It was a plum good day yesterday.
And, a busy one.
I toiled from dawn to dusk here at home (partially over a hot stove) and enjoyed pretty much every moment.
You're seeing the highlight of the day: the plum jelly operation.
I can report this morning that this project was not one bit in vain.
THE JELLY SET UP overnight.
And, the next best thing, "That jelly is good," uttered by Bill.
And, that pronouncement came with no prompting after he sampled the jelly with a slice of toast from homemade bread.
Every once in a while, the domestic scene can be quite rewarding, even though it can also be quite demanding.
With several hours spent in the kitchen with jelly-bag dripping, jar washing, lid and ring collecting, other dish washing, sugar measuring and stirring seemingly forever over a hot pot of boiling juice, I spent another hour filling the jars, skimming off the froth, screwing the lids tight and then admiring the rich color of the jelly.
The plums come from a tree next to the barnyard. For years, I thought it was just an ornamental bush, just like the other one over by the first pasture.
Then, one day plant expert Bob Wilson told me that if those plums had a pit, they were edible.
That was good because, over the last few years, both bushes/trees have produced oodles and oodles and even more oodles of plums.
One tree produces purple plums while the other bears bright red fruit. It's a bit behind the purple tree in ripeness but loaded with probably twice as many plums.
As mentioned before, most of the plums, which don't fall to the ground first, go to the local Food Bank.
And, by the way, a bit of advice, if you take your excess plums to the Food Bank, don't wait too long.
Food bank staffer John was quite pleased with the first bucket I brought in because they weren't cracked. He says those cracked plums tend to draw flies.
I'm sure I'll be making at least two or three more trips with buckets of uncracked plums in the next week or two.
And, one more "by the way": they sure do appreciate the donations.
Anyway, I'm very happy about my jelly this morning. And, if my friend Tom Tharp is reading, I'll be stopping by with a new supply one of these days.
My marathon at-home day included much more than the plum operation.
Cat boxes changed, weed-eating in dog run and other areas around the yard, finding and harvesting 'maters and cukes in the garden, picking and freezing green beans, picking blueberries, walking horses to and from the hay field, watering and planting a few more late potatoes in the manure pile.
In the midst of all those projects, I made several trips upstairs to this computer where I'm working on stories about the next four "Natives and Newcomers" for Sandpoint Magazine.
Again, four fine people and some interesting perspectives and life experiences. As always, I love the assignment.
Now, before readers think I'm bragging this morning about all the stuff I accomplished yesterday, please know that I am.
Only, I'm bragging to myself.
My self discipline is seldom so disciplined.
All the stars lined up and yesterday was just a day that seemed like the main goal oughta be: instead of inner constantly whining about all that stuff that needs to be done, just wrap up yer sleeves and get 'er done.
Those action-packed, domestic days are pretty rare for me, so when the aging 2-cylinder engine occasionally decides that sputtering is just not an option, one must "seize the day" and convert into energizer bunny mode.
So, on this Sunday, I get to be relatively lazy in comparison to yesterday.
A leisurely pace accented by some sort of recreation seems like a good goal to meet today.
So, I'll try my best to stay on task.
Happy Sunday.
