Blue tarps are spread on the ground to catch the falling mayhaws. When the little red fruit hit the tarps, their sound is not unlike that of a kickball smacking someone up side the head. Peh-tunt!
When I was in junior high, one very cold P.E. class, we were told to dress out anyway. 35° wasn’t freezing, after all, was the coach’s reasoning. So, we dressed out and headed to the grassy field for kickball. Yeah, you guessed it. I got the bright red ball right up side my head and the nearly freezing temperature magnified the pain. I hated P.E.
The mayhaws hit me in the head yesterday, as I gathered them from the blue tarps. I like mayhaw season a whole lot better. Two gallons of berries netted juice in the freezer. Mayhaw jelly, mayhaw syrup for tea or homemade soda or mayhaw ice cream. Yes, yes, way better. Peh-tunt, peh-tunt….
Earlier in the year I put up mayhaws in quart size freezer bags, for later jelly making. Today, I thought, would be the day to fill the jelly cupboard. Well…
I have been extremely tired, TIREDall week. It’s Saturday and the bed was really comfortable. Marigold needed to go out at 6 this morning, but I went back to bed. Just A few minutes more of sleep, I told myself. Didn’t get up till a quarter to 9. I never sleep that late. Guess I needed the extra rest.
The usual big farmhouse breakfast was skipped this morning. Marigold missed her Saturday bacon.
Anyway, I gathered supplies to make the jelly, placed the berries in the Dutch oven to cook down. Being tired, I had trouble staying focused. Multitasking is usually my strong suit, but I got distracted and the berries burned, stuck to the pot burned. Cue the sad music.
Cue the sad music.
Sad for a minute, all was not lost. Juice in the freezer was put in a freshly cleaned Dutch oven and I started over. And now my jelly cupboard runneth over.
If you’ve read theexileskitchen the last few years, you probably know that I am a fan of Mayhaws. I was thrilled to find the remains of an archord on the small piece of property I bought back in 2016 and really excited that it contained two Mayhaw trees. Each Spring when they begin budding and then setting fruit, I get super jazzed about the upcoming jelly making days. Mayhaw jelly is such a pretty pink, with a flavor of strawberry/apple.
Doing some research today, for other Mayhaw recipes, didn’t net much success. I did, however, find the nutritional information on this tiny red fruit.
You can Google Mayhaw facts for yourself; LSU Agricultural Department has great information on this fruit tree found in our native Southern states.
After I have a years worth of jelly in the pantry, I will put up jars of juice for teas and Lemon/Mayhawade. For my supper beverage this evening, I mixed into my sweetened iced tea 2 tablespoons of mayhaw juice. It was a refreshing berry-tasting tea.
Sorry this video is sideways. I cant figure out how to edit it. Check local farmer’s markets for Mayhaws this time of year. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to snag this superfood.
It’s my birthday today so, I declared it a holiday and took the day off from work. Marigold was happy; she got an extra day in the country.
Walking around my property, netted a huge mixed bouquet of blooms. To the left of my farmhouse there are four rows of a camellia specimen garden. No two are exactly alike. I do not know their names and wish someone who could identify them would come and do so. The solid, medium-sized white ones are my favorite.
The bulbs that we’re planted last October are all up and blooming. I was surprised to see that, down by the lower, ground-sweeping limbs, the Pride of Mobile azaleas are beginning to bud and bloom.
This solid red camellia was high above my head and I could not get to it. I tried not to give it the fox’s perspective and call it sour grapes. The picture doesn’t do it justice. So, I left it for the bees and the birds to admire.
All the blooms were brought into the kitchen, trimmed and placed in an antique pedestal bowl.
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Spring Violets are in drifts all over the field, across from my farmhouse.
I discovered more wild huckleberry plants, also in full bloom, under the canopy of oaks and magnolias.
In the remains of the old orchard, one of the Mayhaw trees was abuzz with honey bees. Come one jelly making season.
I’m an easy person to please. My nephew asked me, “You’re not doing anything for your birthday?”
My answer: “Oh, yeah, baby. I’m enjoying the solitude.”
Just give me a sweet breeze through the trees, lots of flowers to gather, the songs of birds and the sunshine. That’s all the birthday present I need.

Today was the first time I’ve made jelly in the Exile’s New Kitchen. Mayhaw Jelly: such a sweet, rosey red. I taste tested with a wheat cracker. Yum!

Confession time…
I’ve got a thing for canning jars. I didn’t need any new jelly jars, but I saw these small, squatty, wide mouth made by Kerr and thought, ‘Oh, why not?’ Plus, a straight-sided, wide mouth jar will make it easier to scrape out every bit of Mayhaw jelly.

Mayhaw Jelly, April 2018, from the Jam Pot at Flowers Proper.
My recipe for Mayhaw Jelly can be found from last year’s post And Then The Murders Began.
Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.
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