It's All About Family

This time of year is the very best, in my opinion. I love the Fall in Colorado, and every other place I've ever lived. Even though the leaf colors are not as dramatic here as they are in places such as New Matamoras, Ohio, where I lived in 2007-2009, this time of year is most pleasant.

I am looking forward to having all three of my sons together in one place. My youngest, Scott, has just returned to the States after living and working several years abroad, and he brings with him his beautiful wife, Woohye Jang, and their world-traveling cat, Domino, who has had the privilege of living the feline lifestyle in both Malaysia and Poland.

Oldest son Ryan, his wife Trish and their son Vorian, recently relocated from cold Gunnison to tropical Grand Junction, and son Marty and family live nearby on Cedar Mesa. When Scott and Woohye stop by this weekend on their way to a job transfer in California, I hope to have all of them together at least for a meal. And I don't need to say what a relief it is to me having my baby home again.

Meanwhile, life on the farm continues to be filled with never-ending projects. The new flock of chickens are three-and-a-half months old now. We lost one chick to a goshawk in early July, which led to the "netting project," building a canopy over their run area in our small orchard. That has been an ongoing, tedious project, to say the least, but we are seeing progress and look forward to the day when we can just let the birds out into their playground without having to watch them.

Fruit was plentiful this year. I canned pie cherries, apricots, peaches and plums so far, and the garden has given us an abundance of cucumbers, tomatoes, kale, sweet corn, green beans, peppers and zucchini squash. Raspberries are late, but I'll have enough to make jam in another week.

It has been a joy to get back to canning and preserving foods like I did when I lived in Paonia and in Ohio. We live in such a beautiful place with wonderful neighbors and fantastic weather. September has always been my favorite time of year, and this year has been no exception.

Of course, writing continues ... after "Ground Hog," I took a short break, but soon fell into producing some sequels to my memoir, STEPPING FORTH. I have completed the 1976 booklet of STEPPING INTO THE '70s, all about having just gotten my degree at Michigan State and then finding out I was going to have my first child. The story is worth telling, but probably won't go on sale at Amazon or book stores. If you are interested in reading it, please inquire and I'll sell you a copy for just $7.00.

November is not that far away, and I intend to begin writing the next (7th) book in the Annette Vetter series. At least one reader was disappointed in #6 because it ended so abruptly. Well, that was intentional ... I wanted the reader to know that there was more ahead. And believe me, there is.

After I finish writing this blog entry, I'm heading into the kitchen for another cup of coffee and a bite of breakfast, and then I've got tomatoes to process ... they are coming on like you can't believe ... and the first frost is not that far away, so I'll be running against the clock to get my canning done.