Only November, so where’d all that food go?
Perhaps you remember our good pal, Squiggy? The famous fiend of the savage sunflower attack of ’08? That notorious backyard napper? Well, let’s just say he’s all caught up on his sleep and not wasting his time batting around flowers anymore. He’s all business.
And I’m kind of falling in awe with the little guy. Such a busy beaver rodent. Scurrying to and fro gathering apples from the tippy top of our tree and pumpkins from doorstops around the neighborhood, all in a thorough preparation to keep his furry family fed. I’m passing my parent-of-the-year award over to Squiggy. Perhaps my children as well, since I totally missed the boat on shoring up my shelves for the long cold winter.
It’s November. Only mid-November, and gone are the pounds of delicious strawberry applesauce. Gone are the hundreds of jars of jam. Of course you remember the freezer full of squash puree that my dear parents put up in my absence? Gone. Every last ziploc baggie of it, gone. What’s left? Two jars of tomato sauce. I’ll consider it serendipitous that the kids prefer pasta and pizza sans sauce while I try to configure a lasagna that’ll take us through Spring.
As I gaze into my bare cupboards I think of Barbara Kingsolver. She made it seem fun and easy to keep her family fed on homegrown efforts. I think too of Frontier House, a gem of a reality show on PBS a few years back. The mission: survive out on the homestead. Those who failed to put up enough food and firewood by the time the snows came got voted off. (Disclaimer: no families were left to freeze and/or starve in the making of this show.)
This much I know is true:
- I worked hard. I planted. I picked. I pureed.
- The food did not last. My family is doomed to starvation (let’s pretend that old nag Nellie is not well enough to make the trip to SuperTarget.)
- I am fiercely competitive.
- I will not be voted off this homestead.
- Squiggy sure is looking plump these days…
- Stuffed full as he is with fresh apples and pumpkin…
- I’ll just tell the kids he went away for little awhile,
- A vacation, a little squirrel sales trip, that’s all. Nothing to worry about kids,
- Now sit down and eat your dinner.