I also have Aunt Marions B&B pickle recipe here . The only one i have ever used over the years .

34 minutes ago, Hal said:

I also have Aunt Marions B&B pickle recipe here . The only one i have ever used over the years .

That’s the winner.

16 hours ago, Chris said:

Okay thanks. I did go and buy another 12 pack of pint jars. That seems to be a good size for small batches of pickles.

I need to look and see if one of the local farmstands has good pickling cukes, I want to get some more made and stocked downstairs asap.

I'd also like to try and make some bread and butter pickles, though I may be the only one in the house who likes them.

There’s nothing like homemade dill pickles with all that fresh dill in the jar.

I spent some time last night researching rodenticides ( “Does this guy know how to party or what?” ) that don’t cause secondary poisoning to other wildlife like owls, foxes, etc. Initially I was going to try the repeating trap style with five gallon bucket and water, but that seems pretty cruel. Although your typical rodenticide isn’t exactly a walk in the park for them.

The results are kinda mixed. There’s one that sounded really promising but it isn’t approved for use in the U.S. I found another that is, and though many say it works great, is all natural ingredients, and safe for anything but rodents, some people say it doesn’t seem to be as effective. To which the response is, “It takes longer and more quantities, keep feeding it.” Which sounds great but it ain’t entirely cheap either.

So I don’t know what the hell to do. While I don’t think I have a large amount of dead rodents being eaten by wildlife, making them sick, it’d be nice to know that there’s none. At the same time, we don’t have any infestation right now because of the poison I use.

I’m leaning towards just doing what I’ve been doing as responsibly as possible. 🤷‍♂️

1 hour ago, Chris said:

I spent some time last night researching rodenticides ( “Does this guy know how to party or what?” ) that don’t cause secondary poisoning to other wildlife like owls, foxes, etc. Initially I was going to try the repeating trap style with five gallon bucket and water, but that seems pretty cruel. Although your typical rodenticide isn’t exactly a walk in the park for them.

The results are kinda mixed. There’s one that sounded really promising but it isn’t approved for use in the U.S. I found another that is, and though many say it works great, is all natural ingredients, and safe for anything but rodents, some people say it doesn’t seem to be as effective. To which the response is, “It takes longer and more quantities, keep feeding it.” Which sounds great but it ain’t entirely cheap either.

So I don’t know what the hell to do. While I don’t think I have a large amount of dead rodents being eaten by wildlife, making them sick, it’d be nice to know that there’s none. At the same time, we don’t have any infestation right now because of the poison I use.

I’m leaning towards just doing what I’ve been doing as responsibly as possible. 🤷‍♂️

Always my fear is killing my beloved owls. I have always put the poison traps inside since by the time I notice them they are already in here and have no idea if they take it back outside or not. I watch the owls hunt and would hate for them to get a poison mouse.

I don't know if owls go after the already dead ones or if half the fun is the chase.

Yeah it’s definitely a concern. One of those things you don’t think of until you read or hear about it and then you’re like, “Well, shit…”

Seventeen quarts of pickles are in the books:

Hearing the plink as the jars cooled and sealed was oddly satisfying.

It’s also oddly addicting. We’re talking about doing peaches and applesauce next. It’d be nice to have a good apple crop and make cider this year, I’m curious as to how canning that would work instead of freezing it.

We did six pints of bread and butter pickles Sunday evening:

I have no idea how they'll taste, but they sure look purty.

I need to find somewhere to get peaches in bulk. I could drive up to Hector, and am happy to do so, but need to see if they're still in season.

Applesauce is also on the agenda, as is perhaps some strawberry-rhubarb jam.

On 8/16/2026 at 10:00 AM, Chris said:

Seventeen quarts of pickles are in the books:

Hearing the plink as the jars cooled and sealed was oddly satisfying.

It’s also oddly addicting. We’re talking about doing peaches and applesauce next. It’d be nice to have a good apple crop and make cider this year, I’m curious as to how canning that would work instead of freezing it.

On 8/16/2026 at 10:00 AM, Chris said:

make cider this year, I’m curious as to how canning that would work instead of freezing it.

Actually I canned some cider a while back , it tasted like just pressed cider . I think I put up half a dozen jars and none of it went to waste . And your pickles taste awesome by the way !!

More food processing here today.

I pulled some carrots to see how they’re doing. I left about half in the dirt still, but still brought in about 2# They’re bagged and in the fridge now.

The last of this years basil is now on the windowsill to dry and there’s parsley hanging to dry downstairs.

Today we made eight jars of strawberry rhubarb jam and then another four of strawberry rhubarb sauce which goes great over vanilla ice cream, on waffles, and more.