Sorry about the bitter tone of my last post! I just get upset when we go to the trouble to plan an activity, and no one shows up. Thank you so much to my friend, K., f/bringing the monkey's buddy!
So, we actually had a great time, and a great weekend. On Friday, the monkey & I drove to Laetitia Winery (speeding ticket on the 166-rats!) for a free barbecue. It was soooo much fun! Free hot dogs or hamburgers, free wine tastings, and music, all in a lovely outdoor setting. They even served raspberry/Barnwood cabernet ice cream w/little chunks of chocolate in it. Yum! Unfortunately, no photos...Monkey & I saw an old guy ram the back of his minivan into a post; dented the van & broke out his back window. Moderation is the KEY...I only had 3 tastings, although I could have had way more...
On Saturday, we had the aforementioned storytime/craft. Then, in the early evening, our little family attended the Ridge Route Museum's barbecue. The Ridge Route is our local treasure, a wealth of local area artifacts and history. They had a 3-piece ensemble playing bluegrass tunes (Michelle Nosco on the fiddle).
The museum supplied burgers and hot dogs, guests supplied the sides. We brought a pasta salad and brownies. It was fun sampling other patrons' dishes, and the owners of The Patch brought yellow watermelon, which you cannot find in stores.
The monkey was able to practice roping a cow (he did really well, I think he inherited the cowboy gene from me!). Then, he learned how to pan for gold. Of course, now I want to get the cubbies out to Lockwood Creek and go pan for gold!!
Now, here is an amazing story of fate: out of the blue, the monkey starts telling the prospecting club member about the movies his dad has worked on. The prospector has another hobby: connecting people with their unclaimed money. Turns out, he was looking for a man who worked in set lighting (the hub is a 728 member), & because of moving around, didn't receive some of his paychecks. Hub looks up the name in his 728 directory, gives the prospector the man's telephone number, and it was the correct guy! The guy is now $10,000 richer! Talk about kismet...
Now, if you remember, last fall I discovered the joy of harvesting pine nuts. This year, I am determined to gather elderberries for elderberry jam. Well, some nice young ladies had a basket of ripe elderberries to share, that they gathered on the southern end of the old Ridge Route road. In the mountains, our elderberry bushes are in bloom, and the berries won't be ready until August/September.
If you look at the photo above, you can see what an elderberry bush in bloom looks like (the flowers are reminiscent of Queen Anne's lace, but yellow). AND, look at the clump of berries the monkey is holding: elderberries! They are tiny and very sour, but like cranberries, would be yummy when sweetened with something to balance (an elderberry/peach pie, perhaps?).
So, I will be on an elderberry quest this fall, but also be on the lookout for bears, who are huge consumers of this wild berry. The Ridge Route museum has a little cookbook that tells how to make elderberry jam!!
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