Single Tree News: September 2024

Go West, Old Man

During the kitchen remodel (which is finally finished) I dutifully kept Single Tree production going. But the subsequent trip to the mountains halted everything. It was time to take a long-deserved vacation.

Shellie and I flew to Utah and gathered with my six siblings and their spouses in two rented “cabins” in the Sundance area. The structures called cabins in this place are called small mansions everywhere else. The one I stayed in was three stories tall and featured a grand piano. The other one had more bedrooms, a larger kitchen, and a pool table. For four days we enjoyed visiting and playing games with each other and preparing meals together. Since no one in our group played the piano very well, we spent much of our time around the pool table at the other cabin.

The cabins were impressive, but the mountains were breathtaking. These pictures were taken from the top of a nearby mountain that we reached via a series of three consecutive ski lifts. We were standing at an elevation of around 8,000 feet but the neighboring mountains soared to over 12.000 feet. That was quite a change from Tallahassee, which is only 200 feet above sea level. In the thinner air we tired more quickly, and the sun shone more brightly. At this elevation the dry air was often a little chilly even for September, but the sunshine was warm.

My age is getting up there, but as the fifth child of seven children, it was evident that there were plenty of people older than me in our entourage. Two of my siblings are losing their eyesight to macular degeneration and hearing aids and CPAPs abounded. One brother-in-law has significant hand tremors and two of us (me included) were recovering from foot injuries. Seeing all the effects of aging reminded me how grateful I am for the health I enjoy at my age. When my grandchildren ask me why I exercise I explain that I am just trying to stay as strong as I can for as long as I can. Whenever I feel like I am strong, all I need to be humbled is to watch someone younger than me out running down the street.

Once the geriatric reunion concluded, we were privileged to stay a few days with our daughter and her family that live in the area. In this picture we see three generations: Shellie, our daughter Esther, and her daughter Camilla. We were out to brunch at a tiny little place in a tiny little Utah town called Santaquin. One of my brothers, his friend, and I were also present, but we were not needed for this cute little picture. Camilla’s pancake was ordered from the child’s menu, but I think it would have adequately fed any one of us. All of the he food was fantastic, but not as fantastic as being able to make memories with family.

But all good things must come to an end. Leaving Esther’s house was like leaving home. The trip back went off without a hitch and before we knew it, Shellie and I were back in our quite house with just the two of us and our new kitchen. Which is good in a way because I need to make more jam. A LOT more jam. I am down to only eight jars of fig so I plan to use this week to build up my inventory. Then I’ll be prepared to soldier back to the market carrying the Single Tree banner. As much as I look forward to manning the Single Tree tent, I’m pretty sure that my mind will wander back to the mountains and ponder on the cycle of human life.

In Other News…

• Many of you participated in the great Single Tree August giveaway. Please join me in congratulating the winner, J Leigh Brooks!
• As mentioned above I plan to make a bunch more fig jam this week. My jam business is seasonal, so fig and pear are all the jams I have right now.
• As soon as the citrus trees begin bearing fruit, I plan to have several varieties of orange jams and more kumquat marmalade. All in time for Christmas!
• In the granola world, I am beginning to experiment with using organic blue agave syrup as a sweetener. Stay tuned…