Harvest Time...

It's been such a long while since I've posted. I have lots that I could be posting on but can't seem to find the time to get er' done! Today is the official first day of fall and although the days are getting shorter we've still had some beautiful weather here. Many of you have gardens that are bursting forth with fruit and veggies....not me. BUT, I have a few friends and acquaintances who do and I have been lucky enough to reap the seeds that they took time to sew! I got a bushel full of prune plums from one friend which we've enjoyed immensely! Rob keeps bringing home bags of beautiful veggies from a dear, sweet couple who is neighbors to one of our farms. They've even started stopping by for visits and hanging more bags of veggies on our gate with notes claiming that they're from 'Joey', their horse!
This past week a wonderful woman from our church gave me the last of her damsen plums from her tree. She told us that she'd saved them just for us but we needed to use her tall ladder and that Rob should come and climb it! It was a beautiful day...we got buckets of plums and some wonderful visiting time with Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a woman I so admire. She has been widowed for many years now but still manages a huge property (full of fruit trees) and balances it with the daily life of farming. Elizabeth is a strong, strong woman of God and is not shy about challenging you to give your all to the Lord. She has taught me many things from her Mennonite heritage...how to make borscht, how to make plum jam, to never shy away from hard work and how to trust God for EVERYTHING ! She's my kind of gal! She makes no excuses for herself or anyone else! Well, Elizabeth...I did it, I made the jam..with a few tips from Tillie too! This jam will be used sparingly due to the amount of work involved and also because it is used in a cookie recipe at Christmastime that my hubby loves! It's been fun to use up all these fruits and veggies that I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy on my own (like beets!) So thanks, my friends, for your goods and for your friendships!