Elderberry Blossom Wine, Wildlife & Produce

I'm back from summer vacation, and as suspected spirits run higher whilst anticipating, versus reflecting on, vacation. Nevertheless, my spirits are in pretty good shape after having had a wonderful time.

Though it was just a trip back to the heart of the Midwest to visit my place of birth, and the city most of my relatives still call home, it was as enjoyable a vacation as I've had. The weather was a perfect respite from the furnace I now call home, with daytime temperatures in the mid-70's and nighttime temperatures in the mid-50's. I quickly adjusted to the cooler clime, and was even beginning to be convinced of an impending fall season, however that rug was pulled out from under me when I stepped onto the jetway back in Phoenix to a 99 degree evening.

I spent my vacation days sleeping in, lazing around the house, visiting with family and eating copious amounts of locally grown produce. This is a distinct advantage to Midwestern small town living that I had somehow overlooked on my previous trips, but that made quite an impression on me this time. It seemed everywhere I turned there was an abundance of local produce being offered up. Family or neighbors with too many zucchini or tomatoes or sweet corn that were happy, almost grateful, to share it with you. And these weren't your grocery store variety produce, these were zucchini the size of my calf and super flavorful tomatoes and corn on the cob that was juicy and sweet. I was in heaven.

Apart from the local produce, I was also treated to some local wildlife. I had my first encounter with a mole, and it scared the shit out of me. I actually screamed when it ran past, I kid you not. If you've never seen one of these creatures for yourself, click here. I think you can understand now why I screamed, right? Creepy! I was also treated to a visit from a opossum. It wasn't as close range as the mole, and it wasn't my first time seeing one, but man are they creepy too! As my gran accurately pointed out, they look prehistoric.

Another highlight of the trip was hearing about, and sampling, elderberry blossom wine* that my gran & grandad brewed themselves back in 1949. I think at this point it would be more accurate to call it liqueur, or extremely strong alcohol, rather than wine, but it was tasty nonetheless and certainly the oldest (or should I say the most aged?) alcohol I've ever sampled!

Though my vacation is over, it feels great to be back knowing that I spent some good quality time with family, and so I'll go ahead and cross that #159 off my list: go on summer vacation.

*Note: The picture above is of the elderberry blossom wine, specifically, of us filtering out the sediment from the wine. The green bottle is the original bottle. Cool, huh?