Summer Harvest

It is midsummer but the days seem to be getting shorter. I catch the sun that is normally quite high in the sky by six in the morning looking over the Langeberg with sleepy eyes.

It is the height of the harvest season with trucks and tractors scurry to and fro laden with fruit. It is mostly yellow cling peaches and the orchards are lined with deep green trees laden with the yellow deliciousness.

The names of the peaches sound like family and places they might come from, “Oom Sarel “ and “Kakamas”.  I remember my godmother preserving them whole in big Consul  jars that stood on the shelves in her pantry or spens(the Afrikaans word for pantry). Spens reminded me of pens(an Afrikaans word for stomach) because it was always filled with delicious preserves and baked goods.

The content of the ”spens”  I always wanted in my “pens”, one storage space to another. I remember when everybody had a pantry and I was fascinated with the jars of preserved fruit and vegetables on the shelves. I could stand in the dimly lit space looking at all that amazing promise of contentment. It was like a library of happiness.

The big yellow cling peaches could only be preserved in the biggest Consul jars and that made it even more impressive to see the big round bright yellow fruit suspended in the syrup what seemed to be enormous in my eyes as a child. I remember my godmother’s cool kitchen on hot summer days and the sweetness of the peach in my bowl knowing that I was special because she said so and the peach was my evidence.

The Towerwater  vegetable garden is producing at a rate that I cannot keep up with and Sundays are spent harvesting from early morning to mid-day.  My family came to help and it was a different experience having our two godsons there. Mathew(3) was so excited he wanted to pull out all the carrots himself. He proceeded to eat the carrot  still covered in soil not wanting to miss anything by leaving the vegetable bed.

Freshly Harvested Carrots

Mathew  was in conflict because he wanted to be with his grandmother harvesting tomatoes  and still help his dad pulling out carrots. After the harvest when he thought things cannot be more fun I brought the big bucket of water to rinse the carrots. It was as if the circus arrived in town and the two boys had so much fun washing the carrots. Mathew wanted to taste every carrot as he rinsed them and his dad had to step in to save the harvest.

Homemade Lemonade

Seeing the harvest through the eyes of the boys was refreshing and it was heart-warming to see how much fun they had with such a healthy activity. A house and garden need children who can explore and discover the magic of frogs, praying mantises and earthworms. They need to pull out carrots and taste the soil and feel it between their fingers and toes. Watching the boys made me remember times in the garden with my mother and a warm happiness enfolded my heart.

Harvest Salad

After the harvest on a hot summer’s day we could sit down in the cool dining room and enjoy our harvest with homemade lemonade and freshly baked bread and the blessing of sharing it as a family.

Towerwater Happy Meal