Hi, everyone!
On the last Thursday in October, Grandma took me to Corbett’s Glen town park to look for salmon swimming upstream to spawn. Grandma’s friend told her that happened around Halloween. It was a pretty day to take a look, but we didn’t see any salmon trying to jump up Postcard Falls. I did make friends with a smiley log on the path along Allens Creek!
Since we were at the park anyway, Grandma and I decided to take a hike up to the north entrance. We’d never been there before! To get there, we had to cross a gully to get to the path on the other side. There were big steps for a little lion to climb! The path mostly goes through the woods until it reaches the north entrance.
Grandma and I studied the park map, so we could find a different trail to take us back to the south entrance of the park. We found a nice one along Glen Manor creek! First there was a crushed stone path, then a wood chip path. I got to see a tepee made of branches and made friends with some birch trees. Then we saw a family of four deer, including a buck. There was a historical plaque about the drainage pipes, because they were a teen hangout in the 1970s, before the land was a park. We went up on a higher ridge trail for the last part of the hike back south. That’s where I made friends with a downed tree that looks like the alligators I saw in Florida!
When we got back to the south entrance, we took one more look for salmon at the crest of Postcard Falls. Guess what? Somebody put ears on the smiley log while we were hiking!
The next day, Grandma and Grandpa were going to their church dinner group. Grandma decided to make a salad that was popular at church dinners in the 1970’s. Depot Salad calls for four kinds of greens, and I was a good helper getting them all washed and spun dry. Then I helped fry the bacon bits that go into the salad, too! Saturday night, our time, was the morning of Bill-kun’s birthday in Japan. We Skyped so I could watch Bill-kun open his presents and sing him Happy Birthday. I got to visit with original Lion-san, too!
On Halloween, Grandma and I made the gluten free scones for the Election Day bake sale! They have to be made and frozen in advance, because there’s too much wheat flour flying around the church kitchen during baking days to keep it out of anything! First, I helped Grandma get all the ingredients out. Then we made eight batches, blending the butter by hand, stirring in the egg and sour cream, then patting out the dough into a circle. I had to be careful to make cuts right through the center of the circle so all the scone wedges would be the same size! Then I helped brush the tops with milk and Grandma sprinkled them with sugar. We made three different flavors, and they all went into the freezer as soon as they were cool.
A week after our first trip to Corbett’s Glen, Grandma and I decided to go look for salmon again! It had rained in the morning, so there was more water in Allen’s Creek. There were lots of fishermen there, looking for salmon too! The only salmon we saw jump was the one that jumped off a fisherman’s hook to get away!
There is starting to be more fall color in the trees, but a lot of leaves are drying and falling without ever turning color. When Grandma and Grandpa took me out to the bay, there were lots of leaves down on the road. There was a big log across the road, too, but Grandpa was able to roll it off to the side so we could drive past. We’d had a rainy week, so there was more water in the creek in the gully than I’d ever seen before. Grandma says it’s easier to see the course of that creek with leaves down!
Grandma and Grandpa blew the leaves off the lawn at the bay, but the ground was so wet they left puddles wherever they stepped! When they brought Grandma’s kayak up from the boathouse to store inside, I helped wash it off. We had a pretty sunrise on Saturday morning. The sun is rising farther and farther to the south every day!
Saturday afternoon started the four days of Election Day baking efforts. Grandma picked up her order of 24 dozen eggs and 15 pounds of soft margarine at the store and took it to church to put in the refrigerator. We took all the soup we’d made and put some of that in the freezer and some in the refrigerator to thaw for Monday. Then we started getting all Grandma’s baking supplies and equipment out. This year there was only 280 pounds of flour!
Joe-san and Nancy-san brought Moose-san and Tilly over to help load everything into Nancy-san’s truck. We helped push the coolers into place after all the flour and sugar and spices were loaded. Joe-san said there was plenty more room, but we ended up putting Grandma’s bowls and stock pots in the trunk of her car, instead!
After everything was loaded, we had dinner together. Grandma said it was a freezer dive dinner, because she served lamb sliders she’d made and frozen a while ago and the coffee cheesecake I helped her make last month. On Sunday, after church, some of my apple picking friends helped move everything from Nancy-san’s truck into the church kitchen.
Monday morning, I met Moose-san and Tilly back at church to start baking! First, all the working surfaces had to be sanitized to keep the food safe. Then everybody started making bread dough! The very first dough to be made was for the chocolate bread, because the chocolate bread makers were coming right after lunch to shape it. When the first sweet dough batches had risen enough to be shaped, most people started making Swedish tea rings. The first ones came out of the oven around lunch time. That’s when people started taking breaks to eat the soup Grandma and I made!
During the afternoon and early evening, Moose-san and Tilly and I saw a lot of our baking friends! Some of our friends come to do special projects, and some help out wherever they are needed!
By 8:45 p.m., all the baking for the day was done! Grandma said that was a new record for earliness and everybody was happy to go home at a reasonable hour. Tilly and Moose-san got to come home with me for a sleepover!
Grandma got us up early on Tuesday to go back to church. It was still dark when we got there! We were happy to see our scone-making buddy Ann-san and make scones with her!
When the scones were all done, we went back to making mostly cinnamon rolls and orange rolls. There were just enough dough makers and shapers to keep the ovens full without any backlog. Our new friend Kirsten-san turned out the last batch of dough to divide in the early afternoon. The last cinnamon roll came out of the oven at 3 p.m. — another early record! Grandma got all her equipment into the car and we were home in time for dinner!
The weather is supposed to turn rainy, snowy and very cold by Friday, so we had a lot of projects to do at home yesterday. First, I helped Grandpa replace a casement window pane in the family room that was cloudy because the seal between the glass layers failed. We used a plastic bag wrapped over a screen to keep the chilly air out. Then Grandpa removed the old pane and used it to measure where the attachment points on the replacement needed to be drilled. Once the new pane was installed, I helped operate the opening mechanism so Grandpa could attach that properly . Then he took the protective film off the new pane and decided to wash the other panes on the outside.
Grandma took over washing the rest of the outside window surfaces on the house while Grandpa was on the roof blowing leaves out of the gutters. Then Grandpa blew leaves into piles in the back yard and Grandma hauled them out to the street. Finally, Grandpa cleared the front yard leaves out to the street. I got a really nice leaf pile to play in!
After such a busy week, would anybody mind if I took a nap?
Love,
Lion-san
Corbett’s glen looks nice. Joe-san said he never went there when he was young. He said it was more a Penfield thing to do, than a city thing to do and when he was young he lived in the city. The bake sale was fun and we made a lot in less time than usual. It was nice that you got to go to Sodus Bay one more time. We had first rain then snow last night and the snow stayed on our brick driveway all day, so it is good that you got all that done, raking and the window replaced when you did!