Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Year brings many reasons to give thanks


Chanterelle mushrooms bring back fond memories.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
The Spokesman-Review

The long slow slide into fall this year gave me time to think as I finished my chores. I realized that there was much to be thankful this year.

First, thanks to all of you who took your extra produce to the food banks over the summer and fall for Plant a Row for the Hungry. The food banks all report they used everything you brought in. We are tallying the numbers now and will report back to you before Christmas.

Thanks to Bob Slyter, Jim Roeber and the Rotarians of Rotary Club Spokane-West for starting a much needed fruit gleaning program in Spokane. We have needed something like this here for a long time.

I am grateful for knees and a back that didn’t complain too much when I had to move the heavy stuff around after my husband was laid up by an injury for most of the summer. I am not a spring chicken anymore. My knee karma ran out a week before the reception when I sprained it after falling off my truck at the Valley transfer station. On the way down all I could think about were all the projects that didn’t get finished.

When the kids got home I was turning into mother-of-the-bridezilla over the unfinished stuff. My wonderful son-in-law looked me in the eye and asked what needed to be done and when it needed to be done. He went on to convince me most of the things on that list didn’t really need to be done at all. Thank you, Brent.

I am grateful for the garden friends who stopped by over the summer. I got to show off my newly renovated spaces and brainstorm about what we could do with some of the new empty places. I now have enough ideas to keep me going for several more years.

As my readers, I appreciate your questions and your enthusiastic support. You never fail to challenge me and I like digging up the answers to your thoughtful questions. You keep me grounded on what is really important to you and remind me I always have something to learn. Keep it coming.

And last, I was reminded where I got my love of nature and gardening when we recently lost my mom three weeks before her 91st birthday. As kids she took us out in the woods on walks looking for mushrooms or just exploring where the trail ahead of us went. We didn’t always want to go, but we knew better than to ignore “the look.”

But what we saw and learned stuck with me. After her memorial service my brothers and I and our families took a long walk through the forest. As we walked through the woods, we began finding chanterelle mushrooms, my mom’s favorite. We knew she was there with us and would be any time we were outdoors.

We’ll miss you, Emma.