J is for Jam

A few times a year I walk past a fruit tree (usually a cumquat or plum) growing in a someone’s front yard untouched with fruit laying rotting on the ground. My daughter insists on knocking on the door to ask if we can pick some to make jam. So far not a single person has said no, and we’ve knocked on a lot of doors! We pick the fruit, take it home and make a batch of jam together. We then drop off some jars of jam to the people who gave us the fruit to say thank you. Sometimes the same people will contact us the following year to let us know that their fruit is ripe and ask us if we’d like to pick it. We have a lot of fun and enjoy giving the jam away as gifts too. Are you aware of any fruit trees in your area that you could pick the fruit and make jam from? If not then talk with your green grocer, they may have some fruit that they are unable to sell that they can give to you at a discount to make jam with.

Image description: A photo of a person wearing a white and red checked shirt, they have a large stainless steal jam pot on a wooden chopping block, they are spooning the jam into glass jars. There are 3 fresh plums next to the chopping board.

K is for Kids

Sometimes I think that change is hard, then I look at how many kids are engaged and actively solving one problem at a time, this makes me think “WOW’ if kids can do it then I can too. We recently filmed some local superstars who told us what they are personally doing to tread lightly in Banyule. Watch their video about ‘Rebuilding the puzzle‘.