Summer canning, cheeky chicks

I've canned 32 pints of applesauce so far! The first batch is straight applesauce- 19 pints. Then I decided to get creative, and used some elderberries in the next batch. Elderberry juice is quite tangy, I thought it would be interesting. It needed more sugar, but overall it's an interesting blend. I'm canning in the morning, and David set up an outdoor stove so it doesn't heat up the house as bad.
Mom brought up about a bushel of yellow summer apples, and they are great for canning. She helped me with the first batch, then left early on the 4th of july. Frankly, it's exhausting, so I can one batch at a time, pass out on the couch for a couple hours, and start over the next day.

The chicks are doing well, Betty and Lucky are healing and growing. The twins outside are really blooming, they have most of their feathers, and are starting to roost on a truss in the pen. I want to let them out in the yard, but they're still a little small. They'd make a nice snack for a hawk, and I don't have a set-up that I can cover with a net, so that will have to wait.

The heat is suffocating for some reason, it's not over 110 yet, but the humidity or air pressure is making it miserable. Everybody is cranky- I'm sure it's the bouncing barometer.