Only one more week left in July! It is amazing how fast the days go by when we are busy. Tours have been steady throughout the summer. The Amish are putting up hay and some have oat fields ready for harvest when the shocks of grain are dry. I purchased a bag of green beans at the Amish bakery that the ladies had picked that day. We had the beans for supper last night–there isn’t anything better than fresh garden veggies! The Amish women have been picking berries and canning jams and jellies. They have many different flavors to choose from on their store shelves.

Kirsten had preserved strawberry jam for the first time for 4-H. I had always made freezer jam, but not canned jam. When Kirsten’s jam was finished we noticed that the jelly had separated from the jam. I mentioned this to one of the Amish ladies on our tour, and she told me we need to turn the jar upside down when cooling to prevent it from separating. Kirsten’s 4-H judge at the county fair told her the same information, so now we know what to do next year. Kirsten received a blue ribbon on her preserves and earned a trip to the Minnesota state fair on her photography project. It will be fun to take a day to go to the state fair and buy something greasy on a stick to eat.