August 2, 2023
I awoke this morning to what
the weather network website called a “premature taste of fall”. I checked that
site out earlier because out of the window I face and can just see beside and
below the edges of my monitor, the world appeared to be grumpy and possibly
getting ready to cry.
Indeed, the forecast calls for
partly sunny this morning with the risk of a thunderstorms in the afternoon. I
am hoping to see that “partly sunny” portion soon. At the moment, though, there
are only clouds and a damp chill in the air. And yes, it is autumn cool outside,
only 66 degrees so far.
We are all now safely into the
month of August, and I am sending my sincere prayers and wishes to all of my friends
around the northern hemisphere that have been suffering in the heat extreme.
July 2023 has already been deemed the hottest month on record, and I hope
everyone gets to cool down in the days ahead. I also really hope that the above
stated new record stands for a long time.
Meanwhile here in the Ashbury
household, we have enjoyed the fruits of my husband’s labors twice now. Yes,
green beans have been growing, and eaten, and I am writing down the days we
harvest. They are very, very good! Every two weeks seems a good
guideline for going out and picking those beans. For those who don’t garden,
picking your beans regularly ensures new beans will grow. It only takes a bit
of work to wash, cut the stem ends, and partly cook them, then blanch and freeze
them. So, we will begin to build our inventory of frozen beans to enjoy in the
coming winter—one meal at a time.
That worked well last year,
and it promises to do so again this year. We also already have two bags of
sweet peaches and cream corn frozen under the same principle. And that’s a
lesson I’ve learned in the last year that I wanted to share with y’all.
I move slower and have less
stamina than I did. There was a time when I would “do all at once” the canning
or freezing of a fruit or a vegetable. That suited the life I lived then, being
a busy working wife/mother. Time was a commodity that was less plentiful than
the dollars in my hand. That meant I could go and buy a bushel of something and
in one day, process it.
Working this way: taking the
cobs of corn (freshly picked from a neighboring farm) not eaten at the dinner
table, stripping and then freezing them; picking a couple of servings of beans,
partly cooking, then freezing them. Working in smaller quantities and doing so
on a regular basis turns out well. At the end of the season, there may still be
a veggie or two I choose to spend a day working on. But I will have already accumulated
a good number of meals of veggies in the freezer.
I’m not letting my advancing
age define me, necessarily. But it seems rather pointless to bemoan all I
cannot now do, rather than to celebrate that which I can still accomplish. Reality
is reality; the difference between 30 and 34 in my physical capabilities and
energy levels was negligible. The difference between 65 and 69, however, is, as
some may say, a thing.
The tomato plants have several
large tomatoes formed and growing, and the plants themselves continue to be
exceedingly healthy. Since all of the water they have been getting for the last
month or so has been from rain, I am anticipating very juicy fruit this year.
The only sad thing in all this greenery? The Swiss chard that had been planted
in the midst of some of the tomato plants looks like it’s going to have to be
harvested soon or lost.
Mother Nature always has her
way. Whether in the jungles of deepest darkest South America, or our table
gardens right here in southern Ontario, Canada—the undergrowth will most likely be
choked out.
My writing continues to
proceed at a better pace than it has in a couple of years. This gives me great
hope. Yes, most of the challenges in this area of my life have been with me,
myself. I have no problem acknowledging the fact that recent world-wide events
have been a creativity buzz-kill. I have never denied being a woman who is more
emotional than can possibly be healthy. Of course, it can be argued that one
needs to be very into emotions if one is going to write stories about people
and relationships. And that’s really my milieu.
Life truly is five percent
what happens to us (what one could call “the facts”) and ninety-five percent
how we deal with it (what one could call “perceptions”). That said, it’s useful
to show people variations on how others see and deal with the elements that they
themselves may encounter in their life’s journey.
In my sixteen years as a
published author, I have spent a lot of time observing people with a view to
understanding why they do what they do.
Humans are endlessly
fascinating, and writing stories about them something I should be able to
continue to do, regardless of the number of candles that decorate my birthday cake.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
No comments:
Post a Comment