Snap To It

Green beans were a substantial portion of our massive garden. Multiple pickings during the summer made for an entire shelf full of canned beans for the winter. “Andee go grab a quart of green beans from the cellar. Wait, better get two. Grandma and Grandpa are coming for dinner.” That shelf was three quarts deep and the full width of the cellar. I’d say as long as the pool table we kept in that back room. Every once in a while a stray ball would hit a jar. Quick as we could we’d clean up that mess, dig a hole out back, and bury the damaged goods.

We had bush beans which meant a lot of bending over, lifting up the branches, then removing pods without damaging the plant. “Andee, don’t be so rough with the plants. They’ve got more growing to do.” The last picking was always my favorite cause we ripped those suckers up and got the beans off them. So much easier.

Once we gathered all the beans into 5 gallon buckets, we’d take em on up to the yard and sit out there snapping beans. Grandma McDonald would come help often times which made for great fun. She’d sit and tell story after story. I loved the sound of her voice. And her laughter. Her body would bounce up and down as the cackle came out of her mouth. Mom would chime in once in a while with an “Uh,huh,” or “You don’t say.” Which is really all that was needed. Grandma was a good talker. Sometimes we’d all just sit and snap, soak up the sun, and listen to the farm talk.