These are the days I waited all winter for. Winter is harsh and long, and planning the garden is a good thing to do on those long days, and dreaming of warmer days, oh yea. So some days in the summer (like today when the real feel temp is 107) I might complain a little about needing to go and weed some garden spots or do some other work. But then I tell myself: these are the days I waited all winter for: get out there and get some good stuff done in the garden.

I plant many different things, tho the garden does get smaller as I get old(er). Cucumbers is one of the best things to grow here. They like my soil and I water them enough for them to produce a lot. I mingle among the bees when I pick them and sometimes bees brush my arm, but we have an agreement to all get along. Many times I thank the bees for being there to collect the pollen and for pollinating my flowers so I can have good veggies.

We eat most of the earliest ones each year, and then there comes…..an onslaught! Once there are so many, it’s time to make freezer pickles. I worked out the syrup recipe years ago and this is now a tradition every year. So is eating the fresh-tasting sweet and tangy salad when it’s 10 degrees out or there’s snow on the ground.

We all have interesting tools in our kitchen, and here’s the tool I have the most respect for. I always make the pickles on a day when there’s no hurry and there probably won’t be any distractions. One mistake with my mandolin slicer wouldn’t mean a trip to the bathroom cabinet for a band aid; it would mean a trip to emergency care for stitches.

You slice up the cukes, onions, and red pepper, add celery seed, dill and dill seeds, then pour in the syrup. I like to keep the containers in the fridge for 24 hours to blend the flavors before they go into the freezer. And then you have freezer pickles!

In these trying times, we need to have hope; we need to find our hope from somewhere. There’s a saying that the person who displays hope is one who plants a tree knowing he will never get to sit in the shade of that tree. Now I think hope has to come in shorter segments. I hope to be able to continue on thru what is bound to be a very troubling winter, and eat freezer pickles from cucumbers that grew right out there>>>>>.

And I hope that you and yours are well and can continue to be safe and happy. And have whatever good treats you like to eat!