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| Fall colors in Freeway Park, Seattle |
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| Fall colors at Rose Camp |
Then: The Rest of October 2009
I arrive back at Rose Camp on October 19 about 4pm. Had a great time but am really suffering from sensory overload. I can slip back into city mode fairly quickly, I just can't stay there too long. It is so nice and quiet up here. Will just take a day or two to unwind and download all my photos.
While I was away, JB had gone down to help Larry cut some trees on a slope above the road. Larry did the cutting. JB watched for cars and dogs. Then they dragged the trees the short way down to Larry's. He cuts the trees he needs for firewood mainly where they are blocking any sun from the solar panels. Even way up on the mountainside it makes a difference.
October 21 and according to the Farmer's Almanac, this is the day that the timber rattlers go to their winter dens. I certainly hope they know that.
It rained on and off all week so we got a lot of inside chores done. We discovered that we definitely have a drainage problem under the house. I climbed down there and scraped all the wet dirt away from the poles. I will keep the trap door open during the day from now on. Earlier this year I had ordered a heavy metal mesh screen that we keep over the opening and is heavy enough to walk on.
One day when it is not raining, I walk a ways down the road and pick lots of rose hips in hopes of making rose hip tea. I dry them in the oven, but any recipes I have found don't mention the seeds. They are practically ALL seed. When they are all dry, I vacuum seal them in a jar but the tea is a total failure. Oh well, when I learn to can I'll try rose hip jam.
Walks and hikes are not so peaceful this month as it is hunting season and the hills are alive with the sound of gunfire. Not my kind of music.
We are still cutting wood, but are down to mainly the branches now. All the while when I am cutting and splitting, I sort the pieces that are heavy with pitch from the rest of the wood. The pitch wood is great for starting fires, as it catches very quickly, but it also burns very quickly. There is not a lot of it, but plenty to use just for starting.
Larry and Elsie come up for a visit and tell us that two wolves have been seen in the canyon. They got to howling one night and scared everyone down to the pavement. It is not unheard of for wolves to be in the area, it's just been awhile since anyone has seen or heard them. We will be watchful, but then we always are.
On the 27th, I go Down There to the laundromat to wash our winter jackets and overalls. I also load up on our non-perishable winter supplies: paper towels, toilet paper, soap, etc. Even with all the rain the road is okay as the mud is frozen. Which is good because RJ and Mike are coming up today for the weekend. It is my brother's birthday and he always likes to spend it at his cabin with his son. Two inches of snow fell on his birthday and we all had a great time eating, visiting and playing cards.
I have been pulling ticks off the dogs every day for the past week or so. They are really bad this year. I wash Jesse in eucalyptus soap and that seems to help a little. There is no way anyone will every give Dinga a bath. In the Spring I will probably get some tick medicine for them both.
We have gathered rocks for the tipi fire pit and it looks great. We put a good stack of short wood in, along with the camping gear. Everything in wood or plastic boxes of course. We will be able to sit around a fire during the winter in the tipi, and JB's nephew will be able to sleep in it when he comes up for his winter visit.
It is the end of October and I do believe that we are ready for winter. So far none of the snow has stayed more than a day before melting, but as I said, this is the mountains so you just never know.
Now: July 11, 2011
3:45 a.m. and the mouse trap wakes me up this morning. Once again I hear the mouse flopping about and it wakes up the dogs too. I get my gloves and finally find the trap and mouse but in grabbing the trap the mouse gets away as just his tail was in it. As I said, these country mice are smarter than their city counterparts.
It is becoming obvious that the sun has started its journey south once again. It is setting behind different mountain peaks than it did just a few weeks ago. I never noticed the change that much when I lived Down There, but it is very easy to follow from Up Here.
I think the pair of wrens may be different from the previous ones as the male looks a little bigger. Seems kind of late to be raising a family, but I really don't know that much about them. It's nice to have his song back though.
We must have more hummingbirds this year. I don't have to remember to clean out their feeders once a week because all the sugar water is gone within a couple days of putting it out. No wonder they dart around so quickly all the time, they're on a constant sugar high!
One thing I have really learned to do Up Here is relax. And I don't mean with a book or a movie. I mean just sitting on the porch and watching the trees, the birds, the squirrels, the ants - whatever. Just not feeling like I should be doing something and not taking the time to relax. Taking time to literally and figuratively smell the roses. Down There it seems like I was always bombarded with sound and activity. You have to see this. You have to go there. You have to buy that. You can't even stand in a grocery store line without a TV yelling ads or programs at you, or loud music playing. I haven't noticed that yet in the stores in Wenatchee, but it's everywhere in Chicago and Seattle. Being away from it now, I can only wonder about its effect on children as part of their normal background noise.
Rick called yesterday and they should be here between 2:00 and 3:00 pm today. I did everything except vacuum yesterday, so I will do that this morning and possibly bake a blueberry coffee cake for breakfast tomorrow. It should be a great day weather wise, but a little cooler the rest of the week. I am going to take tomorrow off from my blog, but should be able to post again on the 13th.
