Japan, Day 1 (September 3): Kobe

Himeji Castle, Koko-En garden, and lunch on shore before boarding our ship, the National Geographic Resolution.

Today we joined our expedition group, toured sights near Kobe, and boarded our ship – the National Geographic Resolution. Read on!

Himeji Castle, outside Kobe, Japan.
Continue reading “Japan, Day 1 (September 3): Kobe”

Strawberry season

A favorite time of year!

Every spring I look forward to strawberry season. Around here, that means late June (or, back in the day, the first week of July). The days get long, the weather gets hot, and the strawberries become red and juicy. I go early in the morning, when it’s still cool, and pick a whole tray. At home, the ripest, juiciest berries become an instant snack while I wash, trim, slice, and freeze the rest. They become part of my breakfast parfait for months to come!

Raspberry season!

A bountiful harvest.

Fall is here, and that leads to one of my favorite parts of the year: raspberry season. Pam’s garden has a highly productive raspberry patch, partly due to the unusually warm fall weather so far. (It is October 4th and we have yet to see a frost, or even come close!) I’m picking about a quart every day. Yum!

Raspberry season

A great harvest!

Today I enjoyed the last fresh raspberries from our berry patch – incredibly, due to the unusually warm fall weather, we’ve been harvesting berries right into November. And, despite eating a handful of berries with my breakfast every day, we’ve put away ten pounds of raspberries in the freezer. I look forward to enjoying them all winter!

Ten pounds is 15 very full quart-sized ziplock bags; two full grocery bags!