Back in the saddle

We are back from Minnesota. It was a nice trip, a more-leisurely-than-normal 10 days of visits that included quite a bit of time in "outstate" Minnesota (i.e. not the Twin Cities), as well as a visit to the State Fair (home of deep fried cheese curds and everything-fried-and-on-a-stick, a wedding, several trips in various kinds of floating devices on multiple lakes (kayaks, pontoons), and some big mosquitos. Somehow I didn't take any pictures. So I guess you'll just have to trust me on it this time.

Since then we've been getting back in the saddle. Goats and chickens are all doing well.


Garden is growing (but no ripe tomatoes yet, and the weather is cooling down!)


Mike started a new job, year-round, full-time in a field he's really excited about, doing restoration of habitat and coordination with fish hatcheries, hydropower, and fishing regulators for promoting healthy salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin.

I went to a work meeting 3 hours away in Goldendale at a big museum (and near to the monastery where you can buy Greek food, seemingly our closest source)


with a sculpture garden


and pretty views of the Columbia River


and nearby wind farms.


In season-of-many-Jewish-holidays news, after Rosh Hashana in Minnesota, Yom Kippur was characterized (for me) by a week or two of quick-study-cramming to be able to read the morning and afternoon Torah portions (teeny Jewish community means few people to help the nice rabbi imported from Seattle).

Mike and I then ran out of projected time for sukkah-making (remember our pretty but ultimately fragile attempt last year?), but managed a teeny makeshift (probably-not-so-kosher) triangular sukkah with thinned corn plants from our garden for a roof.


In non-holiday-related news, we're off tomorrow to check out a couple of alpacas who potentially need adoption... Fun? Or another step down the road toward increasing numbers of not-so-useful-but-still-cute farm animals? Of course you can sell alpaca wool (and you can eat alpacas too)... and our goats still mow the lawn and the chicken eggs cover feed costs (although they've been laying a bit short lately), but... slippery slope?

Will keep you posted.