On 5/28/2014 5:36 PM, bluechick wrote:
> On Tue, 27 May 2014 12:27:02 -0500, George Shirley >
> wrote:
>
>> On 5/27/2014 10:47 AM, bluechick wrote:
>>> On Thu, 22 May 2014 20:42:00 -0500, George Shirley >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 5/22/2014 5:05 PM, bluechick wrote:
>>>>> On Wed, 21 May 2014 16:40:38 -0500, George Shirley >
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>> Yesterday ended our drought, started with about a half an inch falling.
>> About 0200 this morning I was awakened by a tremdous rain storm,
>> according to the weather folks we were in danger of tornadoes and some
>> areas had golf ball sized hail. We got 4.5 inches of great rain,
>> tremendous downpours for a few hours, with street flooding in low spots
>> and, now, a gentle rain with spurts of hard rain.
>
> We just got the rain that you had! I don't know whether to be happy
> or not. It was torrential. And, of course, we were coming back home
> from running errands and I had to open the gate. I still look like a
> drowned rat. At least we got into the house before the hail hit.
> Tore up some seedlings I had just planted. I still don't know how
> much rain we got or how strong the winds were but they were strong
> enough to knock down a huge oak tree in the backyard. It was on
> the side of a hill and it was blown UPHILL. So, that lets you know
> how strong those winds were. Thankfully, the oak didn't hit any
> structures. At least I don't have to water the tomatoes today!
>
>> We mostly pick at berry farms, lots of pick your own type farms within a
>> ten mile radius of us, some have been here fifty or more years. Where we
>> pick blackberries they do a lot of drip irrigation and the blackberries
>> were 1 3/4 inches long by 3/4 inch diameter, biggest blackberries I've
>> ever seen and very sweet.
>
> Those are huge! I'm happy you found some big, tasty blackberries.
> Those ought to make some delicious cobblers and/or jams.
>
>>> Sounds similar to the 'Blueberry Pie Filling' recipe in Ball's
>>> "Complete Book of Home Preserving" which also uses Clear Jel and food
>>> coloring (as well as a little optional lemon zest). Have you used
>>> Ball's recipe? If so, why do you prefer UGA's? I'm not criticising
>>> UGA's method, just curious.
>> Most of those recipes were established with federal funds and all the
>> preserving books list them, the same recipe is in many of the recipe books.
>
> Ah! That explains the similarities in the methods between the UGA and
> Ball recipes.
>
>> Rinsed the blackberries let them air dry and then put them on bun pans
>> and into the freezer for two hours, froze them solid. Then quickly
>> vacuum bagged them for later use in four cup measures, just right for
>> pies and cobblers. They held up well to the vacuum with no crushing. I
>> keep both freezers at -10F and that helps. Now I need to get in the big
>> one and organize things again. We tend to just toss stuff in there until
>> it's full and then have to unload and organize. Maybe tomorrow, today I
>> was hanging curtain rods, again, and wire brushing and painting a sixty
>> year old lawn sprinkler, belonged to my folks and I just ran up on it,
>> sold cast steel base with copper sprinkler head, beats the heck out of
>> all this plastic stuff.
>
> How did we live before vacuum baggers? It's a wonderful method for
> keeping things fresh and free from freezer burn. I can't tell you how
> many times we had to throw stuff out of the freezer before we got our
> vac machine. Plus, bacon and cheese stay around a lot longer without
> wasting them.
>
> Do you have an upright or a chest freezer? My grandparents had a huge
> chest freezer in their basement that was ruined by a bad flood one
> year. I remember having to take everything out to find something in
> it (and the thing I was looking for was always at the bottom). We
> have an ancient upright freezer here, at least as old as I am. I know
> it's inefficient as can be but I'm keeping it until the motor dies.
> It's a PITA to defrost but stuff stays frozen hard as a rock.
In our first home we had both, a 30 cubic foot chest and a 20 cubic foot
upright, not to mention the rental locker at the old freezer plant in
town. Now we have a 15 cubic foot upright that is at least twenty years
old plus the little upright on the new fridge. No room to speak of for a
big ol' chest freezer anymore and we might lean over and fall in one
nowadays.
>
> Keep that sprinkler as long as it still sprinkles. We have a cast
> iron "walking" sprinkler that follows a course laid out by running a
> hose where you want it to water. It does a lousy job trying to "walk"
> uphill but is great otherwise. We just oil the wheels every season
> and it keeps on truckin'.
>
>> George, listening to the rain and feeling the arthritis that comes with it
>
> Hey, arthritis is the pits but it does a better job letting you know
> it's going to rain than the weatherman! I should have known we'd get
> more rain today than the pitiful 10 drops we got yesterday since my
> right hand was killing me this morning. And I'm lucky I can type now.
> Sometimes it sux to get old but it's better than the alternative.
>
> bluechick
>

We ended up with nearly seven inches of rain in 48 hours, the local
drainage creek has been out of its banks for at least 24 hours now. Just
went out at 2100 and it is sprinkling again. This system must be huge.
Having to pick cukes and squash daily, they get big so quick from
getting all that water. Looks like tomorrow I will be shredding zukes
and yellow squash and vac bagging them for squash bread this winter. We
do like that and so do the little ones.

George