Well, as it happens from time to time, it was a glorious day here in The 'Kan EWA. We ventured up to Greenbluff in search of pumpkins, orange and white, for the fall pumpkin topiaries we build for the front door.
We've been going to Greenbluff for a long, long time and have seen a
lot of little kids grow up between the yearly visits to the apple orchards and cabbage patches of Greenbluff, WA--their childhoods stitched together by these annual visits for pumpkins and tractor rides around the cherry and apricot trees. It's quite a Hollywood production up there at Greenbluff these days, with bouncy castle attractions and cornstalk mazes, gift shops, antique stores and hamburger places and barbecued beef sandwiches sold as take out the side of buildings built just for restaurant purposes. The Chows and I decided to bypass being annoyed with all the disco and stay 
on track and search for the real Greenbluff, where the apples are on the tree ripening at the moment, the peaches are on the ground overripe, the rhubarb is picked and spent and the pumpkins lay in wait for us, because they know we will come. They know we will come. And come we did; today.
We ended up at Eleven Acres, where they sell what they grow. So if they don't grow it, they don't sell it. We like that. Garlic, shallots,
tomatoes red and green and Yukon golds all in boxes for your selection up by the cash register. Terrific little tool box deals that you take in the fields to pick beets and zucchini and cucumbers; apples and apricots if you don't want too many. They make honey-- wildflower, snowberry and alfalfa. And they have pumpkins! oh yeah, do they have pumpkins....
So we made the pilgrimage that is holy to us by now; we bought the pumpkins that are psychic gold to us; we
stocked up on gorgeous potatoes, relics that we believe will reveal winter miracles; we surveyed the bare slopes of nearby Mt. Spokane and silently recalled the gloria of last year's snows. Kicked the dust of the gardens now going dormant for winter and faced south for another last feel of the sun warm on our face and hands. You can travel far and you can travel wide but surely some of the most holy of shrines on earth lay in your hip pocket, tucked in close, in your neighbor's ambitions and aspirations, rooted irrevocably in your youth and in the childhoods of those most dear to you.
We've been going to Greenbluff for a long, long time and have seen a
lot of little kids grow up between the yearly visits to the apple orchards and cabbage patches of Greenbluff, WA--their childhoods stitched together by these annual visits for pumpkins and tractor rides around the cherry and apricot trees. It's quite a Hollywood production up there at Greenbluff these days, with bouncy castle attractions and cornstalk mazes, gift shops, antique stores and hamburger places and barbecued beef sandwiches sold as take out the side of buildings built just for restaurant purposes. The Chows and I decided to bypass being annoyed with all the disco and stay 
on track and search for the real Greenbluff, where the apples are on the tree ripening at the moment, the peaches are on the ground overripe, the rhubarb is picked and spent and the pumpkins lay in wait for us, because they know we will come. They know we will come. And come we did; today.We ended up at Eleven Acres, where they sell what they grow. So if they don't grow it, they don't sell it. We like that. Garlic, shallots,
tomatoes red and green and Yukon golds all in boxes for your selection up by the cash register. Terrific little tool box deals that you take in the fields to pick beets and zucchini and cucumbers; apples and apricots if you don't want too many. They make honey-- wildflower, snowberry and alfalfa. And they have pumpkins! oh yeah, do they have pumpkins....So we made the pilgrimage that is holy to us by now; we bought the pumpkins that are psychic gold to us; we
stocked up on gorgeous potatoes, relics that we believe will reveal winter miracles; we surveyed the bare slopes of nearby Mt. Spokane and silently recalled the gloria of last year's snows. Kicked the dust of the gardens now going dormant for winter and faced south for another last feel of the sun warm on our face and hands. You can travel far and you can travel wide but surely some of the most holy of shrines on earth lay in your hip pocket, tucked in close, in your neighbor's ambitions and aspirations, rooted irrevocably in your youth and in the childhoods of those most dear to you.
Prayers and prayers and prayers; as far as you can see.
JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA
4 comments:
I wish I was there for halloween, I was in the states a few weeks before halloween a few years back and I had this fasination about driving around hunting down the garden displays in the area LOL..... Im such a saddo.....
I dont think we have any pumpkin farms around these parts and I usually buy our pumpkins from our little greengrocers.... but now your post has made me wanna find out where there is a pumpkin farm.... realising that you do everything BIGGER in the states....
Im the only one out of me maties that even makes things out of the pumpkin pulp lol....... pumpkin pies and soupl and roasted......
I dont know if Im the saddo of if me maties are lol
x
Thanks for sharing the Greenbluff info. I've often thought about venturing down there, but never have yet. We've been getting our fruit from Cliffside Orchards over in Kettle Falls-they have a stand here in Sandpoint on Saturdays. Amazing stuff.
Girl, you gotta find a pumpkin farm. I think, actually, it's pretty wet and cold in the UK for pumpkins. But if they're gonna grow them, they'll grow them in Cornwall, right?
hi there BB! I gotta get up to Sandpoint on Saturday. I'd love to see what they are selling. Greenbluff can be a snarl of parents and strollers and SUVs this time of year; go during the week. You'll love it....
Post a Comment