September 4, 2011
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Summertime in a jar
Yesterday I spent the day canning tomatoes. My apologies to those of you who sweltered in the humidity that was present in the northeast as a result. You can always tell when tomatoes are in full force; the cooler days of August yield once again to the heat and humidity of full summer. It is almost as if the weather must echo the release of the odors of bright sunshine and lazy summer days that happen when tomatoes are plunged into boiling water in preparation for peeling.
Every year when I fill my kitchen sinks with the ripe red fruits I see not tomatoes but days of full sunshine and the haze of heat shimmering above the garden. After I pour boiling water over the tomatoes the whole house is filled with summer. The deep throaty smells of days spent swinging in the hammock, walking along paths over grown with weeds, and tramping through the woods heavy with the haze of cedar and pine. If I close my eyes as I fill the jars, not only do I make a mess, but I can hear the cicadas serenading anyone who cares to stop and listen to their urgent song. When I choose to slip a bit of basil into the hot tomatoes it fills my mind with the sound that the dogs make as the shuffle along the garden paths brushing past the herbs as they grow there. I hear their tags tinkle on their collars and the shushing of the leaves as their tails wag back and forth through the bushes.
Come the middle of the winter I will open a jar of summertime and perhaps make up a pot of soup. The house will be filled with the sunny days and summery sounds that I trapped inside the jars that I filled yesterday. While the snow is falling outside and the wind is doing its best to get inside my family will be happy to taste the last few days of summer that I captured to help keep them warm.
Comments (5)
The tomato smells of summer in this area are a good memory. I'm sure going to miss them and the ones in the stores are way too much money and have no flavor.
I love it! I'm sitting here smiling, imagining the sights and smells... how wonderful
This is beautiful. I planted 3 tomato plants in a pot this summer, and harvested about 3 tomatoes. Sad! Next year I will get another pot and 2 plants and put 1 in each pot, and check them every day for tomato worms.
Such a beautiful description of summer.
beautiful word pictures.