Family Gathers for Summertime on The Pilchuck

 The Western Washington weather is mild, the creek is gurgling through the evergreens and I am delighted to anticipate the gathering of family after months of solitude on The Pilchuck estate. My wife will fly into Seattle and Inga and Sean will drive up from Portland. The house is not quite finished, but it is furnished in a basic manner and livable for the four of us.

I'm delighted to take a break from house construction chores and flip into Summer Host mode. I pick Sue up at the airport and we have a day or two to ourselves before the kids arrive, the kids being daughter Inga and boyfriend Sean. 

Never being constrained by calendar dates, we Sunesons have our own sense of time and our own feeling for what fits the circumstances. It is several weeks past Inga's birthday, and mom knows her daughter is a fool for angel food cake. Let's make sure the girl has an angel food cake for her birthday celebration, even if her birthday was in June and it's now July. We will make this work.

Mom bakes an Angel Food Cake for Inga's birthday - celebrated a few weeks after the fact.  

Sue gets used to the new kitchen that I build for her, asking where I have stored the bowls, ingredients and kitchen implements? I point to cupboards, drawers and pantry shelves. There is so much space that I secretly hope she loves it here on The Pilchuck so much that she decides to never leave and go back to Texas. Yes, I am a dreamer.

Inga and Sean fight the traffic north on I-5, rolling up the freshly mown driveway into the estate. We welcome the kids and offer refreshment after their 200 mile journey. Great to have a family around (still trying to get Grant and Kaileen to visit as well).

The plan over the next few days is to not have much of a plan. The consensus is that it is always commendable to have a trip or picnic at Camano Beach. A bit of hanging around and hanging out seems fitting in the long summer days of these northern latitudes. 

Mother and daughter do think about a little back to nature fun and doing some gardening around the place. They will need some seeds and some tools. They will need to go to Arlington Hardware, which is a destination in itself, with century old creaky hardwood floors and Big Foot swag and all kinds of needful things for ambitious or slightly ambitious folks around these parts.

Sean checks his apps to see the reviews on tool brands; he tells me what is rated highly and I then pick out another machete and some lopping shears. We are in business on the Pilchuck.

Sean ready for action after a trip to Arlington Hardware and acquiring tools

One fine evening, I send a pair of Blackberry Ninjas out into the forest primeval to whack a trail through the thicket and hopefully reach the creek from our property on the back 40. A daunting task. They are gloved, armored and powerful with sharpened steel. Onward and farewell with victory in your black berry battle!

The two warriors return for dinner, but report a tough battle, some egress through the dense lines of thick and thorny canes. But, alas, they had not broken through to the shores of Pilchuck Creek. Live to fight another day I say. Have a seat and lets enjoy this day and our supper together.