A Wonderful Calling Card

It was a cold and dreary day here. The sky was a gunmetal gray and the weather is turning.

We have had a very long growing season. Probably the longest in recent years. We put up the last of our hay today.

Putting up hay in December is a record!

The hay rake is my favorite part of putting up hay, combined with the old German tractor that pulls it.

I feel invincible when I am on it.



The chickies like it too because it gives them new stuff to dig and scratch in



After the raking is done, I am done.

The baler still labors on in the background, gathering the hay...



I walk up to my door to find a gift.

A gift in a jar.

Fresh peppers from my neighboring farmers garden.

He is in his 80's.

He still says charming things like

"I am fixin too..."

(meaning he is about to)

and uses phrases like

"iffin"

As in

"Iffin it dont rain I'm fixing to go fishin!"

His dialect has fascinated me for years. I love listening to him.

A man with steely blue eyes and weathered apple cheeks and a big grin in bib overalls.

A man who prefaces mention of his wife with the word "The"

It sounds important,

much the way we would say THE President said...

My farmer friend would say:

"Iffin it dont rain, THE wife and I are fixin to to go fishin!"

Lovely.

I adore this old man, with his quaint phrases and down home charm.

And I especially love that he brought me the remains of the bright bounty of summer, preserved in a jar.



People line up in his driveway to buy his peppers he carefully preserves in Mason jars.

A little drizzle of the juice will spice up cooked greens or salad.

One pepper soaked for a day in honey will make a sore throat go away.

Good stuff.

Thank you Mr. T.C. For leaving your wonderful gift on my doorstep.