Harvest and Thanksgiving

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn. — B.C. Forbes

My kitchen is filled with the sweet aroma of apple sauce simmering on the stove.   The apples are a gift from a friend of ours.  Each year he carefully cultivates his trees and generously shares the produce with his neighbours and friends.  It’s just what he does.

My counter is loaded with an assortment of fruits and vegetables, all acquired from a local orchard farm we visit frequently. They also make the best fruit laden pies you have ever tasted.  I will be stocking up some more over the next week before the owners close their roadside shop for the season.

October is harvest time and as I look around at all my provisions, I give a silent thanks to the earth, to the farmers, to the pickers and sellers of the food. It’s because of them that I’m able to make nourishing messes in my kitchen.

And next weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada – when we pause to recognize and give thanks to the richness of our lives, our family and friends.

“Sometimes we focus so much on what we don’t have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have!”    — Jeff Dixon

My Hubby and I were searching for a weekend getaway years ago.  I remember the dismay on my husband’s face when he stepped into the basement of one of the houses and found a wall dedicated to water treatment systems including reverse osmosis, ultraviolet, special filters and a sophisticated water softening device. The water was supplied by a second well on the property; the first one had gone dry a few years before.

This certainly was an eye opener.  By living in an urban centre, our lives are enriched by so many services that many take for granted, often with quixotic expectations.  And the moment anything goes awry, all and sundry come out to vehemently complain and blame.  I don’t always understand why.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I for one believe it’s time we said thank you to the men and women who:

• treat, disinfect, and monitor our water supplies, providing safe, clean, drinkable water directly into our homes and businesses.
• work in the wastewater and sewage systems, disposing safely of all the liquid and stinky solid materials that we flush down the various drains and send into their pipes.
• cart away our garbage. You guys are amazing.  I promise I will grumble less as I package and separate all my refuse.
• work at hydro and insure our lights are on.   And the hydro crews are incredible, putting forth herculean efforts to restore power after outages.
• drive and maintain our buses, trolley, subways, sky-trains and go-trains.
• clear our main streets of winter ice and snow and show up to repair broken water mains in the dead of night.
• are always there – any time, any hour – every day!  These are the 911 operators, the firemen, paramedics and police and in Canada the 811 nurses; the emergency room doctors, nurses and medical technicians on duty and on call.

Thank you.

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.  — W.T. Purkiser

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.