Freezing Turnips

Winter in Wisconsin seems to last a long time.  That is why everyone gets excited about planting flowers and gardens as soon as the last frost happens.  It is usually around May 1.  My daughter and her husband were no exception.  They planted a gigantic garden.  I don't plant a vegetable garden because I get more than enough fresh produce given to me.  I reap all of the benefits without doing any work.  I love it when the harvest starts.  The only trouble is that most things are ready to pick at the same time and need to be dealt with while they are fresh. They planted a 25 foot row of turnips.  I noticed that some of them were getting quite large and there were enough turnips to feed an army.  I decided to pull a few.  Some had gotten too big already, but there are plenty of perfect sized turnips.  I like to eat them raw, but there are way too many to do that.  We decided to try to freeze some to use in soups and stews this winter.

Medium to small turnips are the best.

I took the tops and root off and then peeled them.  They peel quite easy, just like a potato.  In fact, they look like a potato but have a mild flavor much like a kolrabi.  After peeling, I sliced them in one half inch slices, and my husband cubed them.  He didn't cube them by hand, but with a fancy non-electric gadget.  I have written about one of my favorite gadgets called the Vidalia Chop Wizard. http://www.thecabincountess.com/2012/12/a-day-of-recovery.html.  I like this one too.  It is very similar to the chop wizard, but it's for bigger projects and has a capability for making one inch cubes.  It is called the Genius food chopper.  I got it at a thrift store, so I don't know much about it except I love it.  You can chop a whole salad in the bowl, put the cover on and keep it stored in the same container.

We used the smaller 1/2 inch attachment for these.

After the turnips were cut into cubes, I had to blanch them before they could be frozen.  To blanch a vegetable, you just drop it in boiling water for a short time to stop the enzyme action of ripening and to kill bacteria.  It preserves the quality of the vegetable or fruit for better color or flavor.  Then after a couple minutes in boiling water, take it out and put in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Blanched vegetable and the Foodsaver vacuum sealer.

The only thing left to do at this point is to put them in a container or freezer bag.  Then label and freeze.  I have had a Foodsaver vacuum sealer for twenty years, so that is what I used.  I hope we enjoy having these frozen turnip cubes to use in recipes.  I have never frozen them before.  I read they can be rubbery but that is usually because the turnips are not fresh, they are blanched too long or they are too large.  I think we will love them.  We have frozen green beans, corn and a variety of fruit this way, so I am confident turnips will be good too.

Eight bags ready for the freezer.

Blue is My New Favorite Color

Since this is my blog, I can rant a little from time to time.  It's been ten days since our dad died.  It has been full of ups and downs.  One day I feel at peace and happy with the fact he didn't suffer a lot, and he is with our mom.  Then other days I feel a big void in the house because we had such a good routine and now I don't have those things to tend to.  I think that is normal.  What isn't normal is how people take advantage of the bereaved.  My parents pre-paid their funeral expenses fifteen years ago.  Of course, prices have gone up during that time but that isn't our responsibility.  I guess the funeral company they worked with feels the need to make up some of the costs.  They padded the costs by trying to charge us for an urn that was already paid for.  I was told they couldn't proceed with cremation until I signed the statement they sent with the additional charge for the urn.  I feel they need to stand by their original agreement.  Now the person I talked to needs to consult with the accountant.  It is kind of like a car salesman going to check with the manager.  You know darn well they are just disappearing in the bathroom so it appears that they are trying to negotiate.  In addition, we were charged $300 to have a local funeral service hold dad overnight in their funeral home until the cremation people could get there.  I know it's a business and they have to make money too, but geez.

*I have to amend this previous paragraph.  Some of my complaints were listened to and whether it was miscommunication by them or me, we have resolved our issues.  The main funeral service has been very helpful going forward.  I am grateful for their help.

So even though I'm having a blue day, the blue theme keeps reoccurring to make everything better.  Tonight we are having a full moon called a Blue moon or the Blueberry moon.  It doesn't really look blue to me, but the sky does and that is good enough for me.  Maybe the moon is blue in some other part of the world. 

During dad's passing days, we saw a blue and black admiral butterfly constantly.  It was sitting on our front porch when he died.  I believe it was the spirit of our mom waiting for him.

 
Then the next morning a blue and black bluejay feather was perfectly placed in my path.

I have not seen that butterfly since.  I have seen many other butterflies, but not the blue and black one.  Apparently there is a book called Final Gifts and other books on that topic that I must get.  Through stories these books show us how to appreciate the ways in which the dying communicate their needs.  I think this happened to us many times through dad's final days.  I will keep the rest of those events private, but many things happened to make a believer out of me.

In following the happy blue theme, I am enjoying our resident bluebirds feeding another batch of young ones.  The first nest failed because of the wrens attacking the eggs.  The second nest produced five young bluebirds who have stayed in the area.  Now we have a nest of four baby bluebirds who are being fed by both parents.

