Well I guess instead of a food blog this should be a weather blog. Seems it is about all I chat about. It is Oregon so you know the weather is actually quite a interesting subject. But enough already..................... As you can see the living room windows are blurred once again looking out to the rain splattered street. Oh well it is absolutely wonderful today, so I rejoice.When I was blogging about our garden planting it reminded me of my childhood where the garden was the main event in spring. Our garden was big and it seemed every year it was expanded. Also we had a wild sprawling corn patch. It was fun to play hide and seek in that corn patch with my cousins.
Oh how I hated weeding the garden. I do not know how much I really helped as I worked rather slowly without enthusiasm. I disliked the sun beating down on my head, the dirt under my fingernails and the leaves made my arms itch. It was a hot miserable job as far as I was concerned. My Mother adored working in the garden she was always humming and smiling and worked hard. The best thing I gleaned from that experience was time spent with my Mother. But hey I would have rather been hanging upside from my limb in the side yard apple tree with my hair swinging and dangling almost sweeping the ground. Or I imagine I would have rather been spending time under the huge banana apple tree that sat in our side pasture. I would not even throw down a quilt I would just sprawl in the grass with my nose in a book. Well am I any different now? Well I do use a blanket now!
When the harvest started in the garden it was a busy time for Mom. The canner was always on the stove, whatever was harvested from the garden was being preserved for our winter food. That kitchen would be so hot. Mom would keep the windows and doors open and the fan going full speed. I can see her there now standing in front of that stove, sweat beaded on her forehead, he apron tied snugly around her waist stirring a huge pot of blackberry jam. When I make jam now I close my eyes and I am back once again in that kitchen.
The fruit tree's yielded plums, apples, peaches and cherries. Then there were the never ending berries. So on and on it went into late summer the preserving and freezing and canning it consumed my Mother's life.
Mother would store all those jars of beautiful vegetables and fruits such as pears in colors of red(cinnamon) green(mint) and white(regular) in neat rows on shelves at the back of the barn.
I remember so well always being asked to go to the barn and fetch this and that for dinner. Well there was no problem except that when it got into winter and the days drew dark sooner I would sometimes find myself walking that dark shadowy path up to the barn. There were bats and mice in that barn and I was always afraid so I would flip the light on and race as fast as my legs would take me to the back of the barn and quickly grab whatever was asked for in a flash.Then race back out of the barn heart pounding and slide the big door shut and then lean against it to catch my breath. And I would be so thankful that a bat had not darted toward me or that a mouse had ran in front of me. What a baby I was when I think of it now. Seems I was always afraid of something especially at night. I am not much better now though I hate to admit it. Why I wonder?
I will say it is much easier and less stressful working in our little garden these days. Besides seems hubby rather likes to weed the garden. Yahoo!
Well I must head out the door for my walk. Oh how I am going to enjoy it today the sun is blinding this morning. The sky is deep blue and all is quiet, no wind. This is a miracle day!
Have a good one.
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