Just 5 Miles and Jelly

The other day I ran the dry canyon trail in Redmond for the first time.  I'm surprised it took me this long to do it.

 I ran north on the paved trail for 2.5 miles, and tried to snap a picture of three deer walking just the other side of the rock,  but I'm danged if I can see them now.

 Something about this Oregon sunshine feels hotter than the thermometer says it is, so I ran the 2.5 miles back on the dirt trail next to the canyon wall, which was partially shaded.  It also made for an added core workout hopping over rocks and branches.

I came across a few other runners, lots of walkers and a few cyclists, all of whom exchanged greetings and smiles with me.  I really love that town.

On another note, the fair is coming up and so I'm trying to make as many weird things as I can so I can stand out among the competition.  First, I made some spring conserve with some rhubarb a good friend gave me, and it didn't set up.  I was irked, but read back through the recipe and saw where I had screwed up so it wasn't worth a remaking effort.

Then I made a batch of garlic jelly.  Didn't set up.  Again.  I followed those directions to a T, but sometimes these things happen.  I got some advice from the MFP faculty, and tried remaking it per their instructions.  Still didn't set up.  Now I'm irritated, so I made an entire new batch.  No joy.  I'm currently drowning in what I'm calling a garlic glaze, but it should be delish on chicken, shrimp and veggies.....

So while I was waiting for the second batch of garlic jelly to fail, I had already prepared the ingredients for habanero gold jelly.  Feeling like a complete failure, I went ahead anyway and it set up like a champ.  Go figure.

And boy, is it good with cream cheese on a cracker.  I was so inspired by this success (why I don't know, since I was only 1 for 4) I made watermelon jelly at ten o'clock last night.  It set up too, so I guess I'm on a roll!