Cherry Jam

Here in The Holler summer has came early. Seems the illusive spring made a late entrance and an early exit this year and has left temperatures in the high eighties and summer like weather long before it's time. Most of O Wise One and my time is spent in the garden these days planting, fertilizing and weeding.

On the livestock front we learned a valuable and costly lesson this week when the young turkeys took sick. Upon closer inspection it seems that they had developed a case of Northern Fowl Mites. Since they are so young we have determined that they had to have came from the store already infected as the incubation period is too long for them to have gotten them here. They were purchased at our local farm supply store and am sure they got them from a large hatchery. Sadly two passed away despite our treating them and giving them antibiotics. Young birds like that it doesn't take long to kill them. Unfortunately the financial cost was high with the purchase of the birds at ten dollars each and then the high protein food for them as well as additional antibiotics and chemicals to kill the mites and treat the cage. Luckily we had the presence of mind to keep them away from the rest of the poultry flock and no one else seems to have developed it. We will have to be very vigilant for a few weeks to make sure. Lots of extra work treating cages and birds though. The remaining two birds seem to be healthy and happy now and we hope that crisis is over.

Saturday the neighbor gave us 2 gallon of pie cherries. I made a batch of Cherry Jam with some!

Cherry Jam 

4 cups chopped pie cherries

5 cups sugar

1 box Ball fruit pectin

Put cherries and fruit pectin in large pot and bring to boil that cannot be stirred down. Add sugar all at once and bring back to boil. Boil for 1 minute and put in hot jars. Seal with hot lids and rings and process in hot water bath for 5 minutes. Cool completely 

The rest of the cherries were put in a plastic container in the fridge and I was going to make a cherry pie for Memorial Day Barbecue. Baby O came home from her girlfriends house and found them while I was out mowing. Needless to say the cherries for the pie are gone. Hhhhmmmmmmmm. Maybe a Strawberry Shortcake!

Hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter