Salmonberries

Walking around in the woods recently, I was treated to a pleasant surprise: salmonberry season is in full swing and I happened upon a great patch. "What are salmonberries?" you ask. Similar to a raspberry in color and fruit structure, salmonberries are a sometimes slightly bitter wild-growing berry of the west coast. Every couple of years around this time, I usually seem to stumbled upon one or two berries, not quite remembering which of the lesser known edible but not awesome berries they are, but have a munch anyway. This time around, however, we found so many and engorged ourselves so much that I doubt I will be unsure in the future*. While the taste of the berries wasn't awesome* (I like my berries with a lot of flavor and sweet), there is just something about a wild growing fruit that always gets me. It is one of the reasons I am so fond of blackberries (even though they are horribly invasive and can tear up a short-pants wearing leg in no time). I guess it reminds me of what it would have been like before agriculture, grocery stores, and imported Chilean fruit became standard. You just go out for a hike, happen upon some berries, eat them right off the bush, and then head back to your wigwam to blog about it.

Tuesday June 9 2009

File under: misc, food

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on Tue 09th Jun, 2009 06:48 am PDT Saxtor said: If you give up refined sugars for several years, they become awesome, flavorful AND sweet!Where was this salmonberry stash found? They weren't even close a week ago at Whistle. ************************ on Tue 09th Jun, 2009 08:36 am PDT Mom said: Rubus spectabilis (Salmonberry) is typically salmon colored--more orange-yellow than red-- when it's ripe. Could be that you jumped the gun on harvesting. They are juicy and, while not sugary sweet, they aren't bitter either when ripe. Your tummies will be the judge. ************************ on Tue 09th Jun, 2009 08:44 am PDT Wren said: Saxtor, the berries in question were found up in Sedro when I quickly popped in for a check on the Oats.Mom, these were definitely ripe. They fell off in our hands. Perhaps maybe overripe? ************************ on Tue 09th Jun, 2009 07:55 pm PDT dave said: nice wigwam comment. how are the oats doing? ************************ on Wed 10th Jun, 2009 01:42 am PDT Sean said: The schnozzberries taste like schnozzberries ************************ on Wed 10th Jun, 2009 02:06 pm PDT Jule said: they weren't thimble berries were they? They tend to fall off in your hand very easily. I have seen salmonberries of that color, but they are less common than the orange ones. just as good though. ************************ on Wed 10th Jun, 2009 04:40 pm PDT Juline said: Love salmonberries, for the same reasons you do. They were a nice snack on bike rides in Humboldt as a kid. Thimbleberries are another one. They're actually sweet, but are usually few and far between. ************************ on Thu 11th Jun, 2009 08:26 am PDT cardboard said: them salmonberrys are just spectacular....get it? I was mowing down last night at cornwall...the dirty huxley kids somehow missed a few. ************************

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Anacortes Sail Boat Racing

For all the experience I have with sailboats (staying on one in the Caribbean, sailing 2200 miles to Tahiti, our family having owned one, etc.), I know surprisingly little about sailing. Yeah, if you tell me to pull the jib sheet, I know what to do. Or if you yell "Jibe Ho!", I'll duck. But if anyone looked to me for what to do, we'd find ourselves up against the rocky shore in no time. Despite all that, I still found my way onto a boat for Wednesday night Anacortes Sail Boat Racing. The weather couldn't have been better (from my perspective. True sailors would have wanted a good bit more wind.) with a cloudless sky above and a calm sea below. We tacked and jibed our way to 3rd place and had a great time. My job started out as ballast* but was promoted to running-back stay switcher* guy once the captain got tired of me asking too many questions. Anyway, I had a wonderful time. The whole experience (complete with BBQ at the yacht club afterward) led me to think that maybe I have boat life in me yearning to get out. Sure I don't know how to sail, occasionally get seasick, and am not inclined to perfection, preemption, or patience (all valuable inclinations in the boating world), but the spirit of it all lives within me. Here's hoping for an upcoming adventure involving boat life!*

Saturday June 6 2009

File under: Anacortes

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on Sat 06th Jun, 2009 11:16 am PDT Sean said: At least they didn't make you the keel! ************************ on Sun 07th Jun, 2009 08:56 pm PDT Jule said: watch out, boats are just holes in the water where you throw your money ************************ on Mon 08th Jun, 2009 01:30 pm PDT Sean said: That's not a schooner ************************

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FC 70 - Sound Investing

Wishing wells have been on my mind recently. I have high aspirations of building one in the near future. Not that any of my wishes have ever come true (that I can remember), but I guess I do wish for some pretty far fetched stuff*. Anyway, this comic idea found its way into my brain recently probably because of the ever presence of the wishing well. Astute readers might recognize the person from a previous comic. I thought I would go ahead an be efficient and reuse instead of attempted to create one myself. Thanks go to Gabriella for Robert. And not that anyone besides Michelle noticed, but sorry for the late post. I try to have the comic up before my Eastern European reader* gets to work on Friday. Last night I was kayak camping on Saddlebag Island, which is glaringly lacking an internet cafe (or electricity for that matter). Anyway, if I got fancy, I could institute an auto-posting mechanism to my custom blog software, but I don't think the Friday Comic will be around long enough to ever make use of it again. Anyhoo, as always, I hope you enjoy and happy Friday!

