We Did What?!!!

I didn't think much about it when Mom and Dad were invited for a "drive" a couple of weeks ago by some life-long friends in Ogden.

They returned with the kind of fire in their eyes and the tannish glow to the skin that only being out of the house and outdoors brings. And they effused with blustery tails reminiscent of our old Boy Scout "Snipe hunting" adventures.

"We've been out hunting pine cones" they both bragged in unison. Looking non-plussed up at them from my paper, I remarked 'I didn't even know you took your guns' and mused "did they put up much of a fight?"

Two buckets of the things have kept our house smelling like the inside of a tree-squirrel nest for the past two weeks, as the microwave, along with dads help, has churned out batch after batch of the sticky, greenish-brown things. Of course they then needed to be de-coned and shelled before they could be eaten.

If you've never had "real", roasted pine nuts (i.e. non-pasteurized or machinated) then you've really never even tasted a pine nut. I mean, I like pesto with the rest of you — but, I would never… ever… even think of grinding up one of THESE beauties into green paste! Save that fate for those store bought things which taste like Styrofoam.

There are compensations for growing older. One is the realization that to be sporting isn't at all necessary. It is a great relief to reach this stage of wisdom.”
Cornelius Otis Skinner

We began planning a return trip up to Verl and Delma's secret place for two weeks hence and started inventing long-handled cone pickers so we could get at those elusive ones hiding in the top-most branches.

We loaded our cone-pickers, buckets, bags, lunches and drinks and threw in a tub of butter for our hands (the pine pitch you know); but, what we didn't count on was the… well the… crap, I can't even bring myself to say it… the pictures say it all!

Learn A Little More

---

To take your mind off those photos look at this. I saw these guys at fisherman's wharf, when I was stationed near there in the navy, over 20 years ago. they were good then, they're even better now. Illustrious jugglers the Raspyni Brothers show off their uncanny balance, agility, coordination and willingness to sacrifice (others) — The Raspyni Brothers.