Blueberries!

Blueberry

I've never been particularly fond of blueberries and was never really interested in growing them, but  I acquired a couple of scrawny little potted plants from a friend who was moving several years ago.  I can't really remember when, as I plopped them into an inconvenient spot and promptly ignored them.  I lost one plant that winter and the other has managed to tenaciously hang on for the past three years.  It blooms every year, and does manage to set a few scraggly berries that the mockingbirds seem to enjoy.  For the most part I forget that it is sitting next to the corner of the shed, except when a wayward branch snags my sleeve as I brush by on the path.  Somehow, it has managed to finally achieve some height and is now taller than I am. 

Blueberry Jam

I guess with it's new stature, it has gained confidence, as this year it set quite a bit of fruit.  So much so, that I was able to pick about four cups and as luck would have it, a neighbor dropped by with another couple of quarts of fruit, so I had absolutely no excuse as to not to do something with it.  I really didn't want to mess with a pie and so decided to try some blueberry jam or jelly.   I had gotten the Ball Blue Book last season before the box store sold out of it yet again;  and checked out the jam recipe on page 32.  Bingo!  I had the limes, the sugar, the pectin and all those empty jelly jars were just screaming to be filled.  So I cleaned, and picked, and crushed and boiled and stirred and poured and then capped and boiled and ended up with 12 little jars.   Delicious!