Summer's end....

I've been on the road a lot this summer. The warm weather took me to New York for a week in late May-early June, Pullman, WA-Grangeville, ID for a week in early July, Lake Coeur d'Alene, ID-Priest Lake, ID for two weeks in August, and, most recently, the Tri-Cities, WA for the annual Tumbleweed Music Festival.

Priest Lake is BEAUTIFUL

As Fall approaches, we're traveling to Illinois/Michigan for a week in mid-September, and have tentative camping plans for later in the month. In addition to these travels, we also have hosted many visitors, and managed to squeeze in a big hike last weekend in the Cascades.

Check out all the huckleberries we picked!

My summer also has been full of vegetables. I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver currently and my awareness of the repercussions of the global food market (already fairly informed) has been heightened. This coincides with a summer wherein I've grown and consumed more local produce than ever before. For the past few years, my friend Mary and I share a vegetable box from a Community Sponsored Agriculture(CSA) program with Helsing Junction Farm of Rochester, WA, about 100 miles south of Seattle. If you are unfamiliar with CSAs, they work kind of like corporate stock or bonds--you buy a share of the farm, provide the funds to enable them to plant the seeds. In return, you receive boxes of bounty for 4 months. If the climate is fertile that year, the vegetable return may be greater than expected; however, if there's excess rain or too much sun, the yield may be lesser than desired. It's a risky investment in some ways, but it pales in comparison to the risk that the farmer takes. By extending the fruits of one's labor to the community, the farmer doesn't have to stand completely alone to shoulder the fiscal brunt of a tomato blight or drought.

In addition to bringing home a box of produce every other week this year, Mary challenged me to take my love of local produce to a new level by growing our own. Mary owns a rental property with a big plot of fertile dirt in the back. This May, Wes, Mary and I turned over the dirt, yanked weeds, and ultimately planted a nice-sized garden for ourselves. We planted tons of tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, snap peas, green beans, squash, tomatillos, peppers, carrots, arugula, onions, basil, and cilantro. The beans were the big disappointment--hardly any popped up and we had to replant them. Likewise, I think the peas didn't yield as much as I hoped. It wasn't the hottest summer in Seattle, with the big rains in July--so the squash also has been less than prolific and the tomatoes slower to ripen. But the tomatoes sure are ripening up now! I've been trying to find use for all these great veggies--cooking lots, gifting to friends, and speculating about canning and pickling options.

Yes, I grew these tomatoes.

The downside of all these fun adventures=my writing productivity has suffered. And that knowledge really bums me out and makes these adventures and experiences less awesome in my mind. I NEED to finish this book. I NEED to move into a new stage with my writing. I NEED to see what lies beyond this story--what other stories am I sitting on? I do have ideas about next projects, but until I finish this project, I'm not allowing myself to mull them over much. Must finish book. Next time you see me, bother me about finishing my book. I may glare at you and groan, but I need as many kicks in the ass as possible.

And now, I am off to finish cleaning up my office in hopes of writing there again! Happy end of summer!