We have been battling a general state of ennui in these dog days of summer, mostly because we can’t travel just yet (TBG is finishing up some PT for a frozen shoulder) and we’re not hiking at all right now (due to the unrelenting heatwave.) It’s been reminiscent of our first month or so here, when we stayed closer to home and lived more like residents rather than visitors. The longer we don’t do much, the easier it is to not do much more. Plans are afoot, though, and a change in scenery is on the horizon. Until then, there are a few happenings that I want to preserve in my bloggy memoir.
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| Peach reach. |
Aside from the peach crumble which was mostly for TBG, the others got chopped up in a daily smoothie which kept me from walking around the corner every day to get a Frosty. Just over a week later, we went back for more, this time on foot, and we came across this:
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| Gumball machine goat treats! |
The goat-keepers had installed a gumball machine labeled “Goat Treats 25¢” on one of the fence posts. Quarterless, I was able to scoop up enough from the ground under the machine to give the kids some nibbles.
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| Free for the pickin’. |
Near the park office grow a couple huge, healthy prickly pear cactus. They bloomed beautifully earlier this year, then we watched the very round and fat fruits ripen. I’d always wanted to try making cactus jelly, and when the office personnel said it was okay for us to harvest them, we set to work. I researched online and assembled my pickin’ tools, which consisted of a bucket and tongs. Once I had what I thought was enough, I retrieved my long BBQ fork and a grill lighter.
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| Singeing the spines. |
Fire is the preferred method of removing the glochids from the
fruit, and it works surprisingly well. TBG asked me to tell you that
it’s still not a good idea to handle them even after the thorns are
burned.
Once the offending stickers were removed, I sliced off the skins, chunked up the fruit, and set to making the pulp from which I made the syrup, from which I made the jelly. It jelled a bit too much — it’s been awhile since I’ve made this sort of thing and I was working with natural pectin from fresh lemon peel rather than a store-bought powder — but a zap in the microwave resulted in a scrummy pancake syrup.
Since March, I have been fortunate to be able to use curbside grocery pickup exclusively with a choice of three stores very close. Once I started using Walmart’s app and had such good results, we kicked ourselves for not thinking of it when we were in Gila and spent hours driving to/from town and then hours shopping. Something that has been a fun surprise is the occasional sack of freebies I get for being a loyal customer. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before, but I get stupidly excited over free stuff, even if it’s stuff I don’t really want or can’t use. The fact that these goody bags are roughly tailored to our purchase history and include the cute reusable totes means almost all the samples have been welcome, and I don’t have to feel quite so silly about my giddiness.
Like many of you, we have used this down time to do some online ordering. One of my favorite purchases was a new kitchen faucet — something I’ve wanted to replace since we bought Essie.
The original one was hard to use, the
silver coating was flaking off, and the escutcheon plate slid around,
trapping gunk on the counter around it. We remedied all of that with
this. |
| So much nicer!! |
We still manage a daily walk most days, even if it’s only around the RV park. Often we make longer loops around town, usually first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening. We rarely take a camera, but when we do, we take pictures of sights that make us laugh.
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| “I forgot my mask.” |
Sometimes we go back to the nearby section of the Reserve where we almost always see at least one prickle frog, natch, but if we’re extra lucky, other critters are out and about. So far, nothing that rattles us.
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| “Why aren’t you sssssscared of me?” |
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| Running wild. |
As ever, we have our crafts to keep us from spending all our time staring at one screen or another.
Next up, if you can believe it, will be my second annual Roadiversary post. After that, I hope to be racking up and cataloging all new escapades. Stay tuned and well, Faithful Readers!
COMMENTS
Even though it’s too hot to hike, you’re making the most of your days. Peach picking, making syrup from prickly pears, beautiful rock painting, cool leatherwork, home improvements…and goats! It’s the little things in life that are always the best, no matter where we are. And soon, you’ll be back on the road!! And heading this direction (eventually!). 😍
There are not adequate words to express how I feel about hitting the road again, but a few of them are excitement, terror, joy, hope, trepidation. The good words are applicable to a certain place in Florida ❤
That faucet is pretty much the same one we have and it’s great – I love having it so high above the sink because it makes washing big items much easier. It’s the little things in RV life, I tell ya….
The countdown is on! Soon it’ll be jacks up and wheels rollin! Stay cool in the meantime.
Yes!! The faucet height is just one of the features I adore and have missed. We also got one of those clothes-drying racks that attaches to the RV ladder that I had on my list since way before hitting the road, and I cannot tell you how in love with it I am. I’m simple and easy to please 😀
So looking forward to rolling again, and just sorry we’re still going in opposite directions!
We only eat Zesty kiwi bec not only it is from NZ it is also juicy and sweet.
I’m so impressed as to how you keep your creativity flowing. Those are great leatherwork for Mark and wowie on the stone painting. Love it.
I have encountered so many prickly pear fruits in our neighborhood and you just gave me an idea, But how nasty is it to handle? Can I have a recipe 🙂
Working with the prickly pears wasn’t bad at all! When they’re ripe, they come off of the plants easily or with a bit of twisting. You can even pick some off the ground if they’re not too split or smushed. I used this site for my harvesting and jelly-making instructions https://www.thespruceeats.com/guide-to-making-prickly-pear-jelly-4775071 of course I had to adjust the amounts, etc. The burning of the little spines is the key. The whole process, though, is very time consuming, but sometimes that’s not a bad thing. Try it!
Thanks for the nice words about our crafty and culinary pursuits. The prickly pears were not so bad at all, but I knew from experience having grown and canned pickled beets for years — now there’s some wicked staining!