Wheelbarrows

100,000 poets around the world celebrated their art today, including a few in nearby Lexington. We strolled around the local Kroger store, adding items to shopping carts while speaking random lines from "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams. Local shoppers must be accustomed to weirdos talking to themselves. They didn't pay us much mind. When one of our group began beating his drum in the front of the store, we headed that way and gathered around him. Our leader shouted out the poem, then we began calling it out and repeating it line by line. After a few minutes we returned to our carts and checked out. For more, check out Karen's blog at http://holesinmyjeans-kpannabecker.blogspot.com/.

Next project, sweet corn. I seeded many plantings of sweet corn this year. Several were miserable failures, but persistence paid off. We have more than we need at the moment. I reined in our black wheelbarrow, loaded it with ears, and rolled it over to a paddock. There, Karen and I served dessert to goats and donkeys. I continued to the outdoor kitchen, where I cut off the kernels. Finally, down in the basement kitchen, I canned and froze 20 quarts.

Here's one instance in which the best is the easiest. To freeze the corn, I put a quart of kernels in a large cereal bowl and microwaved it for 3 1/2 minutes. I immediately stuck the corn in a plastic bag and into the freezer. This has worked well for years. The only thing I worry about is the Mideastern (?) petroleum that makes the plastic bag. You tell me. Is that okay?

Canning is more complicated, as has been explained in earlier blog entries. 

"Yeah, but how about showing us what the canner's supposed to sound like?" says Virginia.

All right. Here it is.