Gnats and Asspar-A-Gus

We just came in from the front porch where we were watching the Ballet of the Bugs. You could refer to my July 25th post from last summer for more details and pictures, or you could just stay here and hope I explain it with some sort of clarity. (Hint: Too bad for you if you stay here)

Anyhoo, the gnats are swarming tonight and it is really fun to watch. There are thousands of them up there and I think sex is on their tiny little minds. Unfortunately, there are butterflies and dragonflies who have dinner on their tiny little minds.

We are making more pickled beans tonight. I mean, what the hell else do we have in our lives.

We are also making some pickled asparagus as well. That's the good shit...however very expensive. Not as expensive as buying pickled asparagus in the store. Not as easy as well.

I'm full of contradictions tonight.

Dilly Night

It's been a while since I posted anything because we haven't been doing anything. 

But today, we have a big event happening in the form of Dilly Beans. Susan has a tradition of pickling string beans every year and tonight is the night she decided we are doing it.

It's a fairly simple process as old as time. First, you break out the ol' Propane Burner cuz it's too hot to do this in the kitchen. 

You get your beans, you stuff them in a sterilized jar. 

You add a solution of pickling juice. 

You cap the jar. 

You process the jars for about ten minutes by boiling it in very hot water. It's best if the water is boiling. 

You pull the jars out and wait for them to ping. When they ping, you're done. If they don't ping, you reprocess. Once all the jars have pinged, you stick them in the basement and forget about them forever.