Harvest

I reach a point in September when I am all finished with the yard and am grateful that I live in a place with four distinct seasons.

I love hoeing, pulling weeds, mowing the lawn and trimming all of the hedges and creating tidy edges in the yard, but I cannot stand harvest! In July when I am tired of picking yet another raspberry, I stop, and leave the rest for the birds or invite neighbours to pick them. Through the years, I’ve made countless preserves and put beans and corn “down”, but not anymore. We eat as much as we can, fresh and I hope that something won’t overgrow and exceed our need for it. We usually have carrots, potatoes, onions and beets for most of the year, squash for about 6 months, corn for September, pumpkins for carving and sunflowers for beauty. (Truth be told, I will grow any kind of squash or pumpkin just for the wonderful ground cover it offers.)  

After twenty-four years of gardening, I have come to the conclusion, that because I love the process of life more than a finished product, I may never like harvest. I’m thankful that my husband likes to finish a job, and so today on his day off, he spends it in the garden, picking and hauling, storing and a little munching.

Me? I’m writing…

~ Ellyn