Cherry tart in a couple of days?

Thunderstorms finally came to chase the sultry heat away. It is raining steadily. I have finished the baking and the wrapping of the bread.

Whew.

The kids went to a homeschool event with some of our coop friends. They were gone from morning until evening. I was able to hyperfocus on the bakery.

Even with the long hard work, I managed to pause to eat a delicious salad made with organic lettuce, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Jimbo's smoked trout. Then put my feet up for 15 minutes. I was grateful for the rest.

Raymond and his friend Martha came out this morning to work on the garden. He may not know it yet, but he is earning a nice young lamb we will help him butcher. I am still amazed at the outpouring of generosity we are STILL receiving from our community. The garden is still too wet for planting, but they weeded and worked on our compost and mowed. Then they got baskets and went to work picking cherries.

Two days ago the cherries were almost ripe. With the extremely heavy rains, they have gone to mold. Nevertheless, my friends picked me a nice tub of cherries, black and sweet. Won't sell these cherries, will keep them for the family.

Last year we lost most of them to mold as well. We have been getting rains here in our little valley when all the surrounding areas have missed.

That's okay.

Drought comes upon us more quickly than we can imagine and I will thankfully welcome the rain. It makes me think of one of the lines in on e of my favorite songs by Nanci Griffith, Trouble in These Fields. See if you can guess?
"Baby I know that we've got trouble in the fields
When the bankers swarm like locust out there turning away our yield
The trains roll by our silos, silver in the rain
They leave our pockets full of nothing
But our dreams and the golden grain.

Have you seen the folks in line downtown at the station?
They're all buying their ticket out and talking the great depression
Our parents had their hard times fifty years ago
When they stood out in these empty fields in dust as deep as snow
(Chorus)
And all this trouble in our fields
If this rain can fall, these wounds can heal
They'll never take our native soil
But if we sell that new John Deere
And then we'll work these crops with sweat and tears
You'll be the mule I'll be the plow
Come harvest time we'll work it out
There's still a lotta love, here in these troubled fields.

There's a book up on the shelf about the dust bowl days
And there's a little bit of you and a little bit of me
In the photos on every page
Now our children live in the city and they rest upon our shoulders
They never want the rain to fall or the weather to get colder
(chorus)
And all this trouble in our fields
If this rain can fall, these wounds can heal
They'll never take our native soil
But if we sell that new John Deere
And then we'll work these crops with sweat and tears
You'll be the mule, I'll be the plow,
Come harvest time we'll work it out
There's still a lot of love, right here in these troubled fields."

That song is on her Dustbowl Symphony album.

Well, I really did not have time to process over a hundred pounds of cherries into jam this season. Having them mold on the tree due to excess rain is way better than having them mold in my refrigerator because I didn't get to them in time. We have enough to make a couple of our favorite cherry almond tarts made with spelt, maybe a couple of little jars of brandied cherries for me and my grownup friends, and plenty to eat by the handful over the next couple of days.

Before you know it, peaches will be ripe, then apples, plums and pears. Not to mention the wineberries and blackberries.

Oh, I thought of a funny oxymoron to share with you. After a long hard day of milling and baking fresh stone ground chemical free grains and making healthful foods, preparing to sell them and our pastured, grass fed meats at the farmer's market, the kids got home with a bunch of regular hot dogs on white buns leftover from the event. I put some nice and spicy dijon mustard on mine and gobbled down two, lickety split. They tasted heavenly!

As I have said on numerous occasions, legalism is unattractive, in religion and nutrition! I don't often eat a hot dog, but I told the Lord "Thank You" for providing me my supper, ready made. Didn't even need to use a plate.

The rain has paused and a golden green washes over our not-so troubled fields. I have things to think about, like marketing strategies and hay making and intensive grazing and Quickbooks, but I think for now I will rest. So grateful to be off my feet with tubs of healthy bread ready to load in the morning.

See you at the farmer's market!