We have just finished Thanksgiving Weekend with the turkey, pumpkin pie and all the traditional fare. This Thanksgiving was a bit different for us; we had friends visit whom I haven’t seen in decades and actually my husband had never met. I admit, I was a little nervous how it would go… but they were the same easy-going couple I knew in Ontario in the 80’s. We had a great time, and showed them all around Powell River.

Upon reflection, I was thinking how we have shared in the harvest, although not from my garden that’s for sure. My first attempts at a vegetable garden did not produce much edibles: the green beans were fabulous, but I got only one tasteless zucchini (who can’t grow zucchini?) and the carrots never got past an inch in length.

But from my neighbour Dave, we got a huge bowl of plums that prompted us to make a plum chutney. We discovered a bag of tomatoes on the hood of the Ford Ranger, as if they fell from the sky. We knew, it was Dave.

A co-worker brought garden tomatoes for everyone. My manager brought each of us a container of homemade pesto sauce, crafted from the five varieties of basil in her garden — the BEST pesto sauce I have ever tasted! Pear-apples, grapes and peaches appeared, as if by magic, into our hands.

My visiting long-lost friends brought a basket with pears, blackberry jam, pickles (along with the wine, of course).

So not only am I thankful for the goodness of the fresh fruits and vegetables, I am also – and even more so – thankful for the goodness of others. The sharing of the harvest not only satisfies the tummy but fills the heart with warmth.

Happy Autumn!

Julie