Going With The Flow

A few weeks ago I shared that we are opening up the creek to improve our view of it from the deck.  Johny's worked on it while I was away and made great progress...this is now (zoomed in a bit from the next picture)...

...without zoom, the tree on the right of the picture above is the tree closest to the center of the photo below...

...and this is the before shot...you can see how much brush has been removed.

You can be sure that we are not stripping the bank of all vegetation...we are leaving all the roots in the ground as well as some of the foliage that isn't blocking the view to be sure we don't create an erosion problem.  Eventually, there will be a lush carpet of rhododendron that we keep trimmed back, with the highlight of that view being the creek...we always enjoy listening to the creek, but also being able to watch it flow is perfection!

Speaking of going with the flow...yesterday I shared my Crab Apple Jelly recipe with you...what I didn't share is that as I was writing the recipe post, I realized I had mistakenly added twice the amount of sugar that I had intended (I must have been thinking about the amount of water when I measured the sugar).  I was quite bothered about it but I realized that what else could I do but go with the flow...everything was already canned (what's the worst thing that could happen...it's jelly after all)!  This morning we tasted it, and you know what?  It was good...sweet, but good.

Now I'm considering collecting another batch of crab apples so I can try again...though there was a hint of cinnamony tart apple, it was quite sweet...I bet with half the sugar the tartness would really stand out...and I want to get it right.  The good news is the posted recipe is correct...let me know if you try it and what you think!

On another note, I spent part of this afternoon visiting with my friend Ron while Bertie went out running errands (he recently had a medical procedure so she doesn't like to leave him alone for too long).  We laughed a lot...I learned some things I never knew about Ron and revisited some stories he's shared with me before...it was a real pleasure to chat with.  I sure am going to miss them when they move!

I hope you've been able to follow my flow of random thoughts today...nothing like going with the flow!

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