Cherries and More Cherries!
An abundance of tart red cherries for 2023…. could it have been all the rain? The bigger tree, a Montmorency, had so many that the trunk actually began splitting in two. It’s hard to say whether it will heal well…. but in the mean time, we’ll savor each and every one we were able to pick and pit. Tom lead the charge as the head picker (with Linden and Magnolia assisting greatly)….. whereas numerous guests and family members followed up with both picking and pitting. With still a couple of 2 gallon buckets to go, we should have them all in the freezers and/or in our stomachs in the next few days. So far, Cherry Clafoutis, Cherry Crisp, Cherry Pie, Cherry Ice Cream and Cherry Syrup…. with gallons frozen for Tart Red Cherry, Cherry Berry, Life is a Bowl of Cherries, Cherry Pear, Cherry Chutney. All that much better because of the many hands squishing out the seeds.
And speaking of seeds, it was suggested that we utilize them after drying, boiling and rubbing… a few times… to make neck pillows. The kind you can place in the freezer and/or in the microwave, depending on whether you want your neck warmed up, or cooled down. So, the trays you might see on the front deck, drying in the sun, are there for that purpose. Whether I get to that project, or Sarah takes them to her Girl Scout Troupe is the real question.
Apricots arrived on the scene at the same time as the cherries….. In between everything else, we were able to pit and freeze all the apricots we’ll need for Apricot, Brandied Apricot, Apricot Pineapple, Apricot Ginger, Apricot Chutney, Apricot Rose, Apricot Cayenne, Apricot Purple Basil.
Fortunately, strawberries ripened just a bit earlier…… right in time for Jenn’s class from River Oak in Ukiah, to come pick! The berries were small, but oh so delicious!
We were told to “put the kids to work!” Not only did they pick strawberries, they hulled dry beans, and planted a 100 foot row of gladiola bulbs!
Luckily the Mendo-Lake Bar Association maintained their over 50 year tradition of coming to Emandal the first weekend in June for a gathering of local lawyers and judges, currently practicing, and retired. What a great way of getting to know one another without the adversarial baggage of the legal profession. Besides, they always bring salmon for their Saturday dinner…. and we always get the left-overs for our salmon corn cakes! A win-win situation!
And since then, families have been moving in and out of the farm, some staying a couple of days, some staying a week. Each group has their own traditions to keep up, and new ones to make…. tubing up and down the river, jumping off Swallow Rock, swimming at sunset, swimming in the moonlight, building sandcastles, challenging the best corn-hole player, soccer on the pizza lawn, eating as many sticky buns as possible…. or the most pancakes!…. reading, tye-dying, painting, relaxing…… Although we’ve had a few really hot days, the weather has been glorious! Even today, July 8th….. it hasn’t gotten above 80 degrees! Blue skies, burbling river, gentle breeze….. what a time to be outdoors on the farm! I’m sure it will get hot again….. but right now… hooray!
Pizza has happened a few times already this summer…. with more to come.
How lucky we were the other evening, when Charlotte, a young woman from New York, a good friend of an Emandalian of long standing, brought out her flute to serenade us. Such a talented musician! With her music in the background, once the sun set behind the western hills, some of our teen-age guests utilized their unbounded energy to fork our corn rows! They should have been planted earlier, but there is only so much time! Fall corn is a real treat!
New and innovative touches by Casey, Tom and others throughout the farm are always fun to notice…. here’s Casey building a plate rack for upper camp. It’s good for this summer, but it will need some improvements as we go forward.
Even the hood over the kitchen stove got a new ansul system installed this spring.
Wildlife, too, is omnipresent. Kashaya, doing her chores after dark, emblazoned with her head lamp, first noticed a rather small fox sitting upright, smack dab in the middle of the labyrinth. As she walked a bit further, towards the cherry tree, two raccoons scampered down and out of the tree. Thyme, one of our new feral cats, pranced by with a gopher locked tightly between her jaws. Ruby and Roscoe started barking…… keeping the wily coyote away from the chicken houses. Several folks have seen bears this year, mostly on the Garcey Creek Trail or across the river. Many otter sightings. Definitely a good share of bald eagles.
During one of our hot spells, Kashaya spent some time trimming Truckee. He could use a touch-up now… actually… even then…. Perhaps a spare hour will surface, and she’ll spend a little more time taking his tufts further back.
Interesting, but a little sad, is this salt encrusted toad found in the salt pond we created as a place for our ice cream water to evaporate. It’s been a good place to harvest the resulting salt, when we make a new batch of ice cream…. but apparently, hard to jump out of.
Commentary on a factory tomato….. This one was left in upper camp. A bear chomped into it, slightly….. but no more than a bit. He didn’t bother eating it.
Looking forward to having you here at Emandal this summer!