I arrive back at Rose Camp on October 19 about 4pm. Had a great time but am really suffering from sensory overload. I can slip back into city mode fairly quickly, I just can't stay there too long. It is so nice and quiet up here. Will just take a day or two to unwind and download all my photos.
While I was away, JB had gone down to help Larry cut some trees on a slope above the road. Larry did the cutting. JB watched for cars and dogs. Then they dragged the trees the short way down to Larry's. He cuts the trees he needs for firewood mainly where they are blocking any sun from the solar panels. Even way up on the mountainside it makes a difference.
October 21 and according to the Farmer's Almanac, this is the day that the timber rattlers go to their winter dens. I certainly hope they know that.
It rained on and off all week so we got a lot of inside chores done. We discovered that we definitely have a drainage problem under the house. I climbed down there and scraped all the wet dirt away from the poles. I will keep the trap door open during the day from now on. Earlier this year I had ordered a heavy metal mesh screen that we keep over the opening and is heavy enough to walk on.
One day when it is not raining, I walk a ways down the road and pick lots of rose hips in hopes of making rose hip tea. I dry them in the oven, but any recipes I have found don't mention the seeds. They are practically ALL seed. When they are all dry, I vacuum seal them in a jar but the tea is a total failure. Oh well, when I learn to can I'll try rose hip jam.
Walks and hikes are not so peaceful this month as it is hunting season and the hills are alive with the sound of gunfire. Not my kind of music.
We are still cutting wood, but are down to mainly the branches now. All the while when I am cutting and splitting, I sort the pieces that are heavy with pitch from the rest of the wood. The pitch wood is great for starting fires, as it catches very quickly, but it also burns very quickly. There is not a lot of it, but plenty to use just for starting.
Larry and Elsie come up for a visit and tell us that two wolves have been seen in the canyon. They got to howling one night and scared everyone down to the pavement. It is not unheard of for wolves to be in the area, it's just been awhile since anyone has seen or heard them. We will be watchful, but then we always are.
On the 27th, I go Down There to the laundromat to wash our winter jackets and overalls. I also load up on our non-perishable winter supplies: paper towels, toilet paper, soap, etc. Even with all the rain the road is okay as the mud is frozen. Which is good because RJ and Mike are coming up today for the weekend. It is my brother's birthday and he always likes to spend it at his cabin with his son. Two inches of snow fell on his birthday and we all had a great time eating, visiting and playing cards.
I have been pulling ticks off the dogs every day for the past week or so. They are really bad this year. I wash Jesse in eucalyptus soap and that seems to help a little. There is no way anyone will every give Dinga a bath. In the Spring I will probably get some tick medicine for them both.
We have gathered rocks for the tipi fire pit and it looks great. We put a good stack of short wood in, along with the camping gear. Everything in wood or plastic boxes of course. We will be able to sit around a fire during the winter in the tipi, and JB's nephew will be able to sleep in it when he comes up for his winter visit.
It is the end of October and I do believe that we are ready for winter. So far none of the snow has stayed more than a day before melting, but as I said, this is the mountains so you just never know.
Now: July 11, 2011
3:45 a.m. and the mouse trap wakes me up this morning. Once again I hear the mouse flopping about and it wakes up the dogs too. I get my gloves and finally find the trap and mouse but in grabbing the trap the mouse gets away as just his tail was in it. As I said, these country mice are smarter than their city counterparts.
It is becoming obvious that the sun has started its journey south once again. It is setting behind different mountain peaks than it did just a few weeks ago. I never noticed the change that much when I lived Down There, but it is very easy to follow from Up Here.
I think the pair of wrens may be different from the previous ones as the male looks a little bigger. Seems kind of late to be raising a family, but I really don't know that much about them. It's nice to have his song back though.
We must have more hummingbirds this year. I don't have to remember to clean out their feeders once a week because all the sugar water is gone within a couple days of putting it out. No wonder they dart around so quickly all the time, they're on a constant sugar high!
One thing I have really learned to do Up Here is relax. And I don't mean with a book or a movie. I mean just sitting on the porch and watching the trees, the birds, the squirrels, the ants - whatever. Just not feeling like I should be doing something and not taking the time to relax. Taking time to literally and figuratively smell the roses. Down There it seems like I was always bombarded with sound and activity. You have to see this. You have to go there. You have to buy that. You can't even stand in a grocery store line without a TV yelling ads or programs at you, or loud music playing. I haven't noticed that yet in the stores in Wenatchee, but it's everywhere in Chicago and Seattle. Being away from it now, I can only wonder about its effect on children as part of their normal background noise.
Rick called yesterday and they should be here between 2:00 and 3:00 pm today. I did everything except vacuum yesterday, so I will do that this morning and possibly bake a blueberry coffee cake for breakfast tomorrow. It should be a great day weather wise, but a little cooler the rest of the week. I am going to take tomorrow off from my blog, but should be able to post again on the 13th.
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