Wednesday, May 21, 2025
May is passing by. We have been having a relatively cool spring, very happy about that. Now it is starting to warm up.
Matt's co-op has at least four loquat trees. Loquats are from southeast Asia. They have a sweet-sour fruit with two to four big brown seeds inside.
Loquats on the tree.
I picked a big pot to make jam.
Before removing seeds.
I washed them, cut them in half, and removed the seeds. In the pot I added the juice of one or two of my lemons and some sugar.
Starting to cook.
I made six jars, one of which broke in the canner. I gave one to Matt, one to Emilee and RH, and one to Phillip. I will use the big jar as cake filling.
Canned.
This year is the 250th anniversary (officially August 20th. Barrio Brewery is making a special Presidio Pale Ale. I got to tour the brewery. Very interesting to see how beer is made and put in cans.
Last year a big wind storm damaged two trees at my house, the willow acacia in the front yard and the mesquite in the backyard. I paid $800 for the tree guys to remove the damaged limbs. They also worked on the two sour orange trees. The orange trees must have liked it because they suddenly started blooming, months after they are supposed to.
Tree trimming.
I have completed another book, Pioneer African Americans of Pima County, Arizona Territory. Over 400 pages long with hundreds of people in it. The next step is to have it professionally edited and formatted and make an index.
On May 7, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the host of Finding Your Roots on PBS came and spoke at the University of Arizona. I dragged Matt to it and my friend Todd came down from Phoenix. I brought along a bound draft copy to give to him, but he left the stage and a dancer came on, so I thought I would have to mail it to him.
Outside we were talking and a woman who sat next to me suddenly said, "There he is walking by!" I turned and it was him. So I hurried over to the car he was about to get into and handed him the book. He shook my hand and asked me to autograph the book. At the end of his talk he had said how important it was to research the African Americans who lived out West. And of course Matt didn't realize what was happening and so no photo of me with Skip. Still, one of the highlights of my life.
Afterward we went to the 4th Avenue Twist restaurant for Indian food.
Matt and Todd.
