My hubby complains from time to time that the store only has apricot jam, no peach jam. So I decided to lease a peach tree from local Schnepf Farms – they’ve been growing organic peaches for 45 years. The variety of peach tree we got is Earligrande – they ripen early, and, man, are they ever grand!

Our peach tree ripened during the last two weeks of May, and I ended up with 17 boxes of fresh, juicy, sweet and delicious peaches. Probably somewhere between 100 – 120 pounds of peaches. I’d say we consumed or shared 3 boxes worth of them fresh. Plus I went crazy buying jars and canned pints and quarts for just under two weeks. I’ve become a peach peeling and peach pitting expert. I have a peach pit callous on my index finger. And I’m proud of it!

The final tally:

• 5 pints Peach Raspberry Freezer Jam
• 5 pints Peach Cherry Almond Freezer Jam
• 8 8oz jars Peach Butter
• 6 pints Spirited Peaches
• 4 pints Peach BBQ Sauce
• 11 pints Honey Spiced Peaches
• 1 quart Honey Spiced Peaches
• 2 pints Curried Peach Sauce
• 3 quarts Peach Pie Filling
• 10 quarts Peach Halves in Syrup
• 5 pints Peach Pistachio Chutney
• 4 pints Peach Cherry Chutney
• 5 pints Peach Jam
• 2 8oz jars Peach Jam
• 2 10in Peach Pies
• 2 9in Peach Pies
• 2 pounds dehydrated peaches

I have a new nickname. My husband now calls me “Peaches,” and I don’t mind one bit.

It’s silly but I was really worried about this when I planted my watermelons back in February. I’ve never grown them before. I had no idea how big this variety gets, and no idea how to decide whether the melon was ripe. I was really worried I would waste my first, great big watermelon by either harvesting it while it was unripe, or accidentally letting it rot by not picking it in time. Hurray for the internet!

I learned there are three things to look for:

1. The tendril:  When the tendril closest to the melon dries up and turns brown, you know the plant is no longer sending water to the melon. It’s not going to get any larger from this point on. (Use common sense here: if the leaves are dried up, too, that’s water stress, not ripeness.)
2. The creamy spot:  There should be a creamy white or yellow spot where the watermelon rests against the ground. (This presumes you haven’t disturbed its natural orientation.) My husband says the spot should be yellow, not white, but as he’s never grown watermelon either, and hasn’t cited any source, I have know way of judging the credibility of that statement. (Yes, I fact-check my hubby.)
3. The sound:  The melon should sound hollow when you hold it to your ear and thump it. Personally, this is the most difficult test for me, because I grew up eating watermelon from the grocery store, where they are all presumably ripe. They certainly all sounded the same to me. But growing my own, I was able to thump the young ‘uns and compare that sound to the ripe melon. So now I think I’ve got this part down.

The video was shot with my iPhone on July 20. Unfortunately I never got to share this watermelon with my Mom as intended. We forgot to eat it while she was in town. Fortunately, since I harvested this one, I got four more, so I’ll be taking a couple up to her house this weekend. They are SO good. And I love this one-or-two-serving-size variety – it makes much more sense for a small household.

This will be one of my last garden reports for this growing season, if not the very last. As you’ll see in the video, my poor plants are frying in the intense 115ËšF heat.

Of course, my mom is also a source of awe-inspiring beauty and energy, and you’ll hear her voice along with the sounds of the Well.

If you ever come through Phoenix, I’d love to take you up here for a picnic.

So, did I heroically rush to my husband’s aid, or stop to comfort the cat? No. I ran for my video camera.

This footage shot on my Xacti HD1A, which is crummy in low light and does not get the best audio. In fact, the audio is my biggest disappointment. The thunder was so loud the Xacti just couldn’t handle it, so you’ll hear distortion instead of multilayered crackly surround-sound thunder. But you can imagine it. Just think back to the first time you heard really loud thunder as a kid. That’s it.

I let the camera roll for 15 minutes. For that entire time there was a lightning strike approximately every 30 seconds. I’ve condensed it down to 10-15 seconds apart rather than subject anyone to a 15 minute video. It’s still too long, but weather nuts like me will probably enjoy it.

Funny stuff happened during the storm. Note the screen shot from the video. That lightning is between me and my back fence less than 30 yards away. (You can’t see it in the small version of the video, which is why there’s an AppleTV version for download.) Yet we can’t find any trace of the strike in our yard. The power went out for a split second, but not long enough to reset most of our clocks. But when it came back on our evaporative cooler started up of its own accord and pressurized the house. We thought it was wind blowing through the attic until we noticed the AC unit wouldn’t stop running. Eventually we sorted everything out, but we didn’t get back to sleep until 4am. The neighbors with dogs definitely had it worse. The stray cat that lives outside is all fluffy and clean now, and all the plants are happy plants today.

I created five Lumiere videos between June 27 – July 22, 2007, in response to encouragement from fellow vlogger Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen. It was fun. My videos, along with those of many others, were linked to from videoblogging.info.

In August 2007, Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen and Brittany Shoot published the Lumiere Manifesto. I wish to publicly state that I disagree with most of the manifesto content, and that my Lumiere videos should not be construed as an endorsement of the manifesto. I am not interested in engaging in a conversation about the manifesto’s relative merits, or what I view as problematic. I simply wish to disassociate my work from it.

Original Post

I’ve been running a few errands in preparation for BlogHer. One of them included getting my car washed. Lest you think I’m auto-fussy, check out what the dust storm did to my car a couple nights ago. Ugh.

Anyway, I recognized the opportunity for another Lumiere video. Please enjoy your own audio soundtrack while playing the video back.

I created five Lumiere videos between June 27 – July 22, 2007, in response to encouragement from fellow vlogger Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen. It was fun. My videos, along with those of many others, were linked to from videoblogging.info.

In August 2007, Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen and Brittany Shoot published the Lumiere Manifesto. I wish to publicly state that I disagree with most of the manifesto content, and that my Lumiere videos should not be construed as an endorsement of the manifesto. I am not interested in engaging in a conversation about the manifesto’s relative merits, or what I view as problematic. I simply wish to disassociate my work from it.

Original Post

More video from the rare, rainy day at my mom’s house in Clarkdale, AZ. We had been watching rain come down about 15 miles away (as the crow flies, of course) when the lightning started. I thought, “I wonder if I could get that in a Lumiere video?” I asked and I received.