I love Autumn.  The kids go back to school, the air becomes crisp and cool and there's just something about getting into the groove of a new schedule I dig.

With things slowing down a bit after the wrap up of this class, I've taken the time to slow down and catch up on a few home projects.

Last week I ordered a box of peaches and fresh corn from our local produce coop and made jam and frozen corn to stock the freezer and pantry.  

My kids LOVE it when I preserve things.  It really is a lot of work.  In fact, so much work there are times during the days I do it that I wonder why on earth I don't just go BUY the peach jam or frozen corn…

Then I remember when I was 12 and my mom sat by and supervised while I made my first batch of peach jam which later was entered into the county fair and came back with first prize.   And I realize that I don't do this to save money – there's just something about harvesting the fruit of your own work that I love.  As my kids say, "Mom, there's no one that does it the way we like that you do."

Approaching the work of curating a photo library is very similar.  It is going to require some early rising in the proverbial summer and some later evenings because the days are longer and you will want to take advantage of the extra sunlight (or technology) to make hay while the sun shines. However, when it comes to Autumn, there is nothing like the feeling you get when you harvest the fruits of the work of those long days.

Sure, you could have bought it off the shelf with just automated face recognition and places or used the software that boasts it organizes everything for you… However, if you've ever had fresh peach jam with fresh peaches you blanched and processed yourself with the secret family recipe passed on for generations, you know there's no way it will ever be the same.  

There's just something about making something from scratch just the way you want it that makes it more than worth the effort…

Photo courtesy of hamron on Flickr.