Summer Fruit (and veggies!)

Yay! I love summer fruit.

Watermelon.
Cantaloupe.
Peaches.
Plums.

And veggies!

Yellow Squash.
Zucchini.
Green beans.
Beets.

Some of it must be eaten immediately. But others will save.

Today Mom and I are canning green beans from our garden. I love it, but...there's just one draw back. I have but a week left before school, and hang it all, I'm going to miss harvest! My most favorite part of summer comes right at the end, when my family has the chance to put up everything from sweet corn to peach, cherry, or sand-hill-plum jam.

I think I love putting up food because I have fond memories of doing it with my sweet Grandma. But there are more reasons than that to love it! There is the pleasure of working together; the good company and good conversation; the sense of accomplishment. Something is satisfied inside when a batch of cinnamon pickles comes out of the caner, lids popping as they cool. Something says, ahh inside. It's the same ahh one feels when one comes in from hard work in the snow to the smell of stew and fresh bread. C-A-N-N-I-N-G (and f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g) spell Home.