Provisioning

Summer is a special time for me. This is when all my thoughts turn to provisioning my household for the rest of the year. I guess this is "putting food by" as they used to say. Not only food though, we are thinking also about our fuel, which is wood, and takes all year to acquire, cut, split, and stack so we have what we need to be cosy in the colder seasons.

When others are taking summer vacations and going to the beach, I'm drawn to my garden and orchard to pick, dig and care for the cornucopia of food growing there. Also, foraging is a fun activity too. In our neighborhood, there's a lot of free food for the taking. Yesterday I picked a few PINTS of blackberries from the edge of a field just a half a mile from my house. We have our own wild blackberries too. The brambles are mixed in among the woodland edge plants surrounding one of our vegetable gardens. I can't resist going to pick down the street as well. That way I know I will have enough for eating now and preserving for later. Jam and fruit sauces are a lovely way of keeping a little summer in reserve for winter. I also freeze our fruits to mix into smoothies or to make pies. Frozen berries are scrumptious sprinkled over ice cream, cereal, yogurt or popped right into your mouth like little icy jewels.

The season starts for me with our early rhubarb and strawberries. Then, in rapid-fire succession, come blueberries, currants, gooseberries,and blackberries. Nature arranges it so well and conveniently. These berries progress in a methodical fashion so harvesting is manageable. Occasionally, a bit of traffic jam happens when the berries overlap. That is happening now because my everbearing strawberries are having their second flush of producing fruit and I have to go between the blackberries and the strawberries to get them harvested.

Coming along now, too, are the tree fruits. We've picked the peaches. There weren't many this year as the trees are too young. Apples are ripening and the harvest looks to be good. We've surrounded our best trees with wire fencing to keep the deer away. Last year one tree was stripped of apples overnight. That can be a heartbreaker.

I do love going to the beach, or hiking, biking and other summer activities with friends or solo. I look forward to Tanglewood with enthusiasm every year. It just isn't summer if I don't get there for the music a few times. But I do not want to go away much - especially for overnights. My garden is my place. I go to the garden to find food. I go to the garden to find peace.