Apples and plums and tomatoes, oh my.  It is the month of the harvest here on the farm, and despite the anxiety it causes in me (MUST GET EVERYTHING DONE) there is a certain joy to plonking down in the kitchen and processing food all weekend long.

My middle daughter loves it. She sites beside me and is responsible for “chopping”  We make jams and jellies, and pickle to our hearts content.

But while we work we also talk.  She tells me about her friends and her school. Talks about her interests and the latest book she read.  She says how she wants to write all these recipes down so she can remember them when she is a grown up.

She asks what I used to do when I was a little girl? And did I help my mom as well?  She wants to know the first time I made this recipe, or that one, and hear the story of the event.

She never tires of this productive time. She is always ready to do another box, or prep more jars.  She tells me these are her best days yet.

And so, next spring I will plant more tomatoes, and peppers and squash and I will prepare myself for the weeks it takes to get through all the canning and pickling and processing. But most importantly I will hope that my little girl is still sitting beside me, eager to pitch in and talk about all the things that matter in her life.

And each time I open a jar of peaches in the coming months, I will be reminded of one of the stories she told me, and her company beside, and the joys of harvesting our garden.