Things have settled down into a routine in the store. Our men's room is almost completed and looks great. We hope it will be up and running for the Labor Day weekend. The campground stays about half full during the week and fills to capacity most weekends. The owners tell us things slow down considerably after Labor Day.
We've been working hard to find a winter assignment, but have been unsuccessful so far. We had high hopes for a job at the Santa Cruz/Monterey KOA. It looks like a gorgeous campground, just 1/2 mile from the Pacific, close to Mark and his family, and with all the amenities we could wish for. They thought they might need some part-time help because a Workamper's child took a bad fall and was in critical condition. Fortunately, the child is recovering and the Workampers have decided not to leave, so there is not a posistion there. Needless to say, I am very glad the child is recovering, despite the job not being available.
We were off Tuesday and Wednesday this week. We did some work around the camper on Tuesday and on Wednesday we drove to Grand Rapids, about an hour east of here. We went to the new Camping World store and bought some RV supplies we needed and then headed for Meijer's Botanic Gardens. It's a really lovely spot, full of sculptures as well as gorgeous flowers. This is the children's garden. In addition to the sculptures of children playing a circle game, there was a section of the garden where all the flowers smelled like food--licorice, chocolate, peppermint and spaghetti to name a few.
There was also a trail through a wetlands. We saw lots of birds, including these ducks all lined up in a row.Speaking of birds, we continue to enjoy our feeders. There are more goldfinches than any other kind of bird, including sparrows! They're such cheerful looking little yellow fellows. We also have a hummingbird feeder and see these tiny jewels several times a day. The other day, one of the hummingbirds got into the laundry room and the owner came running to our RV to see if I could help get the poor thing back out. We finally succeeded, but not before we made idiots of ourselves with a broom and a big crabbing net!
There was also an old farmhouse with gardens that would have been typical of the flowers and vegetables that would have been planted in the early part of the 20th century.
I know that farm kids probably had a blast riding horses and ponies, but I never would have guessed they'd ride a pig! I wonder if the pig would cooperate?!
On the way back home we stopped and bought peaches at the same stand we had bought cherries at earlier in the season. The hollyhocks have died back, but the apple trees are loaded with ripening fruit and the peaches smelled heavenly! I imagine this old wagon made many trips over the dirt roads laden with great produce in its day!Wiley and I have been on a jelly making kick lately. He's picked lots of blackberries and blueberries that we've turned into jam, so we decided we'd try some peach butter (like apple butter, but made from peaches). We think it turned out great, and it was really simple. You cut the peaches and combine them with sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg and put it in the crock pot. It's cooked for 5 hours covered and another 5 hours uncovered. It's a beautiful, rich brown color and smells heavenly!
We're going to Ypsilanti for another visit with Tom and his family next week. I can't believe that Anna is starting kindergarten, Margo is starting preschool, and Claire is starting to walk! Time sure flies. Wiley and I miss all of you and appreciate hearing from you. Have a great week, and check in again next week for some more of our ramblings.
4 comments:
I think you and Wiley should pick up that old barrel that is sitting by the hay wagon and bring it along back to Florida. I recently saw one at the thrift shop here in Ocala and they wanted $45 for the thing!
Those fruits look so good and tasty so the next time we see you we will all be wanting to taste your peach butter/jam. Yum! Yum! The apples looked so good, too.
The kids' garden sounds wonderful and I imagine the aromas would be a big hit. I especially loved the nice flower photo, and the ducks on the log shot, with their reflections in the water. The kid riding the pig reminded me of the greased pig contests they used to have in Pennsylvania. Did you ever see one? The fire company in our area used to really grease those pigs -- with lard, of all things. The one who could hold on to the pig got to keep it. I can still hear their squeals as they were chased around the pen.
What memories your travels bring back to us. I've become addicted to your blog!
I think that barrel had been sitting there since the last time it sat in the wagon following a trip home from the general store!
We'll save some jam for you. The apples should be ripe by the time you get here. We'll have to make some apple turnovers.
I never saw a greased pig contest, but I've read about them. Did you ever try riding one?
Actually, one afternoon contest was to see who could "ride" a pig the longest. Children of a certain age were given the opportunity to "try" riding the pigs. What happened was about half a dozen pigs were let loose within a large area of one of the farmer's fields. At the sound of a whistle, three or four boys (I don't remember any girls trying it) ran into the field chasing after the pigs. If a child managed to catch a pig, he was able to hang on only a few seconds, if at all. Nothing serene like in your photo.
Nowadays, according to some of the animal specials on TV, pigs do make good pets for some persons. Maybe those pigs are rideable! That's difficult for me to visualize because the pigs we slopped were not very clean at all. They loved rolling around in the dirt and cool mud on hot days. I guess the term "slopping pigs" came from the food we gave them -- I just remember we mixed their feed in buckets with water and poured this wet mush into long, metal troughs. Those pigs gobbled up the stuff, slopping it all over the place and over each other while eating it. There, you now know more about pigs than you probably ever imagined.
I worked with a gal who had a pet pig (one of the miniature varieties). She said it was very clean and smart (she even let it in the house). They're supposed to be even smarter than dogs!
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