brandied apricots

last you heard from me was spring

and now we are in summer

full stop

hmmm...

been busy on the farm

baby

chicks

ducks

geese

goats

enough to keep us very busy

i have been cooking and crafting and lots of other things

but not much blogging

my late nights are taken up by

deep and heavy sleep!

we picked a bucket load of apricots the other day

and i have been working to preserve them for our

winter larder

this year

i have decided to brandy some 

which is a fancy way of saying

infusing with brandy

i've loaded my jars with 

freshly washed fruit

(sliced in half and pitted)

a sprinkle of sugar

(about a tablespoon per jar)

and 

poured on the brandy

in some 

i added a few extra bits

rosemary in one

cinnamon stick in another

vanilla bean in a third

there are so many lovely combinations to try

i am popping these onto a shelf, in a cool pantry

but the fridge would be a great place too

(if only i had room in the fridge)

Brandied Apricots

Franken-Tree

if you have been following my blog for a while

you know that we purchased a mountain cabin

last year

and have been working on it 

in bits and pieces

the interior

while not perfect

is 

perfectly livable

and even a bit

charming

spring has sprung

in our little mountain community

and we are planning our garden

sprinklers are going in

along 

with raised beds for vegetables

our berries and fruit trees have come through the winter looking strong

and 

we have been sprouting seeds while waiting for warmer days

lots of work

for homegrown fruit and veg,

summer evenings in the company of our well-pollened bees,

and an unobstructed view of 

this

FrankenTree

this little sweetheart

is a plum tree that bloomed last year

with 

just a few pieces of fruit

that 

never fully ripened

so hubster

being a mad scientist type

felt

it would be perfect

for grafting

so

under each brown paper wrapping

is a graft

from

a plum tree

a pluot tree

a peach tree

and

a nectarine tree

it seems a bit nutty

but if it works

i will be up to my elbows

in stone fruit salad