Bountiful Blessings! Day One

Indiana has had an inordinate amount of rainfall this summer.  It has been a real challenge to keep up with the weeds!  The cucumbers have loved this wet weather and to say the least we have had bountiful blessings of cucumbers. From just FOUR plants, I have picked, given away, eaten them, and now with the excess will make pickles.  I have decided to make "Crunchy Lime Pickles".  The recipe can be found here on Justapinch.com.  We have had abundant blessings with our garden despite the inclement weather!  The following is DAY 1 of the Cucumber tales!

 It was just starting to rain when I went to the garden to pick the cucumbers.  The foliage has been so green and lush this summer.  We planted marigolds around the perimeter of the garden to help keep the bugs at bay as much as possible.

The deer also like the garden so a scarecrow stands guard in the middle and so far he has helped do the trick of keeping the deer out.

This basket was just the tip of the iceberg.  I carried 2 more into the house!!  Yikes...

And there are STILL more growing!!  SOOOO into the house we go still with day 1!

The recipe calls for seven pounds of cucumbers of medium size.  Well needless to say these were NOT really medium size, but we are going to make do anyway!

First they need to be weighed.  I love my old fashioned scale so the old scale used this to weigh them.  I need seven pounds.  

Next they go to the sink where they are rinsed of the mud etc under running water.  

A good knife is essential for the next step and a cutting board.  Cut the Cukes 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

The crock is one my son made I just love it!  And it held about 1/2 of the sliced Cukes.

The next step is to soak the slices in lime water for 24 hours.  SOOO out comes my BIGGGest crock-which is sooo heavy and old.  By this time I realize i will be making a TRIPLE batch of pickles!  

The cukes nearly filled it to the top!

Now comes the messy part.  Mix 2 cups of hydrated lime with 2 gallons of cold water.  In my case I made a triple batch.  The Hydrated lime I bought at my local garden supply store.

Well this is it for day 1.  The clock has started and the cukes will hang out in the lime bath for the next 24 hours!  

The tale continues.......

Linking to Savvy-Southern-Style
Wow Us Wednesday
Dream. Create.  Inspire
Dream. Create. Inspire
Common Ground: Share your Style
Share Your Style
My Romantic Home: Show and tell Friday
Show and Tell Friday