Whatever you call it, in our neck of the woods, this time of the year means one thing for our fishing-obsessed sons:
Salmon.
Look at that catch. Insane, right?
Steve organized a float trip on the Skagit River for six homeschooling friends (boys-only!), most of them between 11 and 14 years old. One canoe, one drift boat, one raft and two days later, they had caught 19 salmon. Granted, they are not the fancy Kings and Silvers that most people covet - these here are Humpys (Pinks), which most people don't consider particularly good eating. But when they are put into brine and then smoked, they are awesome.
The dudes started out in the rain. We have been desperate for rainfall, what with the drought and wildfires and all, so we are grateful for it. But watching the guys get ready for their two day adventure on the river, huddling in the rain, I felt a little sorry for them. They didn't care, though.
After a safety talk (What to do when you fall out of the raft? Which way to point your feet? What if you get sucked under a fallen tree sticking into the water?), they set off.
When I picked them up the next day, they were tired, but fizzing with excitement. 19 salmon. What good providers they are!
I think it's important for the boys to have guy time without us doting females around. They can grunt around the camp fire, spit and chew, scratch their balls uninhibited... They get to spend time with the older, wiser men - fathers, mentors and good people, all of them.
My almost 12-year old son got to share a tent with his 14-year old friend, who apparently told him how to get a girlfriend. It tickles me to no end to know that my son is getting advice from a peer. I asked him what the advice was, and Kai reluctantly told me. "You tell the girl something nice about the way she looks."
Huh. Yeah. Works for me.
When the guys are out bonding and doing manly things, Eva and I stay behind to take care of the farm and animals. It's kind of nice when it's just the two of us. Quieter. Gentler. We did some girl things: paint our nails, do mud facials, eat chocolate.
Also, fall? Fall means harvesting things we grew, admiring things that other people grew, canning, pickling, fermenting. I continue to make over ten pounds of cheese every week. (There's still time to sign up for my online cheese making class).
I'm getting addicted to making fancy kombucha drinks, where I make kombucha and then ferment it a second time with fruit and ginger, which makes it delightfully fizzy. It tastes like the most expensive ginger ale you can buy, except it costs so much less to make your own (and it's much healthier).
I will leave you with a picture of my three helpers, with new haircuts, compliments of the head lice that are now completely under control, thank you very much.
How is your fall going?
Oh Hallelujah Sister! I am so glad things are back to normal and that you have some rain. Blessed rain! We're still waiting and it's supposed to be 105 today and 107 tomorrow.
ReplyDelete(just finished a bowl of greek yogurt and fresh peaches. YUM)
That fishing trip is the stuff of memories for those boys. Oh my. What a great thing to do with them. It just make my heart swell up. It also invokes a memory of my dad telling us how he and his dad would take off in a canoe to fish for sturgeon on the great Ottawa River in Canada and his mom and grandmother would be standing on the shore waving goodbye and crying because they were sure they wouldn't see my dad and grandfather again. They were sure the canoe would capsize in the heavy water. But it didn't capsize and my dad was the greatest fisherman I've ever known.
Have you ever heard of water kefir or tried it? Your fizzy reminds me of when I was in Kansas and my sister's friend is really into kombucha and water kefir. It's like a fizzy light juice flavored water.
Love your pictures. Some day we'll get rain and relief from the heat, too.
So glad you are successful with the greek yogurt!
DeleteAnd 107 degrees in the fall is wayyyyyy too hot!
After today, which is supposed to be even hotter (hard to imagine but yes) it's supposed to start cooling down and I saw on the weather report that it's supposed to be 76 next Thursday with a 30% chance of showers in the morning. Please please please come true!
DeleteHallöle!! Wie cool, Eva hat ja kurze Haare...... Apropos Läuse... wir haben auch gerade Läusealarm und bis jetzt sind Tom und Paul dran... Hoffentlich bald vorbei!! Drück dich ganz fest!!! Belli
ReplyDeleteOh Gott, ihr auch??? Haben die Buben Lause, oder ist es nur ein Alarm?
DeleteLove this post. Quite the catch for the young gentleman. Great advice from the friend on how to meet girls. :) That made me chuckle.
ReplyDeleteI am wishing I lived closer, as then I could come raid all those delicious looking canned goods.
Enjoy your September!
Wow, who would have thought you guys would glean some dating advice from my blog?
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