If everything had gone along as *planned*, I would have broken up our adventures at our friend's Northern California cabin into subjects such as The Food We Ate, The Wildlife We Saw, Spoosy's Magical Garden, etc. But I did not plan well, not at all. I did not post for almost two weeks and now instead, I'm just going to post one big collection of photos as colorful and scrambled as the thoughts that run through my mind this time of year. Here is to the end of summer and to the beginning of my favorite season!
We found this big guy hopping around Spoosy's squash blossoms. Nothing says wonderful childhood moment better than a little man's dirty hands wrapped around a giant toad.
Did someone say squash?! One day's harvest from Spoosy Moose's incredible vegetable garden. We made pesto gnocchi for lunch, and then stuffed the leftovers into blossoms which we fried for dinner that night. I also fried up zucchini and corn cakes with cheddar cheese. We ate fresh kale chips every day.
Spoosy contemplates her garden in the early morning while a young man enjoys reading one of his birthday gifts.
Like I said, Spoosy is just about as four-wheel drive as a grandmother can be. After she caught this salamander for the kids, she swam a half-mile up river where we met her (in the boat). There she taught the kids how to look for salmon underwater.
The boys fished for salmon every day.
Little Miss dances on a dry riverbed. :)
Hundreds of bats live in the barn and we visited them daily.
There were a hundred beautiful moments during our four days up north, but my favorite one was a simple birthday celebration by candlelight. All he wanted for his big day was a bowl of ice cream. And then another.