New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Its canning season!

Monday 08/12/2013

Seems like things are busier than ever. So much for summer doldrums. We are full into the canning season here in Epsom. Under the watchful eye of my 90 year old mother, more on that later, my daughter and I canned 59 pints of zucchini relish this week along with a dozen of our "hot dill" pickles. And this past couple of weeks I have been digging under the still green potato plants for those candy-like golf ball sized new potatoes. Yes life is good with the labor of planting and weeding paying off with lots of family memories as we can and eat our way through the rest of summer.

My tomatoes have been slow to produce, though I have had a few. And my earlier planted cucumbers were producing sparingly. But it was my later full row planting that is now paying off. Actually when I went down Monday night to can my first batch of zucchini relish she said "I took a look at that row of cucumbers and all I see is blossoms." Just for the heck of it my daughter and I took a look ourselves Tuesday just before doing another batch of relish. To our surprise we filled a bucket with cucumbers. So Wednesday evening was pickle time. We typically stuff one of my hot peppers into the canning jar to add a bit of zing to our pickles. Not too hot but a taste bud awakening zing to add to the pucker power of the dill.

Actually my mother usually has things all set up for us to pickle/can. She had the huge pots all set up and had made several trips from the cellar and run the jars through the dishwasher. Needed spices were set out and several jugs of vinegar were set out as well. Plus as we mix and boil she adds her comments and reminders on how long things need to boil to be safely canned. Over the near century of her life she has learned to keep an eye on the small things that make this process work and safe for our family to eat. Most evening one or both granddaughters are in observation and lending a hand when asked to fetch things or help pick up all the while reminded of the boiling pots on the stove at hand. So it takes four generations to pickle and can here in Epsom.

Last weekend my wife and I took a break from our busy summer schedules to spent a couple day at my camp in Maine. Saturday evening sunset reminded me of the fiery days of fall just ahead as the sun broke out beneath a layer of clouds right at sunset to bathe the distant shore in a fiery orange glow. Fishing was a bit slow, mostly on my account as I spent much of the weekend just absorbing the peace and beauty of the place between playing board games with my wife while listening to the rain pattering the camp roof. Its a good place to refresh body and sole.

Back here at home the local farmer managed to get in his second crop of hay despite the rainy summer we have had. And how lush and green things are. Not a brown blade of grass to be seen despite a glance at the calendar which would lead you to believe that it is brown time. I'm seeing some apples in my travels. Not a banner year and a few acorns here and there as well. Again not a banner year. Fruits like blueberries and blackberries seem to be doing well with all the moisture though. So I'm thinking a much better year for our bears this year and lots of other wildlife who are already preparing for winter or soon will be.

I burned wood to heat my home the first couple of decades I lived here and remember well the long process to prepare for winter. Now I just close the storm windows and turn on the furnace. Well I did have an extra inch of foam added on my house this spring when the siding was being done. I added a second foot of insulation to my attic a decade ago bring it to over two feet thick. That and insulating my forced hot air system in my basement. That alone cut my energy use in half, though the price has more than doubled over the past decade. So I'm hoping to heat this place with a candle this winter. I've always been an optimist.