A couple of weeks later, I’m taking some action as suggested in this previously channeled tarotscope.

I’ve wanted to start the practice of home food preservation for a few years now, and this is the year I’m finally getting started. I nearly always produce too much food for my two person household to consume, far too much of what we grow ends up in the compost pile. We also have very generous neighbors with gardens and fruit trees, and this week I found myself with several pounds of cucumbers, peaches, and pears on top of what is growing in my own garden. As much as we love fruit, there is only so much we can eat. I also don’t particularly like cucumbers, but I couldn’t find a polite way of refusing the offering, so what to do? Finally put the canning equipment I own to use.

I took the leap yesterday and decided to water bath can a batch of dill pickles, the only acceptable way to consume cucumbers in my opinion. I figured if I failed I had the backup option of keeping them as refrigerator pickles so not all would be lost. Truthfully, I felt way out of my depth in the middle of the process, but I had gone too far to turn back so I just charged forward and finished the project. I ended up with four pints, and from what I can tell today the seals took well enough on the jars so that they are shelf stable.

I followed this recipe on the kitchn with one change: I used white vinegar instead of cider, I thought cider vinegar would be too sweet for my tastes. I was happy to use up all of the dill in my herb patch that had gone to seed recently as well.

Today, with my confidence bolstered, I’m going to attack the piles of peaches and hopefully the pears as well, but they may have to wait until the weekend.