I don't watch the news, but I do realize the middle of the country is probably far hotter than us right now. However, it got up to 80 today, very hot for the rainy PNW coast. And the extended forecast shows more of the same for the next ten days. We are definitely going swimming tomorrow.

I decided not to make jam today after all and threw the raspberries in the freezer to wait for a cooler day. I really don't need to be heating the house up during the hottest part of the day. So hopefully I can make them in the cooler part of the morning tomorrow or the next day. This will be my cheapest batch of jam yet, with me only having to pay for sugar and pectin. Any further raspberries I pick will just be frozen for future use in smoothies or whatever. It will be nice to have free fruit in the freezer.

I noticed when I was out putting away the chickens and ducks tonight that there are a few ripe blueberries on the bushes. We rarely get ripe blueberries before August, but this heat wave is pushing everything forward, I guess. So where I thought I'd have almost a month before worrying about harvesting those, I think it's going to be closer to a week. I'll have to take a look at the blackberries, too. They may have moved up their production date as well.

Also while herding the ducks I saw that two of the younger apple trees that have never had fruit on them before are loaded down with apples. I usually don't have to go back that far, but they were in the furthest corner of the property. I knew the old one was full up, but these ones are Golden Delicious and Macintosh and we've been looking forward to those since they were planted as little more than sticks with a couple of buds on them five or six years ago.

I really wish I liked apple sauce or apple pie. I've never been one for cooked apples, though. I do like raw apple pie filling (just apples, cinnamon, and sugar) or apples with peanut butter, but mostly I like eating apples out of hand. I don't know if either of those are good keeping apples, but I should get a few weeks out of them at the very least. I will can sauce in pint jars and a couple of pies for DH though. The big jars at the store are too much for just him to finish and the little plastic cups of sauce taste nasty, plus they're plastic and we're trying to get away from that. And he and my mom both love apple pies so the least I can do this season is make one or two. Me, I'll take chocolate pie or key lime pie or even lemon meringue, but chocolate, lemons and limes don't grow free on trees here. Such a shame.