Thanks to all the information and recipes from Sister Brenda, I was able to make some jelly.  

It's a funny story actually.   Sister Brenda had been posting about her Chokecherry jelly, so I had asked her what Chokecherries were.  They next day, she sent me a detailed email, with photos and everything, about Chokecherries. 

Coincidentally, Shawn had come in the evening before with a stem from a tree, with some berries. He had told me that one of the town elders, who had visited a few weeks before ( he had actually owned this property many years ago) had shown him the trees.  Shawn said "Can you post this on one of your websites to see what this is?  Mr. D. said it is some type of cranberry"

So, you all have one guess what the photos that Sister Brenda had sent me looked like!  My "cranberry" was a Chokecherry.  And I have millions of them! There are dozens of trees full of them all over the property.

I sent Gavin out picking, and he did a great job!  2/3 of a half-bushel basket in just a short time. 

Sister Brenda sent me another email, full of photos and a recipe, and I was all set.   It took a couple hours on Monday to strip all the berries off of the stems, but after that, the rest of the process was much quicker in comparison.

I cooked down the berries into juice: (isn't that color great?)

Then using Sister Brenda's recipe, I had jelly in no time!

We had it on toast this morning.  It's really quite yummy!!!  Shawn doesn't like things really sweet, so I might adjust it a bit with the next batch-- I've still got enough juice for 2 more batches, and many more berries I can pick- so, I can play a lot!

I think I'll post at another time about the Chokecherries.  The story behind this native North American plant fascinates me, and I'm so surprised I haven't heard of it until now! 

Tomorrow I'll make more jelly, some pickles, and can some beets.

Enjoy your today!
Annette