Blueberry Land

Little Bear's mother said, "Little Bear, eat all you can possibly hold!"

 ~ Blueberries for Sal :: Robert McCloskey 

August is the drop-everything, can-everything month. You can go from boredom and listlessness one moment, to complete overwhelm another.   That was yesterday, anyway.   We picked over half a bushel of slightly green apples Saturday night and I picked over a quart of blackberries yesterday.  The time was right for applesauce.  Now there are ten purple pints sitting on the counter, waiting to be put away.  In the midst of all that, there was a pie supper (apple and cheese-and-bacon), cucumbers, corn, tomatoes and blueberries.  

Just like that, the harvest comes rushing in like a sudden thunderstorm. There is still a lot more to do, of course, after this preview. There are those twenty pounds of seed potatoes I planted. The plants are beginning to die back, and so are the October beans with their speckled pods. The pumpkins are taking on an orange hue, and the tomatoes are hanging on the plants like bunches of giant grapes. The mosquitoes are out, too, and take their own harvest, despite our efforts with bug spray.  I guess I need a touch more citronella.

There is tomato sauce in my future, as they are starting to stack up on the windowsills and counters.  For now, though, I'm going to enjoy a little cool quiet and finish up my school plans.