108 It Happened in Iona

take forever to fill a dish since a good picker was expected to stem each berry on its way to cup or container. Besides, there was little shelter from the July sun. In August it was off to pick raspberries either in our “little woods” or across the road in Dunn’s woods. Again there was no shortage of these berries but the sun was usually scorching and the locust never failed to tease us with its shrill sharp song. In the end, however, the red delicious fruit from the work of many hands was visible in rather generous quantities to give victory to our labors and jam in abundance for the long haul of winter. A pleasant chore in November was helping Dad after school or on Saturday with the turnip harvest of less than one acre. Pulling turnips one by one and snodding them with a butcher knife or similar blade was an excellent blend of physical work and the cool chill of autumn. It was also sweet victory for all our efforts in hoeing and thinning these rascals during the heat of summer. It was quite a harvest sight to see these mature trimmed turnips lying in rows along the field. After that, tossing them into the cart for the trip to the cellar was but child’s play. Another brief and pleasant autumn chore was taking in the apples and placing them in the cellar in bags, large wooden box or scattered over the potato pile. With time for seasoning they became a source of tasty munching for hefty appetites during winter’s long evenings.