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harvest

Prepare For Pumpkins And Comfort Food!

September 17, 2021 By Kimberly A. Cook 4 Comments

Gala apples in full beautiful bounty at Packer Orchards and Bakery. Harvest time!

Dashed up the Columbia River Gorge for a pre-harvest comfort food haul before Labor Day. What to my wondering eyes appeared but a pile of mini pies at my favorite bakery and fruit stand, Packer Orchards. With the first of much needed rains coming in tonight to help drown our forest fires and clean the air, I am secure in the knowledge that tucked in my freezer are two huckleberry and peach mini pies. Plus a bunch of huckleberry empanadas. Emergency rations for the coming winter.

This is the time of year I’d like to gather a fuzzy blanket, a pumpkin pie, a can of whip cream and head for my overstuffed chair with a pile of books. Not only does the coming cold wet weather give me a chance to snuggle in and read, but the eats are amazing. Which is why I also have an electric treadmill. Actually using it seems to be an issue. But even my stretch jeans have limits.

Tower of mini pies! Heaven on earth.

Its been a summer of three months of August, according to my temperature chart. I find one month of August quite enough, but the three we had this year kept everyone confused. And holding our breath. At this time last year we were coming off fire evacuation alerts and trying to breathe in a smoke inversion which outdid Beijing, China, on their worst day. Hoping we can all take a deep breath and relax after this weekend. We are supposed to get a couple inches of rain. The trees will be so happy. And the wildland fire fighters. I may frolic in the drops myself.

This has been a summer, a year, and a couple years of crazy for everyone. For me, I’ve learned to really appreciate the little things and keep life simple. My decluttering work goes on, so maybe by next year I can find my carpet and the garage floor. Gives me something to do when it rains.

Monday is the Harvest Moon and Fall officially starts on the twenty-second. The Halloween candy in the stores is getting picked over and I just bought my new Christmas gnome decorations at Dollar Tree. Tis time to shop for the seasons. Or hoard mini pies.

Enjoy these waning days of summer and the glory of the changing leaves. We’ve been through a lot lately, my fellow earthlings. But we’re made of tougher stock than we realize.

Spring will come again. And boy howdy, do I have some pent up adventures to take. Make your travel list now.

A day trip to anywhere counts. Including the backyard or a city park.

Cans of whip cream and holiday cookies count too. COOKIES!

Fall Ho!

P.S. Filbert at the Oregon Zoo shows the exact attitude that makes him our state animal. His work is never done on that blasted dam and he has to cut and haul major snacks back to his den. I appreciate his commitment. We snack seriously here in Oregon. He illustrates me getting food ready for the NFL football season! Did you SEE the RAIDER game Monday night? Good times!

 

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Filed Under: Food Tagged With: apples, Columbia River Gorge, comfort food, Filbert the beaver, harvest, Hood River, Huckleberry, military, military romance author, military romance fiction, Oregon, Oregon Zoo, Packer Orchards, Pie, Prepare For Pumpkin And Comfort Food!, romance books, romance novels, romance readers, seasoned romances

September Squirrel, Holiday Shopping And Pumpkin Spice Lattes?

September 8, 2015 By Kimberly A. Cook 2 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

Is it just me or has somebody cranked up the calendar and put the holidays before the horse? And the sleigh? Three weeks ago I noticed the Halloween candy was out at the grocery store. August, it was August! People were already buying their pre-holiday taste testing goblin candy to devour before they have to buy more candy for Halloween. (You know we all do it.)

Notice how dainty and well-mannered Mr. Squirrel is while he scarfs up all the purloined bird food.
Notice how dainty and well-mannered Mr. Squirrel is while he scarfs up all the purloined bird food.

Then this weekend I saw KMart advertising Christmas layaway on tv with Santa shopping from a scooter and a walking Christmas tree using a grocery cart. Hope Santa’s okay. Maybe his sleigh doesn’t work well in KMart. Reindeer droppings I bet.

Our weather dipped into the 50s on Sunday and didn’t reach 60 degrees all day. I went hunting my new alpaca socks to wear. Now the weather guy says it’s going to be 90 degrees on Friday. Must be Fall in Oregon.

I ripped out my tomato plants yesterday because we were both tired of each other. I took in the last harvest and now have a science experiment in progress to see if the green ones will ripen. Put them in a leftover Chinese takeout food plastic container which I think looks like a mini-greenhouse. Perfect. Harvest time. Must be football season! Yes!

On the local news Monday night they spilled the beans that the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes, using real  pumpkin, would be available today. As opposed to using alien pumpkin ingredients I guess? BUT, if you wanted to get the treat on Labor Day, you had to use the password PUMPKIN. How clever is that?

Without great personal restraint this would be me in any bakery I enter. It's been a miracle I haven't climbed into a pastry case yet. The season's still young!
Without great personal restraint this would be me in any bakery I enter. It’s been a miracle I haven’t climbed into a pastry case yet. The season’s still young!

By accident I noticed the squirrel feeder was out of food when Mr. Squirrel was snacking at the ground bird feeder, instead of HIS feeder. Got a couple close up pics by carefully opening the screen door, but my favorite is the last one I had to shoot through the window for the perfect angle.

If winter must come then we all might as well chow down by hopping into the holiday food trough just like Mr. Squirrel. Forget dainty and bashful.

Local weather forecasters say due to a historic El Nino the Pacific Northwest should have above average temperatures and less rain this winter. Right.

Time to go find my snow shovel, reactivate my Netflix account and get a few cases of Halloween candy. Mr. Squirrel knows something.

Start hoarding the Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

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Filed Under: Food Tagged With: alpaca socks, eating, El Nino, Fall, Halloween, harvest, holiday shopping, holidays, Kimberly A Cook, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, squirrels, Starbucks, Warrior Tales

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