That escalated quickly

So I'm the direct opposite of a fighting kind of person, but when I do go to the mat, it's usually when someone is trying to spread lies or take advantage of people. I just read a facebook post from a winery trying to sell its wine by scaring people away from other wines. They claimed their wines have no sugar and therefore no hangover (most wines do not have sugar, the sugar converts to alcohol in the fermentation process and THAT'S what gives you the hangover). They claimed most other wineries are actually, secretly owned by three large corporations (again, not true) and finally, claimed other wineries regularly add things like fish bladders, corn syrup and purple dye to their wines (nope).

Anyway, I fired off a snappy retort and then wondered if I should have gotten so riled up. Injustice is a big deal to me, and either presenting yourself as something you're not or presenting someone else as something they are not will usually get my blood boiling.

So to calm down, I'm going to come here and post some lovely pics of the late Oregon summer. We've been walking in the evenings, and a good walk in the vineyard, a park, or by the ocean will soothe even the strongest urge to sort someone out online.

I should probably go for walks more often -- for many reasons -- soothing the savage beast of injustice being just one of them.

Golden fields of harvested grasses.

These Pinot grapes are coming along nicely!

A little early fall color.

Sunset in the vineyard.

The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Tillamook.

 

Tillamook Bay.

Rockaway Beach, Oregon.

Watch the skies, people.

Watermelon and other stuff

Here's a great recipe for a summer night....a nice, ripe watermelon, balled or cubed, and splashed with  1/4 cup of good, white balsamic vinegar and mixed well.  That's it.  

A lot of people will add some fresh spinach, mint and basil with feta cheese to make a meal, but to me just the watermelon and vinegar is fine on its own. You don't need the oven, you don't need the stovetop, just the ingredients and a place to cut your watermelon up!

Amazing how good quality balsamic vinegar makes things taste sweeter and not more bitter. And speaking of bitter, it's with no small pang of buttersweetness that I go back to work, after a week off from the winery.  I got a lot done around the house, including adding some fireproof venting to the attic, painting the chicken mansion, picking berries (this is winding down now) and doing some office work.

Today I will be doing an off-site wine pouring on a train heading down the coast, which is stressful (because I've never done anything like this and want to do a good job) but also fun because, hey, wine on a train, right?

Wish me luck!