My phone showed me memories from each year I've been using the google photos app and sure enough each year we are preserving garden produce. I have pictures of the older kids also cutting beans. Year by year August is full of harvesting! I'm thankful for gardeners and farmers who allow me to keep teaching my children the confidence of self-reliance and completing big jobs!! There is a lot of work involved in growing, picking, and then preserving food for the coming year but with the effort comes the assurance of satisfaction and having enough, also that you can take care of your needs.
That is not to say that anyone is especially excited to pick and preserve or pull weeds but they have come to accept the season and find joy in parts. Movies while snapping, rewards for work, lots of tasty eating both while picking and later, and added bonus this year spending time with cousins while picking. The same cousin, Natalie, happily serenaded us for hours she's a cutie. And her gracious parents picked a lot of beans for us. Mr. Merle Man limited my ability this year coupled with a nasty case of mastits this canning weak was an effort of sheer will.
Lovely early tomatoes from a most generous friend. We blended them and made pots of sauce. Oh the smell is divine.
And work almost complete. Now to wash, label, and place on the waiting shelves.
Reeds first harvest of corn to our house. Ambrosia deliciousness. Planted by hand, weeded and watered by the same hands. Picked, shucked and devoured by more hands. Summer is a delight, we ocupled this with fresh picked zuchinni, farm raised steak and some melons. Food doesn't get much more real and tasty than that.
Food always taste better when you work for it. This today instead of just diving in the pivot had a flat tire that had to be fixed. My young crew has grown muscles, ability and agility and gamely fixed that tire in about half the time of previous years. It makes a difference to have more muscle.
While Greg and I advance in age and aches these younger ones also advance in strength and energy. It's a nice/hard balance. Greg did come in dirtiest of all so maybe he did most of it. But truly we are so thankful for the crew we call ours. They are truly the reason we are able to and chose to farm.
Another summer tradition caramel butter pecan ice cream. Yum when it's hot and the day has been long nothing is better before bed.
So our summer rolls on the same and different as before. We are thankful for the blessings that are ours and thankful to continue learning and instilling simple traditions into this eternal circle called family life. With buckets and buckets of ice cream, we are rich and life is good!
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