Whatever Happened to September?

"I'm fishing for crawdads."

I had a wonderful fun time in Gold Hill, OR and Bellingham, WA this past August, which I apparently never blogged about here. To make up for that oversight, I have interspersed this narrative--for which I have no photos to share--with a few of my favorites from that trip.

I was treated to many a spontaneous song and dance performance.

September is gone... thank goodness! It was a heck of a month for us.

Campfire at Yurok fish camp.

First, there was the car crash. I got side-swiped by a semi whose driver apparently thought it was a good idea to pass me on the left while emergency vehicles were zooming through on the right. Needless to say, our little Kia didn't fare too well.

Learning how to bait the hook.

But eventually, once we heard back from the insurance that they weren't going to help us at all, Mike found a replacement fender, patched up the bumper, and replaced the headlight assembly, so the little Kia can be driven again. Kerry will use it to commute to work and massage clients.

Prepping the miniature steam engine. So cool!

We also bought a new (to us) car that feels like a tank - a very comfortable one! It's a nice older Camry that is in terrific shape. I'm still working through a sore shoulder & neck, but at least I can drive again... in and around Pahoa anyway (still can't get up the nerve to try Hilo yet).

Sno-cones at the Train Park.

Meanwhile, we had a bit of an egg overload. The restaurant we've been selling to called up one evening saying "no more eggs". This, only two days after hearing from the other partner in the restaurant business (the one we usually deal with) that they wanted as many eggs as we could provide to them. Uh, nothing like a little warning, guys.

Spent many a hot afternoon by the Rogue River.

Hoping this is all cleared up now, but it made us realize how precarious our position is, relying on only one business for most of our sales. So we decided to branch out a little, and last weekend we tried selling at one of the many local farmer's markets, the one right in Pahoa on Sunday mornings.

Grammy's always good for science experiments, and so we made Krakon slime.

Now, we helped run a farmer's market in the past (Mike's mom, Sue, started the one that's still going strong in Bonners Ferry) and, let me tell you, there were many improvements we could see right off the bat. For instance, they put newbie sellers in the back, which does not bode well for exposure or sales. And they line the booths up in such a way that there are many short dead-ends, which generally means that folks wander along the main path and just peek down the sidelines.

First fishing trip.

Anyway, we did sell several dozen and handed out quite a few business cards, but the main interest was in the organic animal feed we're bringing in. We've garnered several more customers for the feed. I'm thinking that we might cut back on the animal production and concentrate on expanding this aspect of our farm. We'll see how things pan out, but one thing for sure: it would free up a LOT of time for other projects that keep getting shoved to the back burner.

Contemplating the path less traveled.

Somewhere along the way, we passed our six year "island anniversary" of living full-time on Hawaii. And laid to rest a couple good friends. I earned my first royalty check from the sale of my farm book. And Kerry had to have all four wisdom teeth surgically removed - with complications afterwards that she's still dealing with... and only two weeks after starting a new job. Talk about timing.

Enjoying the river on a hot afternoon.

It's been that kind of month - one positive thing, and a few negative ones to tip the scales the other way.

Last day with the grandkiddos, by the river.

Now it's October, one of my favorite months of the entire year. Let's hope it has better things in store for us.

My firstborn and his sweetheart.

Rare photo of me with both parents. Mahalo Shirley, for this one!