You are not a loser until you stop peeling yourself off of the canvas

The third time was NOT the charm

One-in-a-row, two-in-a-row...but three-in-a-row was not to be. The oven burner failed to ignite when Mrs ERJ was preheating it to cook some chicken.

Looking at the assembly, trying to get a grip on the problem, I noticed a glow where none should be. The safety shut-off valve was not closing with authority and the flame ran down the burn-tube and turned the orifice on the safety-valve into a pilot light.

When commanded "ON", the flame climbed with the jet of propane past the venturi and that is what caused the "roaring sound" reported earlier.

The gasses coming out of the ports of the burner were a mix of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, gaseous propane and oxygen. Sometimes it was rich enough to ignite. Other times...not.

A new safety valve is ordered and I expect to see it in a week. Unfortunately, replacing the safety valve is more involved than changing the igniter.

Hope springs eternal!

Pear Preserves

Jams, jellies and preserves are a mix of fruit and sugar. In days-gone-by, the cook would include half-ripe fruits or crab apples that were know to be rich in pectin to help the fruity-goo "jell". Pectin is a complex carbohydrate that "holds hands" with sugar molecules and stiffens up the fruity-goo. Pectin will also happily hold hands with calcium and/or magnesium ions which is the basis for low and no sugar jams and jellies.

The pears I used to make the "pear preserves" earlier this week were mature enough that they did not supply the necessary pectin and I manufactured bits-of-pear floating in pear-flavored-honey(ish)-syrup.

Not having a firm grasp of The Client's preferences, half of the sealed jars were decanted and additional pectin was added. The Client will receive three pints of pear-preserves in pear-honey and three pints of pear-preserves in stiffer pear-honey.

I hope to get a report back from The Client regarding which more closely resembles their childhood memories.

Seeds

I went on-line and learned that Ptelea trifoliate seeds have a germination rate of around 10%. The seeds are encased in a coat that is impervious to water and they can (presumably) sit in the soil for years as the soil bacteria and fungi break down that impervious coat. 

From Mecosta County, Michigan to St George, Utah to Mexico City to Orlando, Florida...that is a very wide native range.

Pt is not particularly common in Michigan but it is common locally. I intend to visit several local sources and collect seeds. I have a hankering to plant a few of them in Eaton Rapids and at The Property.

10% is a manageable number. If I stratify 200 seeds, I might get 20 that germinate and that would meet my needs for 2025.

I am curious, though, if aging the seeds in a non-sterile medium would accelerate the degradation of the seed's coating. Most instructions advise us to stratify (satisfy the seed's need for a cold period) in sterile media like sand or fresh sawdust.