Because we’re not open for guests this summer, a number of people seem to think that gives us somewhat of a reprieve from working….. since, after all, we aren’t serving meals to 75 guests and 20 staff members three times a day. Definitely, a notion far from reality. Admittedly, we’re not cooking everyday, or managing staff……. but WITHOUT staff, that means that Kashaya and I are doing most of what needs to be done. Except for Tiffany, who’s been gardening up a storm, Marion who was here for awhile getting the perennial beds in order, Tom, who, when he’s here, fixes every bit of plumbing that breaks (and with an older system like ours, there’s plenty of breakage!), Casey, who comes to gather wood and build pizza fires three times a week, and a few various and sundry other folks who come to do excavator work and lake line/siphon work…. or other repair processes that we can’t do ourselves.
Kashaya and I get to prepare toppings for pizzas, make and bake pizzas, freeze pizzas, package and label pizzas, then haul them into the Farmer’s Market and/or the Brewery to sell. Say 170 pizzas per week? And then, we get to wash all the pots, wipe all the counters, mop all the floors, etc…… then start all over again! After working in the garden, prepping fruit for freezing for later jam making (once the jars arrive from China), packing up jam to ship, arranging/selling flowers, feeding animals, gathering, washing and packaging eggs, etc., etc., etc. I’m not complaining! Just trying to paint a picture. The farm needs to be kept up throughout and we need to bring in the income that guests normally do……. so that we can open again next summer in some capacity or other.
Only two apple pies so far this season….. two small batches of ice cream….. no poems. All were delicious….. probably more so because there have ONLY been two, not 10 each week all summer long.
Crows and ravens can’t seem to keep away from the tree fruit…… elegantly colored song birds flit from ripe raspberry to ripe raspberry, picking just the ripest of the ripe nubbins…….. raccoons are now marauding through the garden, and have set their sites on our nearly ripe cantalopes! We’re planning to cage each hill before nightfall, and hope that our intelligence remains greater than theirs…..
The river is low….. but still has wonderful swimming holes. Beaver, otter, crayfish, bear, fox, coyote, deer…… all continue to be seen either in the river, or beside the river. Frogs, toads, snakes, lizards, yellow jackets, bees, flies….. they’re all still here!
Pictures from June and August… nearly the same spot. Clouds for spring and fall…. Clear skies for summer, or so it seems.
A few pictures have come in for the Emandal Emulation….. Haven’t figured out quite how to display them…. but I should do something quite soon! Here are two photos from our row of seeds.
Our local radio station, KZYX, has a call-in show every Saturday morning at 10am….. Trading Time! Last Saturday, a man offered free plums in Fort Bragg! FREE plums! Of course, it was much too enticing to ignore. We made it over to his place on Sunday afternoon…. and were able to pick six or so lugs of luscious, red, juicy, wild plums….. enough for jam AND for Pizzas with Plums. Wild Plum Brie was a HIT!
His house is set on a hillside, with lovely gardens surrounding him….. and this extraordinary sculpture hanging in the middle, which he created! It was much cooler on the coast…. a nice respite….. AND we were able to stop to get fish and chips for lunch at Sea Pal in Noyo Harbor.
We know that we will open in some capacity next season….. we just don’t know what that looks like yet. If we knew, we’d probably be covered by national news, instead of Dr. Fauci.
What a crazy time….. and a fascinating world. “Normal.” Who knew…..
Take care, send pictures of your flowers, etc….. and know that our phone numbers have been reduced. At this point, the number for Tam and Emandal is: 707-459-9252. Everything else has been disconnected (we were having LOTS of problems with AT&T, let me tell you!) And don’t expect an answer… we’re not by the phone much. Email is our best form of communication. ZOOM? REALLY? You think I’m a zoomer? As yet, no. However, I know it’s the way of the future….. I just can’t figure out what back-drop I need to have……