It's that time of year again!

This is one of my favourite times of the year...the beginning of the harvest and canning season!

If there is a bounty of fruits and vegetables, I seem to go into starvation mode (although, I don't think I have ever felt a true hunger pang!)...and feel the need to gather!!

Just like my Mom used to do with us, I usually recruit Isabel and James to help me with tasks such as tipping the beans...

...and picking apples and berries, that eventually turn into pies,

...jams and jellies,

...and pickles and apple sauce for our winter stash!

...and of course homemade ice cream using the strawberries that we picked earlier in the season...sweet rewards for a bit of hard work!

This is just the beginning...pretty soon there will be bowls of tomatoes and peaches to can, beets to pickle and sliced cucumbers soaking in tubs of salt brine...our kitchen will smell like vinegar and jars of preserves will line the counters waiting to be labelled and stored in our root cellar for the cold days to come.

Even though, some people consider gardening, harvesting and preserving too much work, for me, it's a way of life, carrying on the traditions that my Mom taught me and my Grandma taught her.