Monday our family went to my father and mother-in-law's to help with the bumper crop garden they have this year. Life in their cabin that lies "under the mountain" is still the true country life.
The day was spent with part of us around the table silking and cutting corn from the cob and the rest of the family picking beans and berries and doing other chores. My children always settle in and enjoy the table talk with the adults while we all do our varied chores. Some silking, some cutting, some stirring the corn as it heats on the stove. One got his first lesson on how to use a knife while cutting and scraping the corn.
As afternoon came the sun disappeared and a wonderful thunderstorm came over the mountain. The children got to take a break as the dog tried to dive in the house when a huge clap of thunder shook the house. It was a wonderful, full-throttle summer storm.
I loved watching the change as the outside darkened and the lights in the house took on the warm glow against the gray sky outside. Storms always call for a hot cup of coffee and a rocker or porch swing on the back porch that runs all the way across the upper floor of their cabin. The rain pelts against the leaves of the huge trees behind their house. It's steady sound makes a drowsy quiet steal over us.
Evening came and with it a huge garden supper. Fried squash, sliced veggies, corn bread, barbequed ribs, and fresh corn on the cob--of course!
We headed home with the van loaded with five gallon buckets overrunning with beans, a gallon of fresh picked blackberries, two big boxes of peaches we'd bought at the local fruit market, and several boxes of canned pickles, beans and other goodies.
Now my work began at home. The children and I spent the better part of the next day snapping beans, talking and listening to tapes. Again, we were treated with that afternoon thunderstorm that cooled us off and gave us an excuse to take a break. The canner made it's jiggling noise in the kitchen. Peach jam showed up by evening on my cabinets. The house smelled like late summer with its mix of beans in the canner, pinto beans cooking in the crock pot and peaches.
Today I'm seeing the end of the road. I have just a few more jars of peach jam to make, just a few more bags to put in the freezer and of course, I'll leave just enough in the fridge so we have two big peach pies for Sunday dinner.
It's been a good week. I love that bone tired feeling of looking forward to a warm bed as you view all the bounty sitting on the table, the countertops and the floor in the kitchen. What a reward for a weeks work!
Tags: Gardening Summer
