The mountain of fruit in my kitchen has threatened to topple several times, but I am determined to prevail.

So far, I've put up nine quarts of tomatoes, six pints of brandied peaches, four pints of ginger peach rhubarb jam, four pints of raspberry jam, god knows how much blackberry jam, 1 pie (gone in 24 hours; mostly Jack), several pints of plum basil jam, millions of cups of blackberries frozen and vacuum-sealed for the deep freeze and this morning created a roasted ginger-plum jam with a hint of vanilla and a splash of Cognac.

It's been both delightful and exhausting, but mostly, just a beautiful exercise in planning for the future while avoiding waste.