Friday June 5 2009

File under: comic

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on Fri 05th Jun, 2009 06:07 pm PDT Nesbitt said: Friday comics aren't going to be around??? ************************ on Fri 05th Jun, 2009 11:28 pm PDT Wren said: Nesbitt, all good things must come to an end. Also, I figure the comic series will peter out at some point. But don't worry. I'm sure there is at least 4 more weeks in me. (Oh, hey, do you want to do a comic?) ************************ on Sat 06th Jun, 2009 08:52 am PDT Horge said: And your Eastern European reader appreciates it :) Though, I should point out that this EER usually has Fridays off, and so doesn't see it until the weekend. But I think I may be switched to full-time again, so will in fact be appreciating it Friday mornings, hopefully for a long time to come. If you've got joke ideas/concepts for how it'd look, I could try my hand at it at least once :) ************************

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Random Pictures of Life These Days

Here are a few shots from life the past couple weeks. Nothing ground breaking, but a fun diversion nonetheless on these hot lazy days of summer. (Click each picture for a larger version and caption.)

Tuesday June 2 2009

File under: pictures

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on Tue 02nd Jun, 2009 10:36 am PDT Saxtor said: A bit of context on that horseshoes photo since Wren failed to offer it. Two horseshoes were thrown and landed as shown. It was impossible to determine which was closer using a rudimentary ruler (a stick) so the big guns were brought out. Using a 1/16 measure on the tape, it was determined too close to call (w/in 1/32 or smaller!) and a do-over was granted*. I've never seen such suspense! ************************

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Oats!

I'm growing oats! or at least attempting to. As part of an experiment I'm calling "Plants Grow", I've cleared a small plot on our land up in Sedro Woolley and planted oats. I'll touch more or the experiment later in the year once I have some conclusions to draw. As for why I chose oats, I wanted to find some source of local grain to widen the offerings at this year's local food party*. Oats can be made into flour*, used in granola, and of course oatmeal and oatmeal cookies*. Finding oat seed is not an easy task. After calling all over the county, I found one place that had some, but I had to buy an 88 lb. bag of the stuff. Since my Sedro plot only required about 3 lbs of seed, I have lots left over*. And while it only used about 1 lb. more, I planted a mini oat field here on the home front (with the help of the neighbor boy*), which will also serve as a good control group for my experiment. Anyway, here's hoping for oats come fall!

Saturday May 30 2009

File under: Anacortes, food

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on Tue 02nd Jun, 2009 07:48 pm PDT dave said: if you can't come up with a better use for your extra oats, you should ask my dad about donating them to the rocky mountain elk foundation. they have done a lot to help the nooksack elk population rebound (to huntable numbers now) and part of that is yearly seeding. i'm not sure if the oats would be approved by the DNS, but it's worth asking i suppose? it's for a good cause.. ************************ on Wed 03rd Jun, 2009 04:31 pm PDT Nesbitt said: Good to see that you are sewing your wild oats...somebody had to say it. ************************

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FC 69 - Thats the One Officer

Rejoice! Rejoice! I've talked my east coast comic whiz into supplying another in the much beloved RoShamBo series. (Previous RoShamBo comics here, here, here, and here). As always, Annie took this one and ran with it. It's so great, in fact, that I didn't touch it one bit. No coloring, no captioing, not even any resizing. (I can start to see how middle management might be appealing.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Speaking of which, I hope you have a great Friday. Part of the reason behind this comic series is to celebrate making it through another week, esp. if your week involves sitting at a desk indoor for extended periods of time. So with each Friday Comic post, while it usually goes unsaid, there is the implicit "Happy Friday" wish.

Thursday May 28 2009

File under: comic

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on Fri 29th May, 2009 01:18 pm PDT Sean said: Very clever. ************************

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Crossword - Ten Commandments (For Rover)

It's been a while since I've posted a crossword, and since once upon a time Wednesday was crossword day, I figure what the heck. My latest (#17*) is titled Ten Commandments (for Fido) (printable version here). To find out what that means, I guess you'll have to go do the puzzle. If you are a crossword person, be sure to check out all the other ones I've made on the games page (scroll to the bottom). Typically when I release a new crossword, I post it there and also in the "Recent Content" area of the right hand column (instead of giving each one its own post), so keep your eyes peeled. Lastly, if anyone has an "in" at a publication of any sort that might have an interest in publishing a crossword (newspaper, 'zine, newsletter, weekly, etc.), let's chat. Or if you've got an occasion where a customized crossword puzzle might be a fun addition, let me know.

