Thursday, September 25, 2014

New Cat


The fall colors are beginning to appear nearly leaf by leaf here along the Front Range. While we live on the edge of our small town, to the south of us the farmers have begun cutting corn. Soon those fields will be amber with corn stock. The onion harvest is on, too. The large farm trucks loaded with onions on the way to storage rumble down the highway leaving a trail of dried onion skins floating in the breeze. The roadside will be dotted with those huge awesome blossom onions that get shipped out of state to restaurants. We can buy them locally and let me tell you they are painfully stout to chop. 

And so the rhythm of life continues. The days are warm, sunny, quiet and peaceful. 



Meet The Cat. He is a wild cat that showed up here some months ago, a shadowy figure that we would see hunting mice out the in the pasture. He'd roam the yard, not daring to venture too close. The Head Gardner began to talk to him, call to him: Kitty, Kitty, Kitty. He looked bedraggled and thin, sickly. The HG began putting feed out for him, but the neighbor cats ate it. Now we feed him on the patio. He comes every morning and every evening asking to be fed with a sweet kitty meow. The HG wants to make friends and has barely touched him. And it looks like he will be a permanent member of the family here. We need to catch him to take him to the vet to shots and a little bit of a surgery. He will wear out his welcome as he seems to want fight with Mo and the cats next door. 

Remember the "Shout Heard Around the Yard" post earlier this summer: "I have Grapes"? Well here is our meager grape harvest:


They must be Concords with seeds, a bit sour, and not enough to do much with. But I have my own grapes. I hope we can repeat the yield next summer.


I wanted to share the apple jelly with you one more time before I stored it. The apples lent a pale yellow, cloudy juice but with very good apple flavor. I added half a cup of cinnamon red hots, a childhood favorite treat. I did add sugar too and pectin. The granddaughters loved the jelly and thought it would be good on their cream cheese and jelly bagels. I thinks so, too.


The jalapenos nearly gassed me, too, when I chopped them. I was a bit wiser this year to wear plastic gloves. Their fumes clogged up my throat, causing a coughing fit. This jelly is not as clarified as it was last year and it seemed to thicken rather than to jell as last year's did, so it is not a pretty clear green jelly. I used Truvia baking blend, a blend of the sweetner and sugar, trying to cut down the amount of sugar. I decided that the compromised color and texture are not worth the less sugar route. We will only be eating a bit at time. Next year: sugar.



And so the sun sets on another day at the Garden Spot. I have a counter full of tomatoes in various stages or ripeness. Each day when I go out to feed, I tromp through the fallen tomato vines picking the ripe and nearly ripe ones. I think I will can or freeze spaghetti sauce. Never done that before, but I am game.

I am glad that you took the time stop by. I love your comments. Thank you. See you next time. 







10 comments:

  1. You've been busy in your kitchen and garden. Putting all the produce to use does take time. How sweet to make friends with the stray kitten. I hope she warms up to you soon.
    Lovely autumnal photos.

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  2. Congratulations with your new kitten, she will get a good life with your family. You can be satisfied with your winter stock from the garden. The apple jelly sounds delicious.

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  3. A pretty sunset overlooking your place and you've been busy putting up for winter. Frozen spaghetti sauce sounds easy if you have the room in a freezer.
    Feral cats have a tough go of life and it will be kind if you can help this one. In our pocket village they're capturing them and neutering/spaying, then releasing. That doesn't help with food and shelter but at least it should keep the numbers down.

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  4. I like the new addition to your household - if she is truly wild then I doubt she will let you catch her, not without a struggle anyway - but it is good that you are trying to help her/him/it. Your apple jelly looks wonderful but I have to ask - what are cinnamon red hots?

    I still have loads of tomatoes to process too - unfortunately the freezer is packed to capacity now so I think I will have to bottle them - they aren't going to go to waste, that's for sure, much too precious.

    Have a lovely weekend - the weather here is set fair - I can't believe our luck.

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  5. I'm glad the kitty has chosen you, somehow they know where they are a welcomed presence.
    My little stray kitty acts as if he has lived here from birth, after just three months.
    Love your sunset shots and grape harvest bounty :)
    ~Jo

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  6. How sweet that you have taken in the orange kitty!! He just doesn't know how good he's got it with you!
    Lovely sunset and great sunflowers in the shadows.

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  7. A new kitty, and what a cutie.....it breaks my heart when I hear that people have strays hanging around.

    It's a hard enough life for a cat, and to be homeless makes it's life even more difficult. I'm so glad that you have taken it in.

    Jen

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  8. Love the new addition to the family. He needs a name now! I agree with you on the sugar in the jelly, it isn't like we eat the whole jar. I still have to get mine made. The jalapenos that I picked from the plants are now red so I guess mine will be that color. I also have some habanero peppers but I am not sure if that would be too hot for jelly. I guess we will find out when I make it. If you have any extra jalapenos they are fantastic made with peach jam, sounds strange I know but with cream cheese and crackers it is so good!

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  9. Hello wild cat! So lovely you have a friend who has adopted you.

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  10. The apple jelly looks fab! And new kitty looks cute. He will be glad to have regular feedings coming into the colder weather.

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