The bitter and the sweet

My idle speculations about making marmalade from the inedible sour oranges growing profusely in my neighborhood have taken shape and formed into solid intention. Jelled, you might say. First I got all sorts of comments to the effect that these oranges DO have purpose, just not so obvious as the usual Valencias and such that we squeeze for juice.

Then I mentioned in an email to my friend Sue in Oregon that if I could find canning jars I'd try making marmalade, and within hours she had a box of jars packed and ready to mail to me, complete with new lids and rubber rings! This is someone I've never met face-to-face but we've been in contact now, thanks to the joys of email, for — what, Sue? — maybe five years or more. She has a shop called Susantiques in an old barn on the farm where she grew up, in Aloha, OR, not far from Hillsboro and Portland and you should stop in if you're ever in the neighborhood.

Today for some reason I had the blues so this not-so-little act of friendship was a welcome ray of sunshine. While I'm waiting for the jars, I think I'll start picking oranges, and do a few experiments in my laboratory kitchen. If when I come up with anything good, I'll let you know, dear readers. Thanks so much for all the suggestions!
 
Sue is a photographer specializing in scenes of rural Oregon. It's thanks to her that I get my snow fix without a single shiver, and see wildlife I'll never lay eyes on in the Sonoran desert. For instance, this eagle who built her nest atop a telephone pole, where a platform had been thoughtfully built for that very purpose. Why she'd want to raise her eaglets here instead of atop some majestic mountain is a mystery to me, but maybe the prey's more plentiful.

Photo: Sue Keith