This summer I had the opportunity to house sit my friend's beautiful home in the foothills.  They have a VERY large garden and are growing many vegetables.  They were kind enough to pick cucumbers for me so that while I was there I could make pickles!  It was a real experience as I had not canned in quite a while.  While I was there the temperature was close to 100 degrees almost every day.  Her kind husband had set up everything I would need on a porch right outside this beautiful kitchen of theirs.  I had the large canning pot and a propane stove and everything....(yes, I had visions of me burning their gorgeous home to the ground...how could I face them when they returned?!).  But, alas, everything went according to plan and you will see the fruits of my labor at the end of this post.

  I also went down the road and picked blackberries one morning and made several jars of homemade blackberry jam.  Yum!

As I look back on this experience I am truly waiting for next year!  Hmmmmm what can I produce when I go back?

BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWERS FROM THEIR ABUNDANT GARDEN.  THEY ARE GROWING CUCUMBERS (I made the pickles out of some), TOMATOES, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, SQUASH, TONS OF FRUIT TREES, PUMPKINS, AND MORE THAN I CAN REMEMBER.

HERE THEY ARE!

The Fruits of My Labor