We just returned from our first official trip to the campsite at Roscommon, where we had an absolutely lovely, if much too short weekend.
Even the weather cooperated this time, with mostly sunshine, and only a brief rain in one evening there, although I heard some rain fell south of us.
We did all of the usual things, visited with family, had dinner with family, did a little exploring and just “hung out.”
We also cleaned the camper, an annual chore, and Jack helped nephew Randy get ready for the next power outage by hooking up our old generator for him.
We now have a “whole house” automatic generator that runs on propane so we don’t have to worry about a power loss here at the “big camper” anymore. That is what Jack has taken to calling our 16 by 68 mobile retirement home.
Anyway, we always look forward to that first weekend up at the “little camper.” After the chores were mostly done, I finished a book and started a new one.
Oh, and we took a few naps…
With Sister-in-law Marlene still at her Florida home, our campsite was a quiet one for our first weekend away. I’m hoping she gets up here for a month or so this summer. When she is up, we spend a lot of time going back and forth between her little trailer and ours.
The only setback to our first weekend away was an abundance of “ticks,” which still are a real nuisance again up in the north woods. Funny, I don’t remember them being a problem when I was growing up but they sure have been bad up there for the past couple of years.
With the abundance of rain this spring, I have been hoping for a crop of those delicious Huckleberries this year. They are a sweet wild blueberry that grows pretty close to the ground. Jack says I wouldn’t be able to get back up after picking them even with a stool these days. “Getting back up” was never a problem until the last few years.
As a youngster up there, picking berries was not one of my favorite things to do, but when Mom went picking, we all went, even the cocker spaniel. She liked to pick those wild blueberries too, but like me, she ate every one.
If it was a good year, mom would get enough make pies, jam and sometimes can or freeze the extra berries. Nothing tastes quite as good as huckleberry pie in mid-winter.
My cousin Alban used to tell me about the year his mom said the berries were so good that the whole Richardson family picked – and sold them. The revenue helped them through a long hard winter, he said.
I’ve never seen that many, but a few years back we picked and froze enough for pies every month through the next spring. They were great. In fact, grandson Jayson always asks for huckleberry pie when his birthday rolls around in February, so now I try to make a blueberry pie if he is around. The blueberries have been pretty good this year so far.
We will find out if this is going to be a good year for all kinds of berries in about a month, I guess.
As I’ve said before, our “camping” is anything but rustic. We have most of the conveniences of home including a shaded deck and built in site for our fire. We take a few books to read or movies to watch if it rains and have a microwave for popcorn.
As I said, our first weekend of the season was great. All too soon Monday rolled around and it was time to pack up and head back to Clare. When we got back we were in for another surprise.
Our now smaller, more manageable yard, which had been mowed just before we left, was ready for the blades again. You couldn’t even tell it had just been cut.
Bet you can guess what Jack has been doing this week…
