Sunday, August 26, 2018

Work to do!

The man of the place and I are leaving for yet another diving trip on Friday.  Before I go, I have a number of things I need to accomplish.

1. Finish some pyjamas that I am making for my grandsons in Chicago.  I am hampered by the sewing machine malfunctioning when it comes to the buttonhole maker.   This means that tomorrow I have to take the machine into town and hope beyond hope that he can fix this problem while I wait.  If it works, then I can get everything finished!  I would also like to make myself a new nightgown. . .but that is merely icing on the cake if that happens.

2. Make plum jam.  I was hoping I could wait until we got back before I this happened.  I looked yesterday and damn it, the plums are ripening.  The wasps will swarm in and take everything if I don't make the jam.

We lost a big portion of the tree in a spring storm.  The tree is now suffering more damage as the weight of the fruit snaps the branches!

I started picking the plums this morning. I started work in the drizzle thinking that there would be fewer wasps.  There are fewer wasps, but there are still a couple around.  No grabbing the fruit without looking first!
If a plum splits, the wasps will start feeding.  They will tunnel in and then in the manner of James and the Giant Peach will have a dry, safe place to quietly get full of plum.  The wasps were happy enough in their little plum cave but I disturbed the branch. They started to come out!  They were still on the plum but I didn't need any further reason to come back in the house.

I took my two bowls of plums in and I will come back out later with more containers.  I may have to bring buckets!    This means that I have a lot of plums to convert into plum jam. 

As I am going into town to see about the sewing machine tomorrow, I think I will be getting some more sugar.  I think I have enough jars.  Thankfully plums contain plenty of natural pectin and I won't need to add any. 

This little tree that I bought as a sapling from a supermarket display years ago is finally coming into its own.  The first crop of plums was a lone bowl of fruit. The next couple of years were worse.  No plums or the few plums that were there split and wasps got them before I could get them.

I rejoice in the plummy harvest, but I am not thrilled that I am forced into plum jam production this week.


3 comments:

Betty said...

My grandmother taught me to make plum jelly years ago. It was delicious, and I haven't made any since, because we didn't have access to a plum tree any more, and I didn't trust the ones in the grocery store.

Joared said...

Enjoy your plums but beware the wasps. Have not made plum jelly, but some other fruit jams in years past. Timing not too good for your diving plans, but hope all goes well.

Peggy said...

I made about 8 jars of plum jam. I decided to put a few spices in to boost the flavour. It is SO yummy!!