We arrived home from the fair grounds at dusk tonight, exhausted from the heat and the day. The evening chores will have to be abbreviated, and I fought every impulse to just blow them off. It is still 89 degrees with a feels like temp of 95.
I relent, I begin that twilight walk in the garden. Everything is looking wonderful despite the day, but then I see our new little seedlings, and decide they need to have a little drink. I take a deep breath, listen to the locusts and water the starts. Then, since my mind rarely stops cranking, I suddenly remember that I haven't picked berries today! A near panic strikes me as I weigh running out there to get it done, racing against the light. It has been so hot, and the last thing I want to see is the vine slow down, because I couldn't make it out there. The berries, once ripe, need to picked right away or they will dry out. I turn off the hose and head over to pick the berries.
It would be a shame for me to allow a passing day this time of year so that the fruits just wither and return to the earth. I'll remember this come January when it's snowing outside and we are enjoying blackberry cobbler and smearing boysenberry jelly on our morning toast. As the last light slips away I realize that this is exactly what harvest is. Pressing on regardless of the day, to complete the daily harvest so that our family may enjoy the food that we have worked so hard for now and in the months ahead.
It's a wonderful feeling when you're enjoying your daily harvest. Makes all the planting effort and caring worth it.
ReplyDelete