Indian Summer.

Oh, Seattle. How you've done me proud this year with your gorgeous weather- all the way through the 10th of October! We've been 80+ days without rain, and nearly all of them have seen the sun blazing. As fall began inching its way into our hearts, the days began and ended with a sweet crispness while the days were warm and sun filled. This is the kind of weather that I could get used to on a regular basis.

The garden is nearly ready for winter slumber, although there are a good deal of lettuces, kale and beets that I am hoping will thrive enough to harvest before it's too late. Overall, it was a pretty good season. A rough June wiped out a good deal of my tomatoes, but I was pulling a good half pint every 5 days of cherry tomatoes. And, over in Woodinville, the tomatoes took off like gangbusters, yielding somewhere close to 35 pounds. There are many containers of these beauties roasted in the freezer for winter.

Here's a round up of the season's preservation efforts:

Tomatillo salsa: 6 1/2 pints
Spiced peach jam: 4 pints
Cherry jam: 8 1/2 pints
Rhubarb jam: 8 1/2 pints
Tayberry + Cassis jam: 4 pints
Dill pickles: 6 pints
Pickled jalapenos: 6 1/2 pints
Roasted Tomatoes: 10 quart sized bags, frozen
Pickled Carrots: 2 pints
Pickled peppers: 2 pints, 4 1/2 pints
Tarragon vinegar: 1 pint
Chive blossom vinegar: 1 pint
Herb salt: 2 quart jars (to be given as holiday gifts)
Blackberry syrup: 1 quart (for Italian sodas)
Peaches, flash frozen: 4 quart bags
Blueberries, flash frozen: 1 gallon bag
Strawberry conserve: 3 1/4 pints, frozen
Pesto: 3 1/2 pints, frozen

It may be getting colder, and the days getting more grey, but at least I will have plenty of summer captured in bottles to get me through.