Wednesday May 27 2009

File under: games

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on Wed 27th May, 2009 08:52 pm PDT Mom said: How about one entitled "Jule & Katy Forever" for their wedding? A very unique party favor, eh? ************************ on Thu 28th May, 2009 10:02 am PDT Andrea said: I finished all but the the middle letter of 49 across and the down clue doesn't seem to help me. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ************************ on Thu 28th May, 2009 10:06 am PDT Wren said: My alternate clue for 49-across was going to be "Able was I ____". Hope that helps. ************************ on Thu 28th May, 2009 11:02 am PDT Andrea said: That's what I thought but the down clue makes no sense to me. ************************ on Thu 28th May, 2009 05:33 pm PDT Andrea said: I should add, Wren, great puzzle, great effort. ************************

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A Weekend with Punksto

Punksto, superstar that she is, was good enough to grace Uma's house here in Anacortes with her presence this weekend. I don't get to spend nearly enough time with my niece, so having some good chill time was wonderful (even if she was running around like a banshee* and could barely pull herself away from playing with the neighborhood kids to humor her poor lonely uncle). We jointly decided that since BdW adventure is rather low these days*, we'd work up a Punksto post. And since a post isn't a proper post without pictures, these are what we got: a portrait in red, putting the dollies to bed, and beach time after playing with charcoal. The real highlight, though, was her new found affinity for Valley Girl culture.

Monday May 25 2009

File under: Anacortes

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on Mon 25th May, 2009 08:39 pm PDT Jule said: Like, that is soooo Awesome! ************************ on Mon 25th May, 2009 09:07 pm PDT Saxtor said: Funny how the rapid aging of youngins catches us oldies off guard. Something tells me you'd have a hard time doing the trick anymore. ************************

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FC 68 - Incentives

As promised, this drawing comes all the way from across the Pacific Ocean courtesy of an internet cafe that charges a lot for scanning*. My dear friend Gabriella (artist of various other Friday Comics) was kind enough to contribute this one, which we can only assume she whipped up while sipping a cold Singha on a warm beach in Thailand. Tough life, huh? I was tempted to save this drawing until I got a cubicle job again and do the caption about the rat race and the futility of it all, but I don't foresee a cubicle job in my near future. Not that I'm opposed, mind you. Having something to fill my days besides creating crosswords* and whiling away hours on various life-draining websites would save much internal strife and help maintain my sanity, but I just don't see it in the cards. One thing I will say for having lots of time: I can keep the Friday Comic series up and going which at least makes me smile*.

Thursday May 21 2009

File under: comic

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on Fri 22nd May, 2009 07:25 am PDT Amanda said: Huh, that's how I feel right about now. ************************ on Sat 23rd May, 2009 08:57 am PDT Sean said: I dig that maze! ************************ on Sat 23rd May, 2009 11:39 am PDT gabriella said: What is de-meaning of all this? Rats! Life is truly a-maze-ing! ************************

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On Stage

I'm a hobby juggler—meaning I'm not the kind of juggler that likes to perform. That is a hard concept for a lot of people to understand. Often in their minds, juggling and performing go hand in hand. While often times they do, there are tons of jugglers out there that juggle for the sake of juggling: for the social aspect, for the exercise, for the zen of it all. I consider myself firmly in that camp. But while I don't really like performing, I want to like it. I like the concept of being able to entertain people*. I like the concept of getting good enough at something that you can feel confident in showing it to people. And let's be honest, I like the concept of the positive attention it often garners. So in a step outside my comfort zone, I took the stage with my friend Amiel at this month's Vaudvillingham* with a short juggling act. Besides a slight miscommunication with the emcee and some lighting issues, I would say it went alright for a semi-rehearsed act: not flawlessly, but not a disaster either. The sizeable* crowd was patient and appreciative, and I think they probably even enjoyed it*. Overall, the experience was a good one and I'm glad I did it. I hope to get back up on stage in the near-ish future and try my hand at a solo performance. Stepping outside one's comfort zone every once and a while, while hard, is a good thing.

Monday May 18 2009

File under: juggling

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on Tue 26th May, 2009 11:03 pm PDT maggie said: woohoo! good for you. how i wish i had more access to b'ham, would love to see you take the stage. i missed the mud bay jugglers this weekend in PA - chose the beach instead. ************************ on Wed 10th Jun, 2009 10:11 am PDT Ryan said: I'm in your camp to Wren. ************************

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