#kikimack365 #30daysofcomposition 222/365 Aug 10, 2023. I had a hair appointment in the morning and then I picked up some UK grown asters in one of the supermarkets along with a kilo of strawberries (despite son No2 working at a PYO fruit farm, he doesn’t get time to pick any fruit to bring home). I decided to make a conserve, which is a completely different process to jam, so I did stage 1, which was to layer the fruit with lots of sugar. My photo for the #balance prompt is of my first ever home grown fig sitting in the sun. 223/365 Aug 11, 2023. My photo for the #pattern prompt is of some of the aster offcuts in my striped glass vase. Stage 2 of the strawberry conserve was a rapid boil of the fruit and sugar mix, then a rest period. In the evening we went round to our friends’ house for a small gathering and takeaway in their garden, which was fun. 224/365 Aug 12, 2023. In the morning, I noticed that my aster set-up was sitting in a lovely ray of sun. However, the whole set up was a bit too big with the shadows, so I swapped to a smaller vase and buds and got my #noforeground photo done first thing. We’ve recently discovered that we have a herd of Water Buffalo living about a 30 minute walk up the river from us. They’re good for the fen area along that part of the river and are able to withstand the boggy ground and by keeping the reeds down it encourages more biodiversity. They were much easier to spot than the elusive Water Voles and wandered quite close, safely behind an electrified fence. 225/365 Aug 13, 2023. I sorted out and washed some kitchen things for son No2’s new uni accommodation and sterilised the jam funnel and some pots in the dishwasher at the same time. Stage 3 of the strawberry conserve was another rapid boil then putting into the jars. It seemed very liquid to me so I think I’m still on the hunt for a jam recipe that works for me. The #circular prompt is fulfilled by a phone photo of the conserve in the pan.

Posted by Kiki Mack - Photobooks host at 2023-08-16 08:46:02 UTC