I wish I could multiply myself (though honestly, what mom hasn't?) in spring and fall in particularly. There are just so many jobs that need to be done and harvesting the bounty is one of the really busy times when you just feel the pressure of fruit falling to the ground and tomatoes over ripening while you sleep. (In spring, it's the sensation of seedlings going leggy in the greenhouse while you sleep) This year we got a decent harvest of grapes from our arbor behind the house and the apples are doing pretty well especially the late ones. I have been making pesto, canning tomatoes, digging potatoes and sweet potatoes to rinse and dry and making grape juice. I have 21 broilers waiting to be butchered in a day or two and it looks like I will be bartering time with my neighbor; the mechanical plucker we borrow is broken so she and her mom will come and help me butcher the chickens in the morning and in the afternoon we will drive to Erie to pick (more) grapes to can into juice for our families. It's a win/win since paying a driver to Erie for them is expensive and it would take me days to butcher and hand pluck the chickens myself.
