Holy crap, new computer screen!

Wooot! I can see my whole computer screen again. Its only been like six months since I have been able to do that, but let me tell you, it sure was inconvenient. Anyway, now that my computer is fixed I can show you photos of what we have been doing for the last few weeks.

Strawberry season in Louisiana has just ended. Strawberry season down here is from September (planting) to mid May (harvesting). This years crop was abundant and delicious. About 40 strawberry farmers are located in Louisiana, and this year they produced a crop worth an estimated 13 million dollars. In Ponchatoula (not far from us on the north shore) there is even a Strawberry Festival in April. Recently we saw the last of the strawberries for this year at the Tuesday farmers market near our apartment. A grower from Ponchatoula was selling flats of for $15. Colin and I decided that we should purchase a flat and make jam out of the local strawberries, even though neither of us had ever made jam before. Despite our inexperience, we were fairly successful in our jam making endeavor. I say fairly, because we did not get a perfect jam like consistency (ours was a bit too liquid) but it was safely and beautifully canned. Here are some photos from our jam making session.

Before,


During,

and after boiling.

Hodag assists by handing us the mason jars and their tops.

canning the jam.