Fall bounty
The Cove Journal by JoDee Samuelson
The garden is finally starting to wind down. No more fresh tomatoes, basil, cilantro, cucumbers… dare I say “whew”?
What about corn on the cob this year? This bicolored corn is the way to go. It doesn’t turn starchy if you leave it a day or two after picking. I ate my fill and don’t need to eat any more just now. When I was a child I wouldn’t believe it if you told me I’d get tired of corn on the cob.
Every apple tree in the countryside is full of apples. This morning I picked several hundred red crabapples with the intention of making pickled crabs. This is not easy, and in spite of my careful scoring the apples always split. I was raised in Alberta where the only apple trees were crabapple trees, so I grew up on pickled crabs spiced with cloves and cinnamon. The illustration shows my mother resting in her La-z-boy while I admire the pickles I prepared under her supervision.
Did anyone else have such a crop of blue plums? I’m having, well, not nightmares, but perhaps “neurotic” dreams about plum sauce, plum torte, plum jam, stewed plums. Someone suggested making plum brandy and this is a possibility because all it requires is plums, vodka and sugar. The problem is that it doesn’t use enough plums. Our trees are making up for two fruitless years with a vengeance, and anyone who comes to visit goes home with a tub full of plump blue plums. They’re sweet and delicious when eaten fresh, but need sugar when cooked. Strange.
In between making plum jam, pickles, pesto and salsa, I’ve been obsessed by the Paralympics. An armless Chinese athlete winning gold in the butterfly… footless sprinters hurtling along on blade runners… wheelchair basketball players tumbling over and righting themselves without help… the Indian archer hitting a bull’s-eye using her feet to hold the bow… and PEI’s own Amy Burke, captain of Team Canada’s goalball team, taking part in her fifth Paralympic Games. Such beautiful athletes, such wonderful crowds. Thank you for bringing hope and encouragement to all of us.
What can we do to match that? Nothing on that level, but life is full of opportunities to make a difference. Here in the Cove a group of us have decided to start a Community Choir. I’m sure we’ll never sing at the opening of the Olympic Games or appear at Carnegie Hall but we’ll have fun. Poster reads: “Get out of your chair! Stop acting your age!” And that’s what we’re going to do.
This morning large noisy machines are lumbering up the road and turning in next door: time to start the potato harvest. At the corner a road crew is setting down pylons, preparing to patch cracks in the highway. Here comes the neighbor’s calico cat sashaying down the driveway, fat field mouse dangling from its mouth. Everyone is busy and I’d better get busy too because I see blue jays in the plum trees and can they ever punch holes in plums in a hurry.
Fall bounty is upon us and we’re loving every minute of it.
