Canning

Can you call it canning if you only had enough fruit for two cans?  I guess so.

I pulled out the nectarines tonight intending to just dehydrate some of them.  It was so hot today the idea of canning was not appealing.  But I realized most of them were not looking great so I just had to do it, even though it was getting a bit late.

My first experience canning was pretty fun for the most part.  Thanks to a friend letting me watch her can last night (thanks Em!) I felt pretty confident that I knew what I was doing.  I was pretty sad by all the very bruised and even rotten fruit I had to throw out - Gabe & Elena were definitely adding fruit off the ground into the bucket when I wasn't looking.  But I managed to get enough for two cans and one tray on my *new* dehydrator (garage sale find!).  I've also got a tray of blueberries in the dehydrator and now that it's after midnight and I'm finally done, I'm off to bed. :)

Picking peachers (errr nectarines)

Today we had a grand adventure, at least a grand adventure for us since we've never attempted picking fruit before.  We had planned on picking peaches but decided to go for the nectarines once we were there.  I wish I had pictures to share but I didn't have enough hands for my camera too.

I could write out our experience in long paragraphs but I thought I'd just give it to you in bullet points. ;)

• Picking fruit with 3 small children in tow (mine + the one I babsit) is a lot of fun.  It is also very exhausting.
• If you bring a child under the age of 2, you should bring a backpack carrier - NOT a stroller.  Though the child leash does work in a pinch. ;)
• Said 15 month old child will probably try to eat a lot of rotten fruit off the ground.  If you keep handing her ripe fruit to eat this helps.
• Even if it's cold outside when you leave the house, put cooler layers underneath or you will have two kids in microfleece pants and long sleeve shirts sweating in the heat.
• They should make push carts with buckets for moms with poor upper body strength + kids that aren't strong enough to help.
• Having older kids who offer to push the stroller you stupidly decided to bring is a ton of help!
• It's really cute watching the kids run around trying to find the ripe fruit on the trees.
• Having other moms and their kids with you makes the experience so much fun.
• When we finished picking and I was packing the fruit into boxes I discovered that the 15 month old and 2 year old were more than likely adding fruit off the ground into the bucket behind my back, given the large number of nectarines that had worm holes and were very very bruised.  It did seem like one minute the bucket was empty and then it was full. ;)
• McDonald's happy meals can save the day when you completely forget to pack a lunch for the kids and they are starving on the way home.
• Cloth diapers last a surprisingly long time when you forget to change them...
• I am definitely doing this again, now that I've learned what I should and shouldn't bring with me.

It was really so much fun.  I enjoyed myself a lot and the kids were so exhausted they slept most of the way home until they woke up hungry.  Gabe is very excited by all the fruit, despite the fact that he won't eat it.  Elena thinks it's a smorgasbord and I have had to hide it all in the fridge for now.