In the heat of the day I processed more tomatoes for the freezer. All that remains is in the greenhouse, which will be another haul or two, and that will do it for the year. I’m not sure if I’ll do spaghetti sauce this year, or stick with stocking up on crushed tomatoes and maybe tomato jam. I’ve already preserved some crushed tomatoes and a big batch of salsa, which I hope is a two year supply, but I’m not so sure. Maybe I should make a little more to guarantee that. A lot of tomatoes went to our Harvest Moon Soup, and of course we’ve eaten our weight in them fresh.
With final harvests coming in I should be a proper gardener and record my thoughts on the season, and I will soon, but with only one light frost behind us, it hardly feels time. We are still in the thick of bringing it all in and after that, putting the garden bed.
Chai has replaced coffee in the morning, which is a normal thing for me as seasons change. The scent takes me back thirty years to the herb farm I worked at: milky chai simmering on the wood cookstove in the farmhouse kitchen, bundles of Sweet Annie hanging from old wooden beams, a pot of chai on the stove, and the scent of rosemary and geranium wafting through from the greenhouse. Not the big greenhouse down the hill, but the one attached to the farmhouse, with a door that opened into the kitchen. Isn’t that something. It’s no wonder the proprietress lived to be one hundred.
I can see first light creeping over the eastern ridge, and hear the few remaining birds begin their day. It’s time for me to do the same.
11 Responses
I just read all of your new posts this morning on the gloomy rainy day. What a beautiful thing this blog is and always has been. Thank you for sharing it.
Having a kitchen that leads to a greenhouse sounds heaven to me.
Yes, greenhouse off kitchen is the dream🌿
About ten years ago, we were housing a group of monks that were visiting to create a sand mandala in Chapel Hill. It was February and a huge snow storm came through stranding them with us for two weeks. Every morning they got up and made milky warm chai, every time I drink chai it takes me back to that magical time.
I always transition from coffee to chai around Thanksgiving 🧡
I love the description of the herb farm and the farm house…it makes me want to brew a cup of chai.😊 Have a lovely day.
Sounds like heaven a greenhouse attached to the kitchen.
Your description is so endearing as if we shared that chai morning brew with the scent of Sweet Annie in the air!
Xo
I have so missed the voice of ‘ordinary’ blogs, in the messy social media space that exists these days. Have read you for … 15 years now? Since my daughter was wee, and she drives this month. 😮
Am very, very glad you are writing in this space again. Thank you for your calm and light and wisdom.
I feel as though I’ve stepped back in time to be reading your blog again Heather. We lived in a tiny cabin with all my littles when I first discovered you…I’m transported right back to that cozy time.
Thank you, Heather, for writing a new blog again! It’s very nice to have this place on the web. Also, I really appreciate that you do not have pop-ups and advertisement on your blog. Looking forward to reading more posts.
Greenhouse off the kitchen! SWOON 🤍