No question about it, fall is my favorite time of the year and I am addicted to canning. I think I’ve become known as the place to offload end of season produce. One friend had two final boxes of tomatoes and another had a big bag of peppers and somehow they both landed on my doorstep. Given my first small batch of salsa turned out so well, I figured I’d make a little more. One box of the tomatoes was more than enough to produce 8 pints of salsa so the second box of tomatoes made its way down to another friend’s front porch. I think this was the fourth time I put away the canning equipment which made me think of “groundhog day!”
Also, and for the third go-around, I went back to clearing out my overgrown perennial bed but had help from a young strong teenager which was just what I needed to finish the job. I never thought I would say this but I am thinking about turning it back to grass so it’s not such a seasonal burden; another one of those concessions to aging or just changing priorities. In addition, a friend came by with the right tools to trim back numerous overgrown shrubs that had also been neglected this year. After five hours toiling away on a beautiful fall day, I called it quits for the season. Several gin and tonics later I was feeling no pain but am waiting to see how my body feels tomorrow after all that bending. Needless to say, I laid low the next day listening to my annual health related online continuing education and reading because there are always more books to review.
I am now focused on preparing for our fall transition from South Dakota lake life to Arizona mountain life. I have about a dozen tasks on my list and twelve days until we hit the road so I should be in good shape by the time we pull out of the driveway following my eighth splendid summer season of “coming home.”