One of the bluebirds parents waiting in the wings to feed the new babies.  A young one stands by ready to help.

I think it's amazing how they can fly off and come back with a fresh worm.

So yes I'm sad at times, but the blue sky, the blue moon, and the bluebirds are making me able to handle the challenges at hand.  I know my parents left us some Final Gifts to show us that everything is fine.  I do believe BLUE is my new favorite color.

Our 3150 mile vacation in 10 days

After our long sad week with my dad passing, I want to tell you about our vacation.  It is a little bittersweet, but having no idea what was going to happen on our return, we had a good time.  I won't bore you with a bunch of details.  Other peoples vacations aren't nearly as fun as having one yourself.  In a nutshell, we visited the town on the Ohio River in Indiana where my husbands family lived and worked in the cotton mill in the early 1900's,

This is the old cotton mill.  It has now been converted to apartments.

next we took a train ride in West Virginia and then drove down a 10% grade, two lane road with 25 mph curves.  We aren't used to that type of terrain,

Gulp!!

then we visited one of my high school friends that I hadn't seen in fifty years (thanks so much Judy and Jim).  They live near the beautiful Shenandoah River.

 
and finally we spent a few days at Edisto Beach in South Carolina.  My daughter and her family were staying there for a week and suggested we come for a few days.

Two of our grandson's at the waters edge with my husband.

On the way home we visited the Angel Tree on John's Island South Carolina.  The tree is estimated to be 400 years old.

See how small my husband looks next to this giant Live Oak tree.

Lastly we visited one of my husbands friends whom he hadn't seen for many years (thanks for dinner Dan and Lee of Tennessee).  He had lived in Australia for a very long time and only recently moved back to the states.  He makes beautiful picture frames.  Here is his website if you want to see them.  http://www.kalbarripictureframers.com.au/products.html

All of those things were wonderful, but the icing on the cake took place at the beach.  Soon after we unpacked,  I noticed a sign on the refrigerator in the house we were staying.  I didn't pay much attention at the time.  I took this picture after our experience on the second night there.

Shortly after we arrived, we walked to the beach.  It was beautiful and the waves were clapping against the shore.  People were sunbathing and digging for shark teeth.  My daughter actually found one, but people would look all day long.  I'm not sure what they did with them, but it must be a profitable thing.  On top of the beach was an area that was roped off.  It had an orange sign that said Loggerhead Turtle Nesting Area.

We saw a small shell sitting on the sand inside the nesting area and were told that when the sand and shell starts to sink, the turtles will be hatching.  The next evening we walked to the beach again.  We were the only people checking the nest.  I got so excited, the sand was sinking.  We sat on a bench nearby and waited.  Pretty soon the turtle patrol came by.  They shouted that the turtles were hatching, and they had work to do.  They started shoveling sand to make a ramp for the babies to slide down.  Apparently the beach had eroded considerably and the turtle nest was sitting on top of a three foot ledge.

Even my husband grabbed a shovel to help

The ladies of the turtle patrol making a trail in the sand.

They blocked off the area to keep spectators to the side.

Then we saw it, little heads poking through the sand.

Now the waiting began.  We watched the sunset and waited for it to get dark.  I called my daughter to come and watch with us. 

The turtles follow the moon shining on the horizon to get to the ocean.  No cell phone light or photography was allowed.  When it was finally dark, there wasn't any moonlight.  One of the ladies from the patrol guided the small little turtles to the ocean.  They followed the light of a small flashlight.  Because there was no way of knowing when the turtles would hatch, only about 30 people were there at the time.  I heard someone say she lived there for more than ten years and had never seen this special sight.  All together there were almost 100 little turtles running to the water.  It is something we Wisconsinites won't soon forget. There were several nests along the beach, but we were so fortunate we happened to be there at that exact time.

Since I was not allowed to take photos, I found this public domain picture of baby loggerheads hatching.

The next day this is all that was left.  Hopefully a lot of these little turtles make it in the wild ocean filled with predators.

And after the tide, the beach had this beautiful pattern.  No one would guess what had happened hours earlier.

This vacation was meant to be.  It proved that we have very little control in what happens in our world.  Everything happens as it should, and we shouldn't question it even though we don't understand at the time.

Goodbye Dad

It has been a few weeks since I wrote a blog post.  Around the 4th of July, my sister was kind enough to come to our home.  She came to watch over my dad while we took a vacation.  We hadn't gone anywhere for quite some time because it was hard for dad to travel.  My sister lives in Michigan, and we live in Wisconsin.  She took the S. S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  The trip across Lake Michigan takes about 4 hours, but it is much more relaxing than driving through Chicago with all the traffic and construction.

