Up to our elbows…

I picked more chokecherries than I needed, relied on our great neighbor Beverly’s juicer/steamer and now Sonny and I are swimming in chokecherry juice. The berries were bountiful and easy to pick – contrary to my memories of picking in the distant past. I’ve never been tempted to relive those experiences so for years only ate a handful at a time as I rode by horseback, ignoring canning possibilities. Don’t know what got into me this year, what prompted me to spend an afternoon picking. Whatever it was, now I’m counting jars, figuring how much pectin will be required, checking for lids and rings…

And we’ve ordered a miraculous juicer/steamer of our own! This thing makes getting the juice amazingly simple and we’re like little kids who keep pointing out to each other that the juice is still dripping. That sounds silly, but oh! what a difference from trying to get juice out of crab apples last year.

Our reaction to this invention, the juicer/steamer, reminds me of our reaction to the first solar well we saw. We were like little kids then, too, putting a hat, or a hand up to shade part of the solar panel, then grinning like idiots when we removed the item and the water started flowing again.

We have also talked about what a difference a juicer/steamer would have made to our ancestors, the ones who had to rely on berries, garden produce – whatever they could “put up” for the coming winter. We have it so easy, so very much easier than our great grandparents, grandparents, and even our parents. And in my memory, Grandma Snider’s jelly always jelled, unlike mine. But what the heck – we love syrup, too!