Saving Summer

It was cold last night, frosty in spots here and there. The last tender vines of the winter squash and the peppers, unprotected in the vegetable garden, have frozen and withered. But the basil, even more tender, was sheltered at the back door, tucked into the kitchen garden, and this afternoon it was still bright and green, just as in the hottest days. Now I have cut it all down, and I will make pesto to freeze. Then in the deep of winter, we will have pesto dolloped on soup or mixed with pasta. And it will taste like summer. And it will remind us that warm days will come again.