August is a busy month and it’s the kind of busyness that I love. After all the planting, nurturing, fertilizing, weeding, and protecting, the garden now gives me ample rewards. Harvest time and canning time kick into high gear now. I love to can. I did not grow up canning food. I don’t remember my mother canning much when I was a child. I remember some attempts at pickles and green beans when I was a teenager, but we weren’t big canners. Stacey did grow up in a canning family and my canning education really began with her. The first batch of strawberry jam I ever made was under her direction. When we got married, we received a duplicate wedding gift, a set of dishes, that we returned and exchanged for a canner. All our married life we have gardened and canned. I love canning produce.
Over the years, I’ve kind of taken over the canning in the family. I’ve learned as I've gained experience. I’ve made mistakes – many batches of jelly that did not set, jars that didn’t seal properly and exploded or got moldy – but I think I’ve settled into my groove now. After tossing old jars of things my family doesn’t like, I only can what we like now. That’s pretty much just applesauce, tomato sauce, salsa, relish, jelly, jam, and grape juice. I don’t do pickles anymore because our friend Stan, who gives us pickles in exchange for the dill I grow for him, makes much better pickles than any I’ve ever made. I also have limited my jellies and jams to the ones I know my family will eat. No more aronia berry or apple/mint or apple/pepper jelly – just raspberry, elderberry, and grape jelly and strawberry and peach jam. In addition to canning, we also freeze pumpkin puree, green beans, and chard. Producing my own food is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. To look at well stocked shelves and think on how I’ve been involved in every step of the process is very satisfying to me.
On Monday I canned relish. The smell of cooking relish is sharp and spicy, a summer smell that fills the house. I made thirteen pints of it. I also picked, blanched, and froze a big batch of green beans. I picked wax beans too, but I saved them to have for dinner that night. I love wax beans, boiled until tender, buttered, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. On Tuesday I canned a batch of applesauce. On Thursday I canned another batch of relish and applesauce.
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| Canning relish. |
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| Snapping beans. |
On Wednesday we finished taking down the front porch. Josiah did the last demolition of the roof. The house looks strange without the porch – exposed, wounded. I don’t know when we’ll be able to build the new porch. I hope it won’t be long.
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| The house without a porch. |
We left on Thursday afternoon to go to the Foster’s house for the weekend. I took some produce from my garden – cabbages, beets, beans, and carrots, and couple dozen eggs – to share with the Fosters and the Thayns. We arrived in Toledo at 10:00, in time to go to bed.
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| The Foster's house. |
On Friday we spent most of the day lounging around, which was our plan for the whole weekend. We just wanted to be together. We played some games. We went to an Antique Mall and walked around to look at all the things for sale. The Thayns arrived that evening.
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| Playing games. |
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| At the Antique Mall. |
On Saturday, we only left the house to go on a walk at a park along the Maumee River. It was a lovely day and the park was very nice. On the way back to the house we stopped for ice cream. The rest of the day we spent playing games, eating good food, and enjoying being together. That evening we celebrated Sarah’s birthday and Hannah’s graduation.
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| Walking along the river. |
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| The Maumee River. |
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| The whole gang. |
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| More games. |
Sarah and Tosh have six hens that were the center of a lot of attention all weekend. They are very tame. Hazel and June loved feeding them treats – raisins that the hens ate right from their hands.
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| June giving the hens a treat. |
As with all our family gatherings, there was excellent food. Sarah made enchiladas for dinner one night. And for another meal she grilled sourdough that we spread with pesto, and we had hot dogs and hamburgers. We ate several excellent watermelons. We consumed quantities of sourdough toast at breakfast. Tosh grilled some amazing steaks for us. We ate fresh corn on the cob. Rachel made a peach dessert. It was all so good.
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| Sarah grilling sourdough - so delicious! |
On Sunday we had church in the Foster’s home. After church we played more games, ate a great meal, and then it was time to come home. On our way home we stopped in Kirtland, Ohio. The visitor’s center was closed, but we walked around the grounds to stretch our legs. The drive between our house and the Foster’s takes six hours and Kirtland is a good place to stop and stretch. After we left Kirtland and headed into New York, we encountered a little rain. Just before Salamanca, there was a beautiful rainbow that lasted for almost half an hour. We arrived home at 8:30, unpacked, and went to bed.
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| In Kirtland. |
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| In Kirtland. |
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| On the way home. |
So we are home again. I took a walk around the garden this morning at first light and everything looks good. Kurt and Julie took care of the chickens and watering my plants while we were gone and I appreciate that. It feels like a Monday after a fun weekend – kind of subdued and a bit sad. I’m already wondering when will be the next time we will be together again.
It rained a little during the night, which is a blessing. It has been so dry this summer. The lawn has gone dormant and turned brown. It was nice to take my morning walk in a world still wet from the rain. A little later, when things dry out a bit, I will go out and do some work. There are beans and apples to pick. There are weeds to pull. And the summer rolls on.
