This merry band of hoodlums

I think this will be the last of the golden raspberries for the year.  I wish I knew what variety these are.  I got a start from my parents, who got a start from my sister in Colorado, who got some from a friend....  They are wonderful- they are supposedly everbearing but actually have two distinct seasons. They bear heavily in early summer and then again, not so heavily, in the late fall and will continue producing a few berries until it freezes.  The poor things are so into their fall flush that they are still blooming- great for the bees who seem to love them.  These didn't last long once my youngest got hold of them.

Speaking of my youngest, I promised a cast of characters who eat from my freezer.  My guy and I have been married for almost 23 years, not all of them ecstatic , but we have survived and are in a much better place than we were a few years ago.  We have three fabulous children:  our oldest is our daughter, J14, who is oddly enough 14.  She is beautiful and talented, with interests ranging from playing the violin to having a black belt in tae kwon do. She is a great help with canning and in the garden when I can get her.  My other two children are boys.  My middle, is I11.  He is sweet and quite empathetic, but unfortunately he loves his video games.  I guess he's too much a product of his generation.  K8, my youngest, is a livewire.  Always on the go, my tree climber and somewhat of a trouble maker.  Oh, if only I could harness some of his energy!!  The cast is rounded out by our large dog, Ticket, who came to us a few years ago after being abandoned at my parent's farm, and a few friends who frequent our table.

We live in town, in an old house with a postage stamp yard.  We have room for a few tomatoes and peppers in the backyard. And raspberries: black ones in the front yard on the fence line and the golden ones in the no-man's-land between our driveway and the neighbor's.  That area tends to flood every time we get a heavy rain so this year has been quite wet- and we've had more raspberries than usual so they evidently love the moisture.  I am fortunate that one of my dearest friends lives just out of town and is generous enough to share his garden space with me. We have gardened together for almost 10 years.  I am thankful for the space but really want a place of my own where going to the garden isn't an event but where I can just walk out my door.  We've been looking for a place with a few acres and a house that we can afford.  We currently own our house with no mortgage (after years of scrimping) so hopefully this financial mess the country finds itself in will resolve soon so we can move on with our search.  In the mean time, we keep trying to fix up this old place (built in the 20's) so we can put it on the market when the time comes.  More on the trials and tribulations of fixing an old house later.

It's so great to be able to get my thoughts and ideas out there.  I hope to be able to keep this up.

Peace to all.