There has been no grass growing under my feet these last three weeks and it is not for want of subject matter that there have been no updates to the pine nut blog. I had a fabulous week in Portland Or. on Non-timber forest products. I took our son, hoping to instill some life lessons, including firsthand experience with the elements of urban society.  <br>

He was  total anti-mom rebellion, picking up on Bananna Republic and Abcrome - Fitch as urban mystic - I hope it is one of those cases of  "it skips a generation." <BR> Okay, we both keyed in good coffee. Good coffee is readily apparent to the pallet.  Z  has grown up on freshly roasted coffee and not to elitist but good is good. Everyone in our family would all rather drink water than coffee from a can. Once a person learns the differences in product quality, he will spend more, probably consume less and enjoy more.<br>

If one were to feed our son, a pre shelled pine nut from anyone of a thousand sources, he would not eat more than one. He knows the difference in pine nuts and what is real, what is good, and what is not. While our supply of pine nuts is pretty limited right now, I would encourage people to try our fresh pine nuts this fall. When people learn what is good and what is not, there is no going back.<br>

 I am not a beer drinker.  But as a parent of  a young rural male, I see beer drinking as a part of the masculine outdoor  culture of the area.  I don't want my son to drink, but understand that more  likely than not,  he will be around alcohol as he is "coming of age."My approach to education is to teach discretion, through example and experience. Together with a group of well-educated, thoughtful, successful educators and professionals, I took him to a brewpub. I shared one-half of a glass of beer with him. Everyone in that group, enjoyed good beer and there was no excess. I want him to know much of life is about quality - not quantity. He was exposed to a group of people who enjoyed good beer. I hope to have seeded a bed in his human experience. My thinking is that when people develop a taste for the better quality food and drink, they are less likely to be a consumer of crap. As parents, we just cross our fingers and do our best, to be thoughtful in raising the next generation.