GARDEN CLEANUP

Yesterday's project.  Podded pole beans and scarlet runner beans last night.  Vegetable soup on the menu. Story from Life Is a Garden Party Vol V.

CLEANUP

Today’s sun shines bright,

though frost forecasted tonight.

Time to cleanup the garden

in preparation for autumn.

More fun to don on a sunny day

while serenaded by the blue jays.

A big basket of fresh green beans

is harvested under the sunbeams.

Tomorrow a stir-fry will be made

with a yummy ginger marinade.

Others will be blanched 3 minutes then frozen.

Will taste mighty fine when the snow is blowing.

There are shell beans to be podded one night

to add to homemade soup one cold night.

There's onions, carrots, and green beans to add

with tomatoes and zucchini, I'm glad,

for minestrone or chowder

making a tasty simple supper.

Peppers are taken in

to be chopped and frozen

for meat sauce this winter.

Better than a diners.

These pepper plants will be covered tonight

so baby peppers can mature in the sunlight.

Fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

are cut to make bouquets today; it's time.

They'll be used to make herbed turkey stock

from turkey bones simmering in a pot

with onions, celery, and carrots

as a base for turkey soups. Can't wait.

The wheelbarrow and I

strain with winter squash piled high.

Can't wait to eat.

They'll be a treat.

I'll wait a week for the squash to cure

then will bake in the oven for supper.

Carrots, cabbage, and beets

are said to be more sweet

when left out in the cold,

or so the “sage” ones told.

Besides, I've run out of room

to store my gardening boom.

* * * * *

Do you thank God for your daily bread

as well as other foods which you are fed?

Our food is a gift from God, you know,

designed to make us strong and help us grow.

Have you thought to thank God for the variety

of foods available every day when you pray?

Not just the colors but the textures and flavors -

creamy, crunchy, sweet, tart – made for us to savor.

Vitamins, minerals, fiber inclusive,

designed for us to be healthy and live.

A study of vitamins and minerals contained

in fruits and vegetables will amaze how God ordained.

Nutrition incorporated to sustain health.

Over time you’ll learn a healthy diet is wealth.

God knows just what we need each day.

Thank Him now as you bow your head and pray.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:11 (KJV)

Give us day by day our daily bread.

Luke 11:3 (KJV)

Scarlet Runner Beans

Life Is a Garden Party

is available via Amazon.