Buckets O’ Peas
Today is a three bucket day in the garden. Even before drinking my first cup of coffee of the day, I was out picking Texas Elite Cream Peas. The temperatures were bearable with a very pleasant breeze.
I picked the first gallon bucket within a couple of minutes, then grabbed the second gallon bucket. It filled as quickly so I dumped it into a 5 gallon bucket and continued to pick. Before long, the big bucket and the two smaller ones were full and the sun was beginning to heat up. I decided I’d finish picking peas either late this evening or in the morning. I’ll be busy shelling peas this weekend as I watch movies or listen to music.
Today, I plan to can ripe tomatoes and cucumbers.
Since we retired the big, inefficient chest freezer last year, the refrigerator’s small freezer is stuffed full. I’ve decided to purchase a small, high efficiency chest freezer to help hold some of our harvest. We don’t own an operating pickup truck (the Dodge is dead again!) so I’ve researched the cost to rent a truck. YIKES! In our area, daily rental for a small truck is $79 per day plus mileage! Because we live several miles behind the boonies, the mileage alone would be a major factor. The cost of transporting the appliance would double its cost! I’ve not found any store willing to deliver to our location. Yep, sometimes living in the country has its drawbacks… no pizza delivery, no trash pickup and no store deliveries… BUT we have fabulous night skies and no traffic!!
To solve the freezer dilemma, I decided to purchase a trailer hitch for my SUV which came with a towing package. A high-quality hitch costs about the same as one day’s truck rental and I can rent a small trailer for less than $15 per day (no mileage charge). This is the most reasonable solution and offers me the option of hauling composted dirt for the garden, the new mattress I want, and recyclables we’ve collected.
Ahhhh… Liberation!!
Shirl