August Abundance

Here at my house August means there’s seldom a spare moment. With veggies at their peak ripeness, if I’m not in the garden I’m in the kitchen. I have managed to put up 19 pints of pepper relish, 7 pints of sweet zucchini relish, 16 pints of hot sauce and 17 quarts of tomatoes in the past two weeks. We are eating well out of the garden so the grocery bill should be down this month! Talk about eating local! And what we don’t have in our garden we get from our nearby Amish friends Fanny and Sam.

I’ve had more energy lately and can’t help but think it’s because I’m eating so many highly nutritional fresh vegetables. Below is a photo of the basket of tomatoes I picked the other morning as well as the sweet relish I canned.

Speaking of Fanny, as we were heading to town the other day, she was pulling onto our road in her buggy on her way to our house. We told her to go on to the house and we turned around. In the back of the buggy was a box full of elderberries. Bless her heart for remembering that last year I had mentioned I would love to find some elderberries! I asked what she wanted for them and she said, “I was thinking $2.00”. What a bargain! After hulling them I had enough for two large pies and a full quart to freeze. What a treat! I thanked her profusely. It has been years since I had elderberry pie. Below, the box of berries, the pie filling steaming on the stove and the final product. (In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m really enjoying taking photos of food, lol!)

August is speeding along and on some nights one can feel fall in the air. Shadow has adjusted well to being here. In fact, he is so happy to be free from being confined to a chain that he trots beside me, at times wagging his tale and even getting a little frisky. He’s such a gentle soul. I tell him often how much I love him and what a good fellow he is. He’s even taken to becoming a little bit of a watch dog, especially when I am home alone. He is just the perfect dog for us, accompanying us around the property, waiting at the gardens edge while I pick veggies and by my side when I take a walk down the road. He is more inclined toward trusting women but fairly sociable with all, greeting everyone who comes by. I hope he lives a long and happy life with us as I know already I will miss his presence when he is gone.