During our time here we've experienced lower-than-normal temperatures. We've also had periods of rain, which is something we haven't seen much of in our past travels here. Apparently we can thank El Niño for the expected five rainstorms to hit this area this week. OK, I know we won't get much sympathy from friends and family back home in Canada, as they're now into the normal cold temperatures after a balmy December. I'm really not looking for sympathy anyway, but I am looking at its effect on things here.
My point about the current weather is leading in to how it affects the fruit crops here. In February of 2015 I wrote a blog post titled "Citrus picking is exhausting work". The photo below, taken in February 2015, is of the fruit from the yard at our current home.
However, when we arrived this time, we checked out the same fruit trees. We wondered if they would have been affected by the frost we've been experiencing for the past few weeks. When we cut some open, they showed some damage. So, I wondered whether I could find a use for this fruit, when parts of it couldn't be eaten, even though it smelled fresh and lovely. Yep, you guessed it .... my friend Google had an answer ... a crockpot to the rescue!
It turns out there are lots of recipes for making potpourri using your crockpot. Check out the colourful photos in the previous potpourri link. So Greg set to work cutting up an orange, lemon, and grapefruit, and added vanilla and cinnamon, and the scent from it has been filling the house all day.
The photo may not be as inviting as the more professional ones in the earlier link, but the mix certainly smells good.
This reminded me of that saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Not quite the same, but the frost and rain made it so that "when El Niño brings frost and rain to your fruit, make potpourri".
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Location: North Mountain (Phoenix), Arizona, USA
Housesitting: The Three Amigos - Jake, Zena, Shiloh
Weather: 56ºF (13ºC) at 5 pm
Forecast: High of 58ºF (14ºC), low of 52ºF (11ºC)
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Note: Photos of pets and homes are only used with the prior consent of the owners.
At first I thought you were making orange juice... we stop at the local coffee shop for a freshly squeezed glass of juice after our walk... she used 9 oranges yesterday... for 1 glass of juice. Sounds really nice that you have your own supply right outside!
ReplyDeleteWe'll be joining you for juice soon, well, and maybe a glass or two of wine. We're looking forward to it :)
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