Gone and Home

It's been raining. A lot. So much water collected on the gazebo roof that a robin used one puddle as a birdbath.  The temperature dropped into the 60s as darkness fell. I've turned off the window fans, turned on the lights. I am back in my little cottage after a trip to Oregon to visit family. It was three weeks of good food, non-stop conversation, and lots of hiking. While there I got to meet blogging buddy, Kerry Bliss of Ed and Reub. It was a mutual admiration society.

Two bloggers meet. 

One weekend was spent on the coast at Oceanside. The beach is a wild and windy place. The sunsets were spectacular. The beach held treasures and oddities and, in the midst of untamed, clamoring life, death in the sand.

We hiked along a trail of towering trees, towering cliff sides, spectacular views. Even more spectacular were the sunsets.

The middle week was spent with my sisters at their home in Monmouth. We took hikes on a nearby farm, stayed up late talking, and drank innumerable cups of tea together. And we picked plums, lots of plums!

Eldest son and LOTS of plums!

The final week was spent with my son. He's a fine cook, a wonderful gardener, and loves preserving his harvests. This year he had an abundance of pears, grapes, apples, and yes, plums. I spent much of the week canning fruit - 52 pints in all! He had a great time stomping grapes for juice.

Drying grapes in a dehydrator.

Stomping grapes for juice.

A few of the 17 jars of pear sauce. 

I miss my sisters and my son. I miss the ocean's roar, the scream of the hawk over open meadows, the sigh of the wind through towering tree branches. But oh, I'm so glad to be home.