Time to plant, time to reap......

So, here it is that time of the year again. Time to make chokecherry jelly. Yesterday was strawberry-rhubarb jam day.

Usually, we are only able to get the bottom cherries from the trees. It kind of reminded me of when a 1 or 2 year old is allowed to trim the Christmas tree. All one sees is ornaments at the bottom. Well, in the past our trees were chokecherryless from 6 foot on down to the ground.

But this year was different. We used the bucket attached to the tractor. Joyce would have had me up there, but I am the one who knows how to work the bucket controls the best between the two of us.

As it turned out we did manage to get a couple of pails relatively full. Joyce is looking for her recipe for the jelly. By this time tomorrow we should have our winter stash on the shelf.

Notice how joyous can multitask? She is cleaning the berries and rooting for the Minnesota Twins at the same time.

The final product seems to be well worth all of Joyous’ effort. It looks like we have enough to see us through quite a few months.

Now, we will see what we can do with the tomatoes that are ripening on the vine.

WE Fest

So, what can we tell you about WE Fest that you don’t already know? I am guessing probably nothing. There was a sea of humanity? The pictures here, as small as they are, do not give it justice.

It was hot, so we sat in the shade when we could find it. Of course, Joyce had a fan to keep here cool.


We (Joyce) tried to sneak a large umbrella in. Well, she didn’t really try to sneak it in. But, she was not allowed to bring it in. We were told that in the past, they had been used as a weapon.

Food was not cheap. It reminded me of being at Target Field or of buying something at the Lindbergh Terminal at the airport. You would think that with all the people there, things would be a tad bit less.

The bus ride from and to the parking area reminded me of some rowdy after school sports bus rides I had been on in my youth. This crowd was a bit more enthusiastic since this crowd was fueled by liquor.

Our tickets were free (Joyce was a winner at the Twins Caravan that came to Randall) so our experience of hearing The Charlie Daniels Band, Blake Shelton, and Willie Nelson was not on our tab. It was a relatively fun first experience and, who knows, if Joyce can win another pair of tickets, we may visit again.