It's all about the pickle

Photo courtesy PBS.org

1. My treasure today is a half-bushel of pickling cucumbers from Ikenberry's. They came tightly packed in a clean, white box, fresh from a local farm.
2. My canning book has margin notes that I've made over the years. I see that I bought a half-bushel of cukes in 1997 for $12. Today they cost $16. My notes also tell me how many quarts and pints a half-bushel yielded in 2005.
3. I notice Steve in the garden, picking dill. I think he's excited about having hot dill pickles this winter.

Hot Dill Pickles

In each jar place:
1 clove garlic
2 heads dill
1 piece of hot red chili pepper
1 Tablespoon canning salt
Boil:
3 quarts water
1 quart vinegar

Pack pickles into hot, sterile jars. pour boiling brine over pickles, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
You may leave out the hot pepper, if desired.

Reprieve, Snack time, Pink fun

1. Windows and doors are wide open today and a cool, northwest breeze ruffles the curtains.
2. We take our little friend into the garden. Cherry tomato juice drips down her chin and a fistful of wax beans is clutched in one hand.
3. I like slipping the skins off boiled beets.

I could easily eat five, Organizing can be addictive, By ones and twos we pull up a chair

1. Breadcraft is busy this morning and we see people we know coming and going. I order iced coffee and a delicious pastry. (Of which I cannot pronounce the name) As a treat for the family, I purchase four more pastries to take home, including a chocolate croissant.
2. Back to work on the basement with Tess. We've accumulated three large garbage bags to throw away, a huge pile for Goodwill and a much neater storage area.
3. It's finally bearable to sit outside at dusk. The balmy breeze isn't exactly refreshing, but it's nice to feel it stroking our skin. Our voices sound hushed in the night.

On being productive, There must be a lot of bugs to eat here, What we don't see

1. What to do when it's too hot outside? Clean the basement! The "three pile" rule definitely helps: give away, throw away, keep.
2. The barn swallows have tripled in numbers and they perform multiple aerobatic groups simultaneously. When at rest, they all line up on the power lines.
3. A flower within a flower goes unnoticed unless we look closer. There are so many mysteries hiding out there...

A day on the lake

1. It was a quiet, little cove where we could swim away from lake traffic. The water was a beautiful, emerald green

2. It makes me happy to see the kids happy.

3. She waited all day for the chance to drive. It's nice when we have the ability to make someone's wish come true.

Harvest, After the rains, Touching far away oceans

1. Our little garden is in full production now. We have three kinds of tomatoes, wax and green beans, lettuce, scallions, and red and gold beets. The dill and herbs are just going wild. I'll need to find someone selling pickling cukes so I can make some dill pickles.
2. The morning was cool enough for reading on the porch.
3. Claire writes that she has put her hands in the Arctic Ocean. As a youngster, she always dreamed of traveling. I'm really glad she can fulfill these dreams.

Leisure by W.H. Davies

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.