, fingers crossed. My but you have had a bountiful crop from your gardens this year. You have definitely not been loafing and you will enjoy your rewards for months to come.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, so glad that you have figures out how to leave comments. Yes, we will not go hungry over winter!! Wait until you see how many butternuts and pumpkins we have to bring in from the garden as well!! Keep safe and stay well, Diane
DeleteWOW...you have been so busy. Might need to enforce those shelves if you keep adding jars to it. haha....Love your insect pics. I found a couple of Hornworms on my tomato plants, it was interesting reading up on them and learning about them. You can find that on the furs blog. Also had a writing spider that left a egg sac behind. My garden has been interesting this yr. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, I have not heard of hornworms before a new one on me. I looked it up and it seems that they are mainly in the Americas. It is amazing how many insects you will find in your garden if you look well. Fascinating creatures but in winter they are not so easy to find and it looks like we are heading that way. Take care Diane.
DeleteOh my gosh you sure have not been loafing! Those pantry shelves are beautiful and the dehydrator looks like it was working well in the last picure ...lucious figs! And as always your nature photos are amazing. So beautiful. You are a woman of great and varied talents! Thank you for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sallie for the kind comment. It has been a chaotic few weeks and apart form the apples and further vegetables I can slow down a bit. Take care and keep safe, Diane
DeleteOh wow! Your cellar is my dream. I love home made everything!
ReplyDelete