Well the plan is that I alternate years, alternate eating most
everything
fresh and canning little, wherein the next year mostly canning and
eating
little fresh. I hope this year we have fewer apples than last year
and that I already still have about 200 liter jars full of canned
fruit
from last year.

Alternate also on strawberry maintenance where last year I had
the strawberries in large pots so that I could easily maintain the
weeds and watering. And every winter I take them out of the pots
and put them in a nursery bed cold frame with a straw covering.
This is the year I leave them in the cold frame for the entire
summer and winter and next year pot them back up. I can do
that because the weeds will not overrun them in one season.

Today I picked about 8 liters of strawberries and made a
strawberry drink by running them through a blender, adding a
bit of sugar and a capsule of Drambuie.

The word "buttery" comes to mind and the words "melt
in your mouth" for fresh garden picked strawberries. I have
some of those tiny strawberries that pack a punch of flavor.

Also am picking fresh lettuce from the garden and the taste
of this lettuce is so superb that it makes a meal itself. I go back
for seconds and thirds. I use a Italian dressing with a strong
vinegar taste. The lettuce is a mixture and is the first leaves
of the lettuce. It makes for a salad that is the standard to measure
all salads.

With the lettuce I continue to cut the new leaves and let the rest
of the plant grow back until the leaves begin to taste bitter or
they form seeds and I save the seeds for next year.