Fun Canning

Jen has finally backed down to 20mg of Prednisone but her symptoms are coming back. On top of that, the side effects of the meds are not being too nice. It feels like we are right back to where we were 5 weeks ago.


We ended up back at the Hillview Farms for round three of blueberry picking. With Jen not feeling well and me on a mission to have enough berries to can, we were focused and determined and in the end, successful. It is truly amazing how much blueberries kids can eat!

• Trip #1: 5 lbs
• Trip #2: 7.5lbs
• Trip #3: 6.5lbs

After some time reading and waiting for the mason jars, I finally decided to try making my own blueberry preserves. It took more time than I realized but all said and done, we now have 10 1/2 pints of hopefully tasty preserves. Not having all of the right utensils, I made do with two large soup pots for the water bath. I first started with one but the recipe I used yielded more jars than would fit in one water bath.


Blueberry Preserves
(makes 1-8oz jar for every cup of berries)

• 10 Cups fresh blueberries
• 5 cups Sugar

Mix blueberries and sugar in a large stainless steel pot and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Slowly bring to a rolling boil stirring constantly. After 15 minutes, turn heat off and use a chilled spoon to check gelling. If OK, then can, if not, boil another 5 minutes.



Watermelon plants are starting to take off. It is hard to see if there are any small watermelons yet and I suspect rabbits are ensuring there are none. Zucchinis are still growing too quickly to pick or use. It is amazing to me because there is only 2 plants.