As I look at our pantry that is reserved for storing all the canned goods, both mine and from the store, the shelves are filled with more empty jars than full ones.

And in the jelly/jam closet, just a few filled jars of apply jelly, blackberry jam, and a few others remain.

My goal each year is to can about 250 jars of beans, tomatoes, beets, jellies and jams, and freeze a few vegetables. And just last week, I began the annual preserving.

Our rhubarb patch didn’t produce as many tart, red and green stalks as usual, but still, I was able to make eight jars of jam, and a couple of truly scrumptious rhubarb cakes.

Cherries are hard to find growing locally, but now is the time that the Washington State crop is ready and is sold at a reasonable price – so another eight or nine jars were added to the larder.

Local strawberries were exceptionally sweet and juicy this year. Most were turned into toppings for strawberry shortcake, but some were reserved for jam. Some years, I mix mashed strawberries with rhubarb or lemon. But this year, I decided to be a purist – strawberry jam is just that – and oh so delicious.

Coming up soon will be raspberry jam, either using the large, cultivated variety, or the tiny ones that grow wild at the edge of the woods.

Last year, I made some of both.

Then comes blackberry jam, and if I’m lucky, elderberry jelly, my very favorite.

Elderberries once grew wild along the sides of many back roads. There are still a few hard-to-get-to places to find them, but they’ve been removed by road crews or farmers.

My nephew bought me a couple of elderberry bushes several years ago, so I’ve used those, often in combination with the wild berries.

We make an annual trek to a wild blueberry farmer where I buy about 20 pounds for making jam and freezing to make pies and puddings.

Crowning the season is, of course, apple jelly – a mainstay among us New Englanders. During the past couple of years, I have been fortunate to be able to use some Wealthies and Baldwins from our old apple trees.

Along the way, if I want to make other jam or jelly varieties, I’ve bought peaches and plums and anything else that struck my fancy.

We also grow lots of herbs that are either dried or frozen for adding flavor to many soups and stews throughout the year.

Canning usually means yellow and green beans, beets, tomatoes, salsa, tomato juice, and sometimes carrots, along with a variety of pickles, if the cucumber crop is successful.

Many of the jams, jellies, salsas, pickles, herbs and a few vegetables are given as gifts.

I’ve been asked by many people why I spend so much time and do so much work each summer, and sometimes I ask myself the same thing.

But the answer is always the same – seeing rows and rows of my own canned goods lining the pantry shelves gives me a huge sense of satisfaction. And besides that, how much more local can our food get that straight from the garden or along a nearby dirt road?

Yes, canning is a lot of work, but I am thankful that I learned to do it from my mother. Although I know we’re not “living off the land,” I know that at least some of what we eat is homegrown and I know exactly what’s in it.

So, for as long as I can make the time to do it, I will continue.

Eileen M. Adams may be reached at [email protected]

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