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.

Hudson-Meng

Well, I have recovered from our weeklong trip to visit Cole at the Hudson-Meng bone bed. It was a good visit. We have a better idea of what he has been up to out there. I have not seen so many old bones since my last back MRI.

We did get a chance to revisit Mount Rushmore. I must say, it sure has grown in popularity. Keystone was sure a hopping tourist town.

We also visited Wind Cave. We took the long tour. My back did not thank me for that decision. It was cool, literally. A constant 53 degrees had me wearing a light jacket. Joyce, of course, with her northern Minnesota thick blood, felt very comfortable.

It was not always easy to navigate. We had to keep warning the people behind us to watch their heads so they would not get bonked.

It was a different rock structure as well. There were no stalagmites or stalactites. It is a dry environment.



Passing over all the cattle barriers finally took its toll on one of our tires. Otherwise, we had no driving problems. That is if you don’t count me blindly following my gps to a private property dead end. I guess I would consider that my problem. But don’t let Joyce know it was my problem. She may want me to use it less.

Minnesota Arboretum

If you ever get a chance to visit Minnesota or if you happen to live here, you really should take the opportunity visit the Minnesota Arboretum. Joyce and I had a great day wandering the grounds looking at many of the flowers and trees that abound.

One of the attractions in front of the visitor’s center this year is the “Uffda House.” We were actually fortunate to be able to have seen it as it was supposed to have been taken down at the beginning of this last spring.

It is made of willow that is wound around and around and around.

It even has separate rooms.
It is scheduled for the compost pile at the end of this growing year. It will be interesting to see what will take its place.

There were soooooo many flowers. And there are so many different gardens through which one can walk.


But, it really boils down to us knowing we can visit this beautiful place and realize that we already have our own “Joyce designed” arboretum of our own.
















And, yes, the flowers here are from the "Joyce" collection here at Peaceful Pines.

Schnoor family reunion

The Tracy and Bob Schnoor kids, minus Al, had a get together today.




There was a pretty good turn out. Dale and Judy, Ralph and Viola, Marg and Joe, Joyce and Gary, Katy, Bill, Brooke and Blake, Mike and Jill, Mona and Mike, Ginny and Bill, and Lady.

Everyone had the opportunity to visit and eat – the Schnoor family chili and Joe’s bacon wrapped smokies were the main course. And, yes, there were desserts headlined by Tracy’s birthday popcorn cake brought by Marg.

We had good weather and good competition in the fair sport of ladder golf. First time players were first time winners.

At the end, It was agreed that Dale was going to work on getting tickets for all the brothers and sisters the next time Oregon hosts Tennessee. And when he accomplishes that task, Ralph and Viola will drive to Oregon in time to see the game.

It doesn't take much to entertain older folks - Fall camping

So, Monday, Joyce and I decided to go camping. It brought back memories of other happy days. The weather was beautiful. We had a campfire all day long.



We enjoyed a game of scrabble (who won does not matter). It was a good day to just sit, read and relax.



Then, when day was done, we returned home.
It wasn’t a long trip home, though.



It is good to know that when we want to get back to nature, we only have to camp out in our own back yard.

Back to Nature never tasted so good.

In a person’s life, it is fun, sometimes, to return to the earth. Living here at Peaceful Pines affords us the opportunity to do just that. This is the year I decided it was high time I learned to tap our maple trees and make our own maple syrup. After all, $40 a gallon is a bit pricey for those with limited resources.

So, first I had to find a tree. That was relatively easy. Finding trees that were actually maple was a little more of a challenge. The tree in the foreground is the maple.

The other is a poplar. And let me tell you, a poplar is not a good sap tree.

So, the sap drips and drips and drips.


I was anxious to start the process, so decided to boil down my two-day collection of drips. Believe it or not, when I tasted this raw sap, it tasted like rainwater. I thought it was going to be a little sweet, but not so. Here is the batch in the collecting pot.

Of course, one needs a fire. We have enough downed wood here to take care of all our needs.


I had read that a ready supply should be on hand. I didn’t believe it then, but I do now.

I suppose a person could multitask. But, I thought it would be much better to keep a constant vigil.

I did not know how long it would take to boil down. What you see there took 8 hours.

But a person has to do what a person has to do.

With all that sap,



one would think the there would be a bit more of prize at the end of the boil.