We traveled 3150 miles in 10 days.  I will share some of our trip in a future blog.  We had some awesome experiences in a short time.  I wasn't worried about dad because he seemed to be doing well when we left and I knew he was in good hands.  Dad and my sister visited, listened to his favorite music and generally relaxed and spent quality time together.  I was so grateful for this.  We returned home a couple days before my sister was scheduled to return to her home.  We also had a nice visit.  The day she was to return home, dad didn't feel very well.  I decided to stay home and my husband drove my sister to the boat.  We had a normal day except he seemed a little out of breath when he walked and seemed tired.  Then early the next morning he rang his door bell just before 6:00am.  When he needed me, he would ring his bell.  I went into his room and he told me he thought he needed to go to the hospital.  He just didn't feel well.  We had made a trip to the ER before our trip with the same symptoms, but he checked out fine.  I wasn't worried.  Boy was I wrong.  They did the usual tests and the doctor added additional ones.  He told us he was very ill.  They said he had advanced bone cancer and would need to come home under Hospice care.  That was one week ago.  He came home.  He was able to say goodbye to his brother, his sister and other family members who came right away to see him.  He was able to stay at home in his own bed with birds singing and his favorite songs playing in the background.  Then last Tuesday, six days after he rang the door bell for help, he rang his final bell.  He died at home with my husband and me present.  He hung on until my sister was home safe and sound with her family, our daughters said their final goodbyes and went home to their families, and the house was quiet like it usually is.  He passed so peacefully.  I feel a huge void in the house right now, but he is where he wanted to be.  My mom died 3 ½ years ago.  They had been married 65 years, and he was looking forward to seeing her again.  We will miss him terribly but know that he had a beautiful long life (90 years) with tons of people who loved him and his kind gentle nature.

We will miss you dad.

Our Pesky Raccoon Is Relocated

We had an exciting day.  Not very exciting for most people, but it was for us.  It all started a couple months ago.  We had a single raccoon visiting regularly.  We are used to raccoons.  We see them often on the trail camera, but they always keep their distance and never come too close to the house.  This one was very brave.  He would often eat under the birdfeeders, then pretty soon all the birdseed in the feeders disappeared.  Then one morning all the jelly we put out for the Baltimore Orioles was completely gone.  I pointed the trail camera in the direction of the feeders and soon learned the raccoon was moving closer and closer to our house.

This raccoon was checking out the feeders while we were still up.

He started coming even before dusk.

He started knocking the jelly feeder we have hanging on the window to the ground.  He would take the bird feeder we had hanging on the porch completely off the hook.  We did grease the poles with petroleum jelly which helped.  He stopped climbing the poles.  He would either slide back down the pole or raccoons don't like greasy feet, but it didn't help the hanging feeders.  Every night we had to take in the hanging feeders and plants.  He would even turn the bird bath upside down.  Yesterday, after noticing he ripped our screen, we decided this had gone on long enough.  We took a trip to the Tractor Supply store to buy a live trap.

On the way, we saw an interesting sight.  My husband said "look at the two turkey vultures eating the road kill.  I hope they move".  As we got closer, I saw they were not turkey vultures but two eagles eating at the side of the road.  They flew before I could get a good picture, but they were definitely eagles.

They flew as we approached.

When we got back home, we unpacked the trap.  We have cats in the area, and we were afraid of trapping them.  A friend told us that raccoons like sweets and cats don't.  He said we should put marshmallows in the trap, and then we wouldn't have to worry about the cats.  About 7:00 pm my husband set up the trap right next to the bird bath.  Right on schedule the raccoon came.  He stuck his paw in the trap and pulled it out quickly.  It was like he knew how to trip it without getting caught.  Then he went to the side of the trap and stuck his paw in between the metal grate.  Gradually he worked the marshmallows through the grate and ate them.  The little rascal.  My husband found a plastic container.  Even though it was almost dark, he put four marshmallows into the container and placed it in the trap.  He reset it and came inside.  We don't know exactly when it happened but before I went to bed, I looked out the window with a flashlight.  There he was, we caught him.  Since it was too late, we had to deal with him in the morning. 

The poor thing looked so sad.  His reign of terror had come to an end.  A lot of people hate the raccoons and the destruction they cause.  Many of those people destroy the animal, but I don't have the heart to do that.  We decided to relocate it to the wide open spaces far away from here.

My husband loaded him onto a cart and took him to the vehicle.

My dad wished him well and said goodbye.

He said goodbye back.

We traveled to a lovely new home, and the crate was opened.

Off he went to FREEDOM!

Tonight we will see if this raccoon was our only culprit or if he had partners in crime.  If need be, we will relocate more.  For now we will hope any others can live in harmony with us as it has been for many years.

The trap we bought came with a smaller bonus trap for small animals.  All I can say is chipmunk watch out, we are coming for you and all of your friends.  You may be cute, but you can't be digging up my potted plants and making holes all over the yard.