Today dawned warm and humid, again. As we had sat on the deck last night watching the bats hunt, even in the twilight we could see the tomatoes needed to be picked.

So bright and early this morning we headed to the garden. An hour later, we had picked four 5-gallon pails (almost) full of sauce tomatoes. Then we washed, sliced, pureed, reduced, then canned sauce. In the end, we canned more than four gallons of dark red, thick tomato sauce. Then we froze twenty packages of plum tomatoes to use in casseroles and flat breads this winter. The house now smells of tomato sauce, steam still fills every room, we are tired, but happy. The harvest did not go to waste, and will be so appreciated this winter when Vermont is cold and snowy.

Tomorrow, we plan to clean the pantry, then spend some time enjoying the beauty of Vermont. I’m sure we will need to pick some squash, peppers and cucumbers, but those will become dinner for family tomorrow night.