Little Surprises

My first awesome surprise this morning, as we were walking to the garden, was to see this beautiful raspberry on our small raspberry bush.  What was most surprising about it is that we already had a few raspberries in the spring, so we were not expecting anything more this year.  As you can see, there are a couple other buds ripening...kind of fun...if we can get enough of them to ripen at the same time, we can play "one for you, one for me"!

Another pleasant surprise, Mountain Man is in clothes without holes...this is for you Patti, as you are concerned about the need for mending...lol...this is his special 'going out' clothes!...there are probably many of you out there who have had the same thoughts, but haven't voiced them yet!  Anyway, he is holding our new hydrometer (one of two, so we have a backup).  This is a really good thing, because as he was preparing to measure the must (click on the link to learn more about wine must) today, he dropped the new hydrometer, boom, on the floor!  Good thing it hit right on the thick end of the tip, and it did not break...but you know we were both happy we ordered two!

The nice little surprise about the hydrometer was that this one is made in France...does that mean our wine will turn out something like what the French vineyards produce???  One never knows!

This is us measuring the SG of the wine with our new hydrometer today...things are moving in the right direction, as the SG indicates the  must (click on the link to learn more about wine must) is indeed fermenting.

My final little surprise, is my acorn squash dish this evening.  I was making curry shrimp with rice.  The acorn squash was harvested today from the garden.  They were small, and I was concerned they might not be ripe, but they were the most beautiful acorn squash I have ever seen.  (No, I am not exaggerating...they were firm with nicely shaped seeds that were easy to scoop out, and a delightful deep yellow color...and no, I am not being partial either!)  To compliment the curry shrimp and rice, I decided to use red curry (instead of the usual cinnamon), honey and a little butter to bake the squash.  It was delectable, with just the right bit of heat, but a lovely sweetness that balanced the somewhat spicy shrimp.  

Life it good!  We are fortunate.  This is not a surprise:)

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise