Ah, strawberries. You sweet, heavenly fruit. My boys can't get enough of you. So much so that this year we picked an extra flat, canned 34 half-pints of jam, and froze 4 gallon bags of berries.Our timing couldn't have been more perfect. This was the very last weekend for picking at many of the farms in the area, so we were fortunate that we finally found an opportunity to go. Arthur worked hard to fill his flat. Balin preferred to pick a strawberry and show it off before wandering the field aimlessly. Perhaps next year he'll be more interested in actually picking.
Of course, after the picking comes the processing. (The boys love strawberries, but even they can't eat 35 pounds of berries before they rot.) 
Robinson and I started canning about two or three years into our marriage. We starting canning raspberry jam and rhubarb. We moved up to pumpkin and potatoes. Now we can apple butter, asparagus, pickles, tomato sauce, salsa, and pickled green beans, too. It's hot, sticky, and time consuming, but I love it. I love that I can feed my family fairly cheaply because of what we preserve. I feel good knowing that what I pull from the pantry is something I grew fresh, without pesticides or preservatives. Things I can myself taste better, too. I consider it a win-win (though my over-flowing pantry may say otherwise...I remind myself almost daily during canning season that I will not store food in my bathroom closet because that is just plain weird. It becomes a personal challenge to see how much food I can store in my tiny closet pantry without breaking something when I open the door.)Do you can? If so, what?
Blessed be.
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