Sweet Stuff

The pile was building. Many bundles of rhubarb I've been picking up from the little old lady's roadside stand on King's Settlement Road. She puts out one or two a day as she picks it. I've never met her but saw her once as I was zooming by on my way to work. I not only adore rhubarb, but wanted to make sure there was always $2 in her coffee can when she made her way down the drive to check it. I can see myself doing the same thing someday. Ron Wagner gave me some more rhubarb yesterday at the market. I got the jars and the pectin and decided today was the day. I confess I used strawberry preserves from the grocery store. The real berries are not out yet. I've only started making jam last summer and I'm hooked. It's a bit hot to stand over giant pots of boiling fruit and another of boiling jars, but it's so worth it. It suddenly got very hot here in God's country, as it usually does this time of year. I've got 24 8-ounce jars of strawberry rhubarb jam to get me through next winter. In a month blueberries and raspberries will be at the market and I'll do it again. Life is good.