Plum Picking and Devil Birds

This morning, the children and I set out on an adventure to pick some plums.  You see, one of our neighbors has two huge plum trees in his back yard.  He used to date my Mother-in-law, so I didn't feel bad about helping take this tremendous load of plums off his hands.  There is no one living in the house, and I would hate for the wonderful red plums to go to waste. By the way, red plum jam is one of my favorites.  As a child, we would pick wild plums and my Mom would make jam.  I guess that is where my love comes from.  I also remember apricot jam, but can't seem to find an apricot tree to get fresh apricots from.




One of the many plums we found this morning...

  Anyway, Pickles was so excited to show us the secret way into his yard.  I preferred to drive around the block and drive the truck.  This way we weren't carrying loads of plums dripping on our clothes back to the house. We succeeded and had enough plums to make two batches of jam. For those of you counting, it was six half pints and five pints.  I think that will keep us for a little while.  I also have enough left to make a plum pie. Sounds quite delightful to me.  I will see if I can make this Weight Watchers friendly and share the recipe!



part of our bountiful harvest...




Plum jam...can you taste the freshness?




The fruits of my labors...This should keep us through the winter...that is if I don't give it away!

 After we gathered as many plums as we needed, we headed to a friends house to take care of her dog and chickens.  The dog has quite a weight problem, and gets her thyroid pills on a daily basis.  While my friend is traveling abroad, Pickles volunteered to take care of everything.  She has been quite responsible about this adventure, and is excited about making a little extra money!

Since we are feeding the dog, we have been feeding the chickens.  My friend usually lets the chickens roam, and they are only fed in the winter.  We have been feeding them, and they will chase you when they hear the car pull in the drive.  Pickles has named them "devil birds," and has decided they are good only to eat! 



And the chase is on...




And around the house!




And they continue the chase!


And just for good measure, we are sending a jar of the preserves to Mr. Tom!

Until next time, keep adventuring and looking for joy in the small details of life!

Sarah