Ancestor Arts

Well, another way of saying it, “canning”, might not be so impressive though the reality behind the thought still is. I grew up in the city and when I got my first real view of a farm in mid-summer I was absolutely amazed at the vastness of growing life all around me. I had honestly thought that the world was covered in cities and that farms were just squeezed in between. Suddenly I had a new perspective. It takes enormous farms to keep the cities alive. So when my husband and I were graced with an opportunity to buy a place in the country we jumped at it, and we dove right into the exciting world of country living. But that meant we had to learn a thing or two. Ancestor Arts is what my friend and homeschooling “guidance counselor” calls it. She grew up on a farm and knows all about growing, harvesting, canning & preserving the fruits of the earth. Of course, I had the “uncanny” ability to ask her for help to jam up some fruit, or pickle up some cucumbers, on the hottest days of summer – but she was always willing to share her expertise. And amazingly enough, I actually learned something.

For years now, we have been canning jams, pickling pickles, jarring up salsa, freezing bags of corn, raising and processing chickens, drying and hanging our herbs & onions and doing a number of other “ancestor arts” type stuff. We’ve done a lot of different things through the years – frozen green beans are a particularly ugly memory – but most of what we have done has worked out astonishingly well. Last month my second daughter canned up the cherries almost completely be herself and today I had three other daughters helping me process the pickles. It is a charming way to spend a morning. Not so charming in the heat of a blistering summer day – but even then – it is such a good feeling to discover what nature has accomplished, and to cooperate with your bounty, so that some little goody will be waiting for you when the winter winds blow. There are a lot of good ways to spend time with your kids – but few are quite as rewarding as working to preserve the fruits of your garden for the winter. It just feels so right. And the kids are proud of their new skills. Plus – on a cold snowy day when you pull out that jar of cherry jam and scoop it onto hot biscuits – you can revel in “Remember when…” Life is good.