Yammering Muse: Citrus

Sunday my dad, Grace, our puppy, Henny, and I all went to a Little State Park about two miles from our house to hike the citrus groves. Riverside was (and still is) a major player in the Citrus industry in it's hayday and this little park has a museum all about the history of citrus fruit and how it really is the history of our town. It wasn't until I moved to Oregon that I realized how spoiled I was to live in a town where we were literally overflowing in fresh citrus. As a kid we lived across the street from an orange grove and even now we have a lemon tree and a huge chunk of a neighbour's orange tree grows over the fence. Down the street there's still one of the original groves and they have a little market where you can pick up 25lb bags of juicy ripe fruit for a ridiculously small price (comparatively). The old courthouse downtown has orange trees in it's landscaping. And while they are a winter fruit, we can grow them year round. In the Spring my favourite thing to do is drive down Victoria Avenue with my windows down and breathe in the blossoming roses, magnolias, and orange blossoms. Oregon Springs were incredible, but that little strip of road is breath taking in it's own right and one of the things I actually love about Riverside.

This is Henrietta, or Henny for short. She's a full bread Beagle. We've had her since the end of August and she is one of our favourite things in the world. She loves to eat socks and bras and shoes, and especially loves to run around the dinning room table in circles while you try and reclaim whichever of those three she has stolen. She whimpers if you leave her alone for 2 seconds. And if you've been gone at work all day, when you come home she will shower you with kisses and whimpers because obviously you were never coming home. She wakes up to the sound of the fridge door opening and her favourite food is popcorn. If you take her to a street faire she will hunt all of the fallen popcorn down.

There's a beautiful rose garden here with a few ancient varieties which smell divine. Sadly they aren't in bloom right now. My dad absolutely loves roses and managed to hunt down a few daring blossoms. Variegated ones like these are some of my favourites.

Grace and Henny are attached at the hip. Where one goes, so does the other. Henny loved to bite down on whatever item of clothing Grace is wearing and follow her, or sometimes even just be drug around. It's hilarious and we've had to mend 90% of Gracie's clothes. My mom is considering writing a children's book called The Adventures of Grace & Henny.

At one point we laid down on the grass and just looked up. It was so gloriously wonderful.

Miles and miles of citrus.

I've always wanted a tattoo of an Orange blossom.

These are called Buddha's Hands.

They're a variety of citron used for both fragrance and cooking. We were told that the pith makes an excellent thickener for soups. We got a couple and can't wait to try!

And they smell absolutely amazing. I can't even put it into words. So fresh and sweet and comforting.

I've been tempted to sleep with one under my pillow.