the harvest

My heart is happy.

I never really understood that little phrase until I "grew up." Today, though, I keep looking around at things that really, truly do make my heart happy.

It started last year when I decided to become a little more domestic and attempt a garden. Some things grew - almost 50 perfectly perfect pumpkins, lots of tomatoes.

Some things didn't- 5 rows of corn, all afflicted with "corn smut."
An accidental planting of the hottest peppers on the chart (don't remember the name) also resulted in an accidental eating of the hottest peppers by a then 1-year-old. The gophers liked my garden as much as I did and the sunflowers created the perfect backdrop for my entire backyard.

On a whim -call it a horticulture high- I even attempted canning. My shelves made room for peaches and salsa. So good. And, SO much easier than I expected.

Harvest.

It is here again. I love it. This year's garden has done well. Few pumpkins, better corn. Heaven reaching sun flowers and green beans that will be pureed into baby food. The gophers found the neighbor's garden instead of mine. I planted, what I call my "salsa box." Everything is ready to be chopped, diced and sliced. The cilantro didn't grow (if anyone knows how to grow cilantro, I would love some tips) and the peppers have cross pollinated into a new breed, but who cares? They grew, and will be mixed up into jar after jar of homemade goodness.


Can I just tell you how happy I am that "organic" is in? Organic is an excuse to not have to buy pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic is an excuse for the rampant weeds that I have officially declared a truce with. Organic means that our corn may not be big & plump, but I can be proud serving my children "all natural" produce.

We went to the fruit orchards owned by our church. After picking for others, we were able to pick peaches for ourselves. The butterflies in my stomach are all a-flutter thinking of making my mom's peach pie, ok- maybe the excitement is more about eating the pie than making it- but yum-oh.

Saturday, I spent the entire morning at my in-laws taking these:



Off of these:



Then, I spent the entire afternoon doing this:




Sunday, I let the kids mash up all of these berries and added untold amounts of sugar to make freezer jam.



Today is peaches. Later this week will be the salsa.
I love it. Love it all. Hmmmm.....except maybe that one pesky problem.....



Remember the zucchini I mentioned a few weeks ago? It is still quite the prolific producer. How about a "My zucchini is bigger than your zucchini" contest? Details to come, and definitely a great prize. If you have zucchini in a garden- or maybe grandma's garden- let one of the little buggers just keep on growing. Measure it & take a photo to document it. Oooohhhh.....I am getting excited. This could be quite funny....I mean fun.



If you aren't excited for summer's end, lets indulge a little, shall we? Crunchy leaves. Hot fresh peach cobbler with ice cream on top and pumpkin rolls. Cool nights and caramel apples. The unmatchable smell of fall. It is in the air and I love it. Oh yes, most definitely on this Thankful Monday, my heart is ever so happy.



What are you thankful for today?