Shelling Beans

I am off this morning for Columbus Day, so I decided to get on with some of the fall garden chores.  The terriers were down in the woods doing what terriers do, so Oscar and I moseyed up to the barn, and after turning out Princess and the girls, applied ourselves to picking through the overgrown jungle that is a late season garden looking for beans.  Some of them were planted for winter soup, and others just got past their prime or were missed on earlier pickings.  A few were just left to dry after everyone I know got tired of eating green beans.  Today was the first pass at harvesting them.  It is a mindless task, but I've always found it relaxing.  There are so many varieties, and they all have their own story.  My favorite variety is a small black bean often called "Trail of Tears", because according to legend, the Cherokee brought it with them from the Carolinas to Oklahoma and Kansas.  If our family histories are anywhere near accurate, some of my folks were on that trip.  But there are the prolific and relatively newer varieties like Kentucky Wonder, and even beans that are reputed to have come to the new world on the Mayflower.  Others supposedly kept Irish farmhands alive during the great famine.  There are as many stories as there are varieties, and as many colors and patterns as one can imagine!

I suppose the best thing about shelling beans is that it gives one time to think.  Time seems to vanish and run into eternity as the bottom of the empty Tupperware container slowly disappears beneath the shining promise of winter soups.  There is time for God, and for old friends nearly forgotten, and for pondering that which is truly important in life.  So if you've never grown beans, I certainly recommend it.  They can be somewhat ignored and still be prolific.  Delicious when young, meaty when middle aged, and hearty when dried for soups or frying, they are easy to grow, satisfying to see, and are always welcome to grace my table.  If your back is old like mine, get the climbers.  They are the easiest to pick.  And in case you hadn't guessed already, Oscar really wasn't much help, but it is always good to spend time with a friend.