As I was looking at
the few tomatoes on my kitchen table this morning, I couldn’t help but think
back about the bushels and bushels of tomatoes and peaches that my mom used to
bottle. She would spend hours peeling the
peaches and placing them in “Ball” brand bottles. She would make the syrup, pour over the
peaches and then seal them with “Kerr” lids.
I can still see the whole process today.
She had a grinder that
she would turn by hand that would separate the tomato peels and seeds and juice
them. I still have this gadget somewhere
in my garage. Anyway, I remember one
night when I was quite young and a thunder storm rolled through. It was lightening and she was making tomato
juice. She had a cutting board that was
built into the cupboard, so she could just pull it out. I remember sitting under that board
listening to the thunder and Mom hard at it working on the juice. For some reason, that is a comforting memory
for me. I felt safe and secure under
that cutting board at my mother’s feet, during that storm. She was always a hard worker. After she was done, it was always my job to haul the cooled fruit to the basement and put it on the shelves. The shelves got full and I'm sure Mom felt a great deal of satisfaction see the product of her work.
I have always loved
fall and the harvest that comes with it.
God has truly blessed this country with bounty. I hope we can continue to protect it and keep
it free!
