This time of year, the big harvesting is over in the garden, most of the storage crops are tucked away in the pantry, and the freezer is filled with a wide array of summer's abundance.

But as the coming of the first frost looms in the near future, the true gleaner in me is revealed as I busily gather the remaining odds and ends of the late summer crops.

It seems that everywhere I turn, there are little piles of random veggies to be used, the last pods of fresh shelling beans, ripening peppers to be strung for drying, oddly shaped cucumbers saved as I pulled the dried vines from the bed, not-quite-ripe tomatoes line the kitchen windowsill, a pile of cabbages rescued from invading slugs and decomposition wait in line along with one final shirtful of salvaged apples that look at me expectantly.

Some of the carrots from an early summer planting stayed too long in the ground, and it was with a spirit of determination not to waste that I scrubbed and carved a daunting pile of worm damaged roots over several days, making a big pot of delicious ginger carrot soup, while adding a few more bags to the (already stuffed) refrigerator for use in the coming month.( I will forevermore err on the side of harvesting this root crop earlier than later!)

That I feel absolutely blessed to have such plenty in our lives is an understatement. For our good health, and the ability to grow and share home grown, nutrition packed food, I'm also deeply grateful .

This rainy day is just right for making an enormous pot of borscht to share with some Meal Train friends ; https://www.mealtrain.com rows of beets await!