A Four Days Absence Catch Up Post
Last night as I sat enjoying a piece of blueberry pie with the thirteen time national air pistol champion, a thought occurred to me, I have a rather interesting life. I mean, I think everyone has interesting lives, but mine seems to contain multiple juxtapositions of seemingly random events, often many of such events in just one day.
Take yesterday for instance, the previous night a man delivered port-a-potties to my new campsite that we have built: Flicker's Roost. Word got out that Flicker's Roost was a thing and before you could say voluntold we were to be hosting a Boy Scout Shooting Merit Badge Camp Out at our place. We don't even do anything with the Boy Scouts, but a dear friend of ours is a scout master, and somehow my husband became a firearms merit badge something or other, and then a camp out happened.
Anyway, when I drove on to the farm late Friday night there were a plethora of tents, a trailer, and a motor home in residence on the corner of my farm in Flicker's Roost. Strangely enough, the following morning they all were still there, I waved at them as I drove by with my baby gorilla.
My son, Bobo, is slightly on the large side. He is also more than slightly strong, and surprisingly fast considering his large composition. He enjoys football, and yesterday he and I hurtled to Coeur d'Alene for his first football game of the season while my hubs and daughter taught the Boy Scouts all things firearms.
The sky was looking a little gross. By gross I mean something akin to fogged in London with a hint of nuclear winter. I was a little concerned about Bobo playing in the smoke, but the air quality index was 87 so that wasn't unsafe.
We got to CDA and my beast began crushing people. One time as the young wrecking ball came hurtling up the side lines with the ball in his arm, one brave soul thought about tackling him, only to throw his arms up and flinch as my son launched him into space. One thing I like about my Bobo is that he is a "Nice Mean" as one kid put it. He picks up people and pats them after he crushes them. Okay, I also like that it takes at least three large and five small people to tackle him and that he plays running back, nose guard, and kicker. I might be slightly proud.
However, as the game went on the air really started taking a turn for the worse, so I wasn't sad when they called the game at half time. After procuring my beast some victory chicken we ran back to the farm where I proceeded to make 8 pizzas worth of dough and constructed some monsterous stuffed crust pizzas. You see, aside from the camp out happening there were also about 9 teenagers staying with us too. I say about because you know how youths with cars are, they flow in an out and all about. Kind of like a certain dance that I just thought of. Anyway, I conducted a food experiment and made a banana chocolate chip cake with peanut butter frosting. It lasted as long a Tik Tok video. I should get a grant or something.
Then my husband walked into the house and reminded me that it was the annual gun club dinner and meeting. I might have let out an audible groan. Not that I don't enjoy going to the annual dinner and meeting, but I was already worn flatter than a pancake on a highway in Arizona.
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Back to Coeur d'Alene we went.
You see, my hubs runs the youth small bore program at the CDA gun range. It really is a fantastic thing. On Friday nights from September through April, for $5 youth 18 and under can get safety training, instruction, ammo, a firearm, and all the gear needed to shoot on the range in a competitive manner. Some of the kids have become distinguished experts in all the disciplines. Last year my hubs had 91 shooters, and that of course means he has 91 kids and their parents to give a bad time to, which means I dodge all sorts of metaphorical bullets. Let's just say I love Friday nights!
So that was how I found myself sitting with a dude named Roger, eating lemon cookies while he demolished a slice of blueberry pie and listening to him explain the fine art of air pistol shooting to me. I had never met this man and the first thing he did was make a crack about how we were the only people there without grey hair. His statement was accurate, most of the membership of the gun club are in the over 65 set, but they are all something let me tell you! The president is a gold medal winning Olympian and marine. He also likes cheesecake. It's important to know the details.
Lastly, it's almost fall and such, and lest you think I have been slacking in the food preservation realm, I have soooooo not been. This week, in every spare minute I have been canning and stuff. By stuff I mean I have also been saving seeds. Tomatoes are super easy, I just go all dissecting pathologist on the fruit and gut it, letting a bunch of the juice and goo fall into a plastic container along with the seeds. Then I just set the goo somewhere to ferment and scum for a couple weeks. After that bit of nastiness occurs I will wash off the seeds, let them dry on a paper towel, and voila! Cherokee Purple tomato seeds for next year! Woo!
Speaking of seeds, I need to get off my flintlocks and order my seed garlic, this month is half over!! AHH!
Ya'll have any varieties of garlic that you dig more than others? I enjoy Music and Romanian Red, and this one Polish variety that I can't quite remember the name of at the moment.
I've grown German Extra Hardy here in new England for many years now. Tried some others but they didn't do as well.
The whole "extra hardy" being a part of that variety's name really inspires a bit of confidence doesn't it? LOL! I don't know if I have ever grown that particular type, but if it can make it in New England I should definitely give it a try, your winters are legend:)
That must have been interesting conversation. There is something special about highly accurate people. My dad used to win pins shooting silhouettes at 500 yds with his Contender pistol. I find them to be a bit more calm than most people, all the breath work.
I am to the point I don't need to save seeds from tomatoes as I have so many volunteers every year I could probably sell some and have more than I need.
Multiple trips to town in one day are always a pain in the ass and it is even worse in this smoke. Hopefully we get some respite soon.
Ooh, you are so right, they have this inner stillness about them, people who are highly accurate as you say, that really intrigues me. AND HOLY PINS! Your dad sounds amazing! I can't even imagine hitting anything at 500 yards, I am more of the hummingbird type of person, so skeet shooting is my jam, lol. However, I am kinda intrigued about the air pistol shooting, Roger (the guy) said to drop by Tuesday and he would let me play with his toys at the range. I like the idea of not having to worry about ammo as much and stuff. Eh, who am I kidding, right now I have my hands beyond full with stuff too do, maybe later this winter?
And I got to rambling a bit there, ha ha. Sometimes I have volunteers in my greenhouse, but I due to the way I grow my tomatoes in the landscape fabric, I have to save seed. Once again I am a touch jealous, lol, j/k.
I hope we all get some respite soon too, this smokacolypse is sad....
I would be very interested to see what air pistols he uses. Probably custom ones if he is 13 time national champ. Like the bi-athletes that ski and shoot have badass custom guns.
I use plastic over my entire garden but with all the tomatoes that hit the ground and then when I pull the plastic the seeds get everywhere. I don't clean the plastic before pulling so end up with seeds of all kinds left in it. Now that we will have the studio with lots of light I will be able to actually start seeds for once, normally i just direct seed the ground.
Please let me know when your son has a local game! I'd love to watch him mow people down, preferable after the air gets better, which I hope it does soon. The tomatoes are ripening slowly here, not enough at one time yet to make canning quantities of salsa. I'm still hoping!