her
August

My grandmother water-bathed her green beans
every August in this county.

The low-acid line:

High-acid fruit, pickles — the simmer is enough.
Low-acid beans, corn, meat — the spores sleep safe in the jar,
and wake in the dark. Water can't touch them.

240pressure — 10 lb gauge
vs
212boiling water

That 28 degrees is the whole line
between safe and sorry.

Up here at near 900 feet, we adjust.
A weighted gauge has to rock.
A dial gauge has to read true — check it every year.

Keep her beans. Keep her jars full.
Just add what she didn't have: a gauge set right,
and patience to let the dial do its job.
That's how the whole Sunday table stays talking.