July 12th

Dear Journal,

The weather finally broke today. It has been hot and dry for so long. When I woke this morning the skies were grey. By midday the sun had come back out but it did not get very hot, which was a boon as I was cooking in the kitchen.

In the garden the beets and carrots were ready for picking. Both had a vibrant orange color. They looked so good and smelled wonderful. When I pulled the carrots out of the ground I was hit by their fresh smell.

We also had visitors at the Fort. A small herd of fluffy sheep. Their little faces were so sweet looking. It was shearing day and I could hear their little cries when I was in the kitchen. For supper I made pickled carrots, mashed beets, boiled eggs and pork meatballs.

The other day I read a receipt for a dish called Apple Dumplings. I have never had apple dumplings before but they sounded delicious. So I made my pastry dough and wrapped the apples. I put them in the oven and then promptly burned them. The tops become black and the centers weren’t done. I moved them to the lower part of the oven and let them slow cook for a long time. It seems I still have much to learn about working on a cookstove. Despite the burnt tops all of them were eaten within an hour of being finished.