Enduring Friendship

Leslie, Me and Daisy...she's a sweetie....Leslie is too! :)

It's been more than 20 years since I first met Leslie Honcoop at the church both our families were then attending. She and her husband, Randy, were one of the very first to embark on the popular trend of growing raspberries on a large scale. Their farm is located in north Whatcom county, and I mean REALLY north--if you run and jump you might just land on the opposite side of the US/Canadian border. Well, not really, but it is only about 5 miles south of it! Jessie and Leslie's 3 kids used to play "Little House On the Prairie" in her backyard for hours at a time. Well, at least Caitlin and Jess did, Dillon wasn't too keen about it!

Leslie and I rarely get to spend time together, our schedules are hard to overcome--I'm working in the fall, winter and spring and she is busy with harvest in the summer when I'm not working. But we try to get together at least twice a year and whenever we do, we slip easily into the camaraderie that bound us together initially. We laugh...a lot. Our mutual sarcastic senses of humor find good companions in each other!

Every year Leslie graciously invites me to come and pick as many raspberries as I can fit into my freezer. It's always a delight to drive out into the north county. I enjoy passing all the farms and relish the unobstructed view of Mt. Baker that accompanies me the whole way! And what a joy it is to walk fragrant rows of ripe raspberries with a dear friend, chatting the whole way. Leslie's bucket is always twice as full as mine--she's a two-handed picker, don'tcha know. I'm not nearly that coordinated.

Bless you Leslie and your friendship! PTL