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This year has been busy and with few life changes. Again, I took no trips or vacations, content to be in Five Rivers, filling my spare time with fishing and gardening. The garden has been great fun again this year and with a constant supply of healthy organic delights. In addition to the veggies, the river bank lined with delicious blackberries, a productive row of Concord grapes, the raspberries and strawberries bearing heavy, all helped top off the freezer with fruit and juice while keeping myself, this household, friends, and neighbors delighted too.
Peggy and Terry helping pick the abundant strawberry crop, Memorial Day weekend.
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Fourth of July, in the garden with knee-high corn.
This sunny location with incredible soil doubly rewards my getting a little exercise
when it's nice outside.
The Fuller family, friends, and neighbors share the fun, the grazing, and the produce. No waste here.
Katie and Corwyn enjoy Bodie's favorite pastime, chasing a water spray. I hosted my Portland quadred friends again this summer.
While the parents harvest the garden, I play with the kids. Setting gopher traps
to protect the plants captured their fascination this year.
Christine and Corwyn helping harvest one day—discovering a pumpkin has your name growing on it is sure to surprise any four year old.
Neighbor Dorothy and son Bruce on Labor day. More photos of the past year are on Facebook, including garden and sunflower albums.
Cross-pollinating sunflower varieties continued this year, along with growing flower and wildflower seeds. Time to start preparing next year's seeds.
This is the vigorous Coho that broke my newest fishing rod. I thought the line broke, so I jumped in and scooped it out by hand.
Twice this year I caught a salmon by hand, this one on the second try, another after the line broke on the fifth try. They are slippery!
The Fall salmon run was good fishing. The salmon really topped off the freezer, totally filling the last available niches.
Life in the middle of the Siuslaw National Forest has its rewards, peace and quiet, clean air and water, and some great wild treats too.
The orange chanterelles were productive this year, the whites were elusive. Large, perfect matsutakes flavored dishes for a month.
On the health front, I've been well until the last month, with blood pressure normal without medication. Then I broke out with shingles for Thanksgiving. I still have discomfort, but will be ready to fish steelhead as soon as the river clears from recent heavy winter rains.
Well, that's the annual summary. In a nutshell, just like last year except way more garden produce and I'm 65 now. My research news is online in the ArchaeoBlog.
From my home to yours, here's wishing you a Merry Holiday Season and all the best in 2015.
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