Morning

65°f this morning, mostly clear.

The big poplar is losing its leaves now. Poor tree is so stressed,  but it is not alone. All our poplars are doing the same.

Is there anything more pleasant than having coffee on the porch on a cool mountain morning? I am enjoying the light breeze, the squirrel scolding in a nearby tree, the hummingbirds zooming from feeder to feeder, and the many insect sounds of a late summer day. The gardens are dappled in shade, droplets glistening from this morning's watering. Perfection.

I will be busy soon enough. Larry is picking the white peaches right now, our first crop from a young tree that has outdone itself despite the drought. Soon I will be in the kitchen getting them put up. But for now, I can enjoy a little time on the porch, catching up with your blogs.

I spent yesterday pricing things for our booths, and canning beans. Not green beans, but pork 'n beans and refried beans given to us at one of the food giveaways. These were in gallon cans, and there is no way we can eat a gallon of beans before they would spoil. 

The pork 'n beans were actually vegetarian beans, and absolutely tasteless. So I doctored them up, adding ham, molasses,  my homemade hot sauce,  and salt. They were delicious by the time I finished with them. I jarred them up and pressure canned them. The refried beans were also pretty tasteless but I will fix them up when we use them. I pressure canned them too, and ended up with 17 pints altogether. 

In August, it is not unusual for us to be canning or freezing something almost daily. After the peaches, there will be more apples to process, the potatoes will need to be dug and stored, and the late corn will soon be ready. No rest for the wicked! But we will eat well this winter.

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