- Picked tomatoes, lots of tomatoes ( yes, I am back from vacation.... Is driving around the western states a prep ? ) , and alot of brocolli -- pounds. But, bunnies ate the new brocolli plants and the sugar snap pea starts while I was gone.
- Picked apples and canned them while visiting family out of state. Gravensteins from an ancient, large, heritage tree in Coastal Oregon. We canned apple sauce, about 36 pints in small batches of 6 pints each, I brought home one flat of 12, done plain. All the rest was done with brown sugar, fresh lemon juice and zest, cardamon and cinnamon. We also picked blackberries, ate the one pie and put another pies worth in the freezer for their thanksgiving use.
- Tested out my white gas 2 burner stove and lantern that I keep for prep ( while away from home already. Note to others: pull things out every year or so to check condition before you need them.....) Tested out the wool blanket that lives in the car trunk, worked great for smothering a small fire, and does seem to be 100% wool as advertised, so no harm done ( thanks Old Grouch surplus !) Bought a propane camp stove in Nevada. Now I have more fuel choices and camping options. The gas lantern worked great.
- Made use of the rain poncho that usually lives in the trunk, an IKEA one. Lightweight for daypack usages, long, but the hood is a bit too big for me, hard to keep from covering my eyes, so good to know and make adjustments in case I need it for an emergency. It Rains in the summer out there, afternoon thunderstorms. We had heard of this, so were prepared, we even packed proper raincoats, but still startled by the buckets that come down at once in Arizona and Utah. This was a good reminder of what it is like to hike uphill in a deluge, on vacation of course, we loved it as a novelty, short with a hot meal at a warm resteraunt waiting, but good prep for when it can be more serious. I also slept in a tent for 6 nights, mostly in 1 night increments, lots of practice making and breaking camp, and the on the ground sleeping on a very thin pad. Night temps fluctuated from Nevada where you cant use the sleeping bag or PJ's at all, and the camp water tap delivers water almost hot enough to make tea, to Northern Wyoming where there is ice coating the picnic table. Just beautiful all over, a slice from south to north ( we stopped and turned west at Missoula Montana).
