Jars

With the little people getting older, it seems as though we're able to enjoy being in the garden in a more productive way. Don't get me wrong, they all still enjoy digging around randomly in the dirt more than pulling weeds and many times they have difficulty being careful... but each of the little people are also more helpful.

This weekend we began our canning season and were able to put up a few jars of strawberry jam and some cherry pie filling. As much as they enjoy harvesting the fruit, licking the spoon and bowl are still tops when it comes to helping. For me, watching them experience a new activity or taste something new is well worth the extra effort it takes getting them involved.

The pie filling was a new adventure for us this year. Although we have two cherry trees which have been baring fruit for a few years, we've never harvested them. This year between us and the gals, we picked all of the fruit. (I had no idea that chickens were nuts about cherries! It was fun to watch them remove the pits and eat the fruit.)

Do you have sour cherry trees? How do you use the fruit? I’d like to try some different things next season.