Eating the Seasons

 With all kinds of food being widely available in grocery stories at all times of the year, eating what's in season is less necessary now than it has ever been in the history of the world.

Regardless, even though life doesn't demand it, it is still especially pleasant (and often, cheaper) to choose the foods that are in season.

And so, we have been savoring some of the most scrumptious tastes of summer: crisp cucumber slices, juicy tomatoes full of flavor, basil freshly picked, and sweet cherries that are better than any candy.

And when they're garden-grown, even better!

Simple Pleasures

A cloudy, refreshingly-cooler-than-it-has-been-recently Sunday brought a fun walk around the block with my youngest (and halfway around the block, my oldest caught up to us and joined the fun!)...

...and later, Moriah joined us for another trip around the block, but I didn't take any pictures that time.

As we returned from our walk, I noticed the vibrancy and beauty of the flowers that have popped up in our front flower bed.

I'm not even sure how they got there!

But I am grateful for them--and for all of the simple pleasures this day (and all of life) bring.

The Grape Harvest (with a New Helper)

While we were away on vacation, we wondered a little about what was happening to our grapes: were they ripening too fast? were any critters bothering them? would there be any left when we got home so we could harvest them?  Ever since the year our grapes disappeared, we've been on pins and needles until the grape harvest is completed, since now we know firsthand the truth of the saying, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch," as it applies to grapes!

We were relieved to discover, when we returned home, that our grapes were just fine; and I knew that one of the first tasks of that settling-in week would be harvesting and preserving the grapes.  Monday morning--Labor Day--we began.

For the first time this year...

 ...we had a new helper.

 He just happened to come along right when we needed assistance...

 ...and his efforts made the beginning of the project speed along.

And who is the mystery man?

 Kevin, the Painter!  He laid down his brush and picked up some scissors and, accompanied by his faithful sidekick Tobin, took the first shift of grape-picking.  Many hands make light work, and we were grateful for the unexpected help!

With those grapes, we made enough filling for 23 pies; and it was a delight to pop the containers of prepared grapes into the freezer, knowing how good it will taste in the future when we make those pies!

There were still more grapes on the vine, but I needed to be gone some on Tuesday morning, so I gave instructions to the four oldest boys to pick what they could.  Remembering the general grumpiness that had accompanied the picking last year, I wasn't at all sure how it would go, but was thrilled when I got home and discovered that they had had a great time together.  They got a lot done, they had fun doing it, and my heart rejoiced.

 Benjamin was crazy about these grapes; and in the days leading up to this harvest, every time he was outside, he would head towards the grapevine and wait for someone to pick some and give them to him.  He ate so many of them!

Content with grapes for 23 pies, I decided to use the grapes the boys picked on this day to make juice, so by the end of the day, I had nine half-gallons of good, sweet juice canned and ready for the cellar.

There were still a few clusters of grapes left on the vine, but they were high and hard to reach.  I intended for either Josiah or I to climb up and try to get them the next day, but as it turned out, it was a rainy day and not suitable for climbing around on ladders.  And then after that, my attention turned to other things, so I never did get back to that task--an inadvertent following of Deuteronomy 24:21 perhaps!  ;-)

Late Nights in the Kitchen

And so it begins, this season of harvesting and "puttin' up" food for the coming year.

I suppose, to be strictly accurate, tonight wasn't the first night of this for 2017, since I did have a strawberry-jam-making session a couple of weeks ago.  But this was the first night that I took produce, grown on our land, picked by Jeff and the kids under the hot sun, and shelled mostly by the kids this afternoon while listening to Adventures in Odyssey episodes, and prepared it for the freezer, staying up late to accomplish it.

I don't know what unwritten law of the universe demands that canning and freezing projects be finished in the wee hours of the morning, but for whatever reason, I never can seem to finish at a reasonable hour!  And so I stay up, not really a hardship for my night-owl nature, enjoying the cool air flowing in the open window, relishing the peace and quiet, listening to music on my Kindle (my choice of music this evening was my country station on Pandora which features songs by Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Sara Evans, the Dixie Chicks, and similar artists...it never fails to bring back a rush of memories--and make me feel a little old, too!), working busily with my hands to prepare food for the freezer or the cellar, while my mind whirls with thoughts, dreams, plans, and prayers.

The older I get, the more the year seems to revolve, not just around the official 12-month calendar system, but by other markers--the birthdays in our family, for example, or the special activities that pop up at the same time each year.  The measurement I'm most in tune with tonight is the food we grow, prepare, eat, and preserve.  The various foods arrive with regularity, and as we circle around the sun over the course of the year, we also circle through featured foods.

This may be the month of June, but it could also be known as the season of peas!

Reckless Gardening for the Win

I remember my mother always being such a careful gardener.

I have inherited many traits from her, but that is one I somehow missed altogether!!  ;-)  

My mother listened to radio shows with gardening experts.  She read newspaper columns about gardening.  She had quite a few books about gardening--and what's more, she regularly consulted those books and learned what was the best way to do whatever she was wanting to do in the garden.

I, on the other hand?  Well, I might do a quick search on the internet to find out some info, and then I dive right in, with or without any expert knowledge being applied to the situation (usually without!).  Sometimes, my efforts flop.  

Oh, but sometimes, they succeed.  :)

Take these tulips, for instance.  Now there's nothing too finicky about tulips; but the bulbs I bought were clearly labeled on the package, in big letters no less, that they were to be planted in the fall.

Well, I never got around to it.

But on February 7, I spotted those bulbs and thought, "WHY NOT?"  So into the ground they went.

And then...

...they grew.

And bloomed.

And filled an otherwise bare corner with glorious springtime beauty.

These pictures were taken as they were just beginning to bloom.  It was even more magnificent when they had all burst open.  But just as I wasn't too careful in the planting of them, neither was I too careful in the photographing of them, so I missed the height of their glory.

Missed it photographically, that is.  In real life, I sure saw it.  :)

Sometimes, even when I can't get my act together to do things exactly right, they still turn out just fine.

What a relief!  :)

Farmer Boy, Fisher Style

Jeff didn't get passionate about gardening until...what?...his late 30's or so? (and wow, am I ever glad he did, because his efforts have yielded a HUGE amount of delicious, nutritious food for our family!!); but this third son of ours has been enthusiastic about all things outdoors since infancy, it seems.

 And now, when Jeff has a day off and heads out to the garden to work, he has a little shadow named Tobin.

 While Jeff runs the tiller, Tobin follows behind, sometimes literally stepping in Jeff's footsteps.

 It makes me smile to see him walk this way.  :)

 This morning as I watched, Tobin scooped down and picked up a handful of dirt...

 ...including, as I learned when I walked closer, an earthworm.  :)

 Worms are our friends.  :)

 I find much enjoyment from watching this boy of ours grow up into the man God created him to be.

And whatever else that man will do, I hope he gets at least a little piece of ground (and maybe a big one!) to use in following in the footsteps, not only of his earthly daddy who loves to garden and has experimented with having various animals, but his heavenly one, too, who created this great big marvelous world and all the astounding creatures in it!!

My Beauty Picks Beauty

Ever since the spring of 2012, when Moriah came into the world, she redefined beauty for me; and in my eyes, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  To me, she is beauty--but not only that.  She also finds, creates, appreciates, and shares beauty.

Today, that all happened in my front flowerbed.  :)

 For a few days, Moriah has been eyeing the tiny little purple crocus blossoms that have peeked out; but since there are so few of them, I had asked her to not pick them but instead wait until the daffodils started to bloom, since we have an abundance of them and her picking some wouldn't strip all the color from that flowerbed.

 Well, they started to bloom.  :)

 And Moriah, after asking permission, got to work.  :)

 I got a vase for her, showed her how to cut the stalks low to the ground so they would be tall enough to fit nicely in the vase, and suggested that she include some leaves as well as the flowers...and then I let her have at it.

 After she filled one vase, she asked for another.

 After she filled that one, she wasn't done yet.

So I got a jar from the cellar and told her she could put a bouquet in that to take to our dear neighbor, Barbara.  :)

 The daffodils, with their captured sunshine and cheerful promise of warmer days ahead, are lovely.

 She is lovelier still.

To me, she always will be.