Onward and Upward, Saturday went by too Fast!

Started my day teaching my first step class since the goofy fall this past week.  It went pretty well.  Did a little cardio, picked up some things for dinner, and came home to get busy with chores.

First up: more prickly pear jelly!

I like seeing signs like this.  Sometimes I cannot get specific items made in the USA anymore, but when I can, like in the case of canning jars, I do.

This was part of dinner.  Homegrown chicken, with lemon, garlic and salt and pepper.  No crazy preservatives, or compounds to mess with the body or set off Bailey's headaches and allergies.

Today, I have been working on a workout template for my Pima students, doing a lot of laundry, cleaning and a little work in the garden.  I still love those sunsets, and we have been waiting for the rain they promised for today. (The late news says there are pretty powerful storms heading our way- I need to be careful what I wish for!)

These clouds look puffy and sweet to me...

Down below, though, pretty wild!  Can you see the chickens bedding down for the night?

Bailey was having trouble with a couple sets of hooves, so Charlie pitched in to help while she held them.

This is the Loquat tree I put in the garden today.  I am looking forward to watching it grow!

And this is the fig tree.  They have each grown a good foot while waiting in or near the greenhouse.

Looking forward to see where they go!

Here's to hoping I get even more done on Sunday!

The other side of the fence

I always heard the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.  So, how does that apply tot he ripening of fruit on a plant?

I stopped outside our front gate to take this photo.  The closer cactus, the one with the green fruit, is outside of the fence.  It gets a little less shade, and about the same amount of water.  All of its fruit are green, whereas the cactus on the inside of the fence has all of its fruit is ripening stages from almost ripe to completely ripe.  

The one outside the fence began as a start from the one inside the fence, but has pointy shaped pads as though it is a different type of prickly pear.  Hmmmm... think thee might be some missing information as to why, but is the fruit greener on the other side of the fence?  I love pondering this stuff with the kids, because it leads to so many possibilities.  Wyatt usually figured the light and water, Bailey starts thinking genus and species and crosses.  What do you think?

Prickly Pear Part One

Tonight, I harvested the first little bit- less than a full plant from next to the front porch.  This is the full stockpot I used.

So I peeled it with a fork and a sharp knife, then cooked it down to release the juice.  I ran it through the blender to release a little more, and then strained it.  Wish I had just the right sieve, so I could separate the seeds from the pulp, though!

This shot shows the juice accumulating in the bottom of the glass measuring cup.  This was half way through the batch.  I am getting pretty tired now, so it looks like making the first round of Prickly Pear Goat Milk Soap will have to hold until morning!

  

Now, to stay fully awake long enough to strain the last of this batch!  Have a great night!