Reflections

 Several weeks ago, I visited my brother in the Northeast Kingdom and we took our kids out on the Clyde River. It was warm enough for T-shirts and the sun reflected the full-color foliage onto the water. We quietly floated along, hoping to see deer, not needing to paddle as the current carried our boats downstream. Peace.

The Year of the Cucumber

Last week we picked more cucumbers. This wouldn't be a big deal except ... it's October. Kevin's hide-the-stump raised bed of cucumbers brought forth an amazing number of cukes this year. For once we had more than we could eat, and we canned some pickles. I love cucumbers and have always scoffed at pickles - I'd rather eat them fresh. But, this year my sister Mary came over and walked Kevin and I though the pickling basics, guided by mom's old recipes. We probably could have figured it out on our own, but I loved working on this project with Mary. It made me think about how well-worn recipes are a passport through time. In time I might forget this year's abundance of cucumbers, but the recipes help the remembering.

Tomatoes

A good pick.

We had a good year for tomatoes. That's probably partly due to the fact that we planted two dozen plants, and got them in relatively early. Sunny weather helped, too. Many gardeneres I talked to struggled with their tomatoes, this year, though, so I'm not sure why we got lucky. But I'm not questioning it. There's nothing better than fresh tomato sandwiches and I ate them all summer, often with basil leaves for lettuce. We had far too many cherry tomatoes and gave away as many as we could. I skipped the salsa this year and canned tomato sauce. When January rolls around, I hope I can call up the smell-memory of these plants and let it carry me through to another spring.

Butterfly Visit

I noticed this visitor yesterday as I was picking a bouquet ...