June 2, 2014 Busy, Busy Weekend

Friday morning

Friday evening

Saturday evening, after a trip
Down There for building materials

Sunday evening

Sunday, also building the
nesting boxes

Friday thru Sunday 5/30-6/1.
Beautiful weather for our project, mostly blue skies.  Sunday being the warmest with a high of 76 and the most fun day.  RJ came for breakfast, then after washing 2-1/2 days of dishes, we got a late start building.

Our new neighbors way down the canyon came to visit and we had a great time showing them and their two sons all around, including RJ's cabin.

Monday 6/2.  A very good weekend and now we must get to work again this morning.  We plan to finish the nesting boxes and most of the coup.  Tuesday we will go Down There for the rest of the building supplies we didn't have room for in the trailer on Saturday.  Hopefully we will be ready for the chickens by Friday, as we also want to paint the coup and need to get the chicken wire up for their run.

Thought for the day:  The best teacher one can have is necessity.  La None

May 30, 2014 Chickens

Douglas's triteleai now popping up
everywhere!

Wednesday 5/28. There are ants in the hummingbird feeders.  They are drawn to the sugar; crawl into the openings; fall into the syrup; and float up into the feeder where they swim as long as they can.  The birds don't seem to mind them crawling around, but they do compete with the bees for the little "flowers".

We started mowing the south slope before lunch.  Actually JB was mowing, I was walking in front of the tractor looking for logs and rocks, and hoping not to find snakes.  Up and down the slope - got my exercise for the day.

It was a beautiful day but thunder storms were in the forecast.  We heard two thunder claps about 1:00 pm and the rain arrived a half hour later.  Only lasted about ten minutes.  But it moved on to the east and there was a fire down by the bend in the river which was probably lightening set.

After hearing the thunder, we stopped mowing and I brought in the wash.  Had a late lunch and then just puttered around for the rest of the afternoon.  Our high temperature for the day was 64.

Time magazine had a very interesting article on sugar.  There was a picture of a brain on sugar and one on cocaine.  Well, no wonder I'm addicted to sugar