My Fall Harvest

Harvest time is upon us.  And though where I live is urban, and though I have not planted or farmed anything, I feel fall’s arrival.  Summer is really drawing to a close.  School has started, the nights are cool,  and I am starting to hum songs like ‘Shine on Harvest Moon” and “The Falling Leaves” in my head.  My harvest this year is more than the jewel-like jars of jam that line my shelves.

This week the Jewish holiday of Sukkot begins Wednesday September 18th.  If you’re not familiar with Sukkot (it is a fairly minor holiday in the pantheon on Jewish holidays)  it is a lovely celebration.  Without getting into too much detail, Sukkot is the celebration of the harvest, and the tradition is to build a small hut or Sukkah covered with leaves and vines, and to eat in this dwelling for a week.  It is a lovely tradition, and way to bid farewell to summer.

Last week at the farmers’ market in addition to the tomatoes I got for tomato jam, I got about six pounds of white peaches which I have also turned into jam.  This jam is lemony (maybe a little too lemony) and has some vanilla which is nice with the sweetness of the peaches.  I ended up making more than I planned, but that is something I will never complain about.  It is a pretty amber color, and I lined to jars up on my windowsill so I could admire them.

I feel ready to go into fall and then winter, having put up a number of things, and though I may try to can one more thing before all the summer fruit is gone, I will only post the recipe, I think I’ve written enough about my canning adventures for now.

The harvest season is had been celebrated throughout history in every culture of the world. It is written into our DNA to settle in, to store food for the coming lean months, and to prepare mentally and physically for the winter.  As the weather cools we feel hungrier, we crave heavier meals, and long to sit together at the table, staving off the darkness that comes earlier and earlier.   And most of this happens without our even noticing.  There are a few days left of summer on the calendar.  The autumnal equinox this year is September 23rd, and the hours of darkness will get longer until December 21st.  I am cold just thinking about it.  This year though, I have jarred up some summer to help me through the cold months.

This summer I did sew and tend and weed and water, but my crop was words.  I started this blog at the beginning of June.   I have cared for it, worried and watched over it, and tried to help it take root and grow.  This Sukkot I give thanks for the fruits of my labors at the keyboard.  I thank every one of you who reads this blog faithfully, those of you who check in occasionally, and those of you who may end up seeing this post by accident, or by reading it months from now.  I thank the people I do not know in the thirty three countries this blog has reached.  I wish you all a happy harvest.

September 20, 2013