EXPLORING BALESTRAND NORWAY

Although I loved every place we ventured into
 during our Scandinavian vacation, 
My favorite place was Balestrand. 

Abundant natural beauty...
 Excellent local food: plums, apples, cider, sausage, fish, and shrimp.

Gorgeous accommodations, a home that we rented right on the fjord...

We hiked the mossy, ferny hillside, foraged for wild berries,

swam the cold water, explored the fjord by ferry boat,

then fell asleep to the sound of waves...

 Our spectacular views:

Amazing in every direction

  Ethereal place, such beauty

 Need I say, I never want to leave?

Can there exist such a place on earth?

And were we really there?

OSLO LOVE

           As seen from a sidewalk in Oslo...
         

Preserving the Bounty

Autumn in Minnesota is Apple time!

Such a sweet time of the year when trees are producing delicious fruit, and there's amazing abundance throughout the garden.  We have wild crab apple trees in the back of our property along the lake.  They are scrubby trees that we neglect, until fruit is red and heavy on the branches...calling us...

Now what to do with the harvest?

French apple tart?...ahhh...put the coffee on

 Next French apple jelly.  France,  my go to country for ALL fruit recipes.  I made two batches.  Enough for everyone!  The recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs, from Paris dweller, David Lebovitz.

Here's the recipe if you're interested:
https://www.davidlebovitz.com/apple-jelly-jam-recipe/

I've been busy preserving as much as I can...Hot Dilly Beans, Sweet and Sour Pickles, Ginger Carrots, Slow Roasted Tomatoes...We will eat well this winter.

Beautiful Bounty!!

Joshua Tree National Park

Our visit to Joshua Tree National Park was done on a whim, on a day of 96 degree plus temps, during a stay in Palm Desert, California.  Bryan and I found ourselves with an air-conditioned car and an open afternoon.  We have always heard of this national park and decided now- time to explore!

After an uneventful drive in from the south entrance, we encountered a field of flowering cacti. Very unexpected life, color and texture, surrounded by barren rock.

         Other-worldly formed rock...
         driving north through the park, the temps
         dropped 15 degrees
         

                       The Joshua Tree really isn't a tree...it's a form of Yucca.
                                                                Who knew?

A forest of Joshua trees, as far as the eye can see!

             The park was unlike anything we've experienced before...
             a beauty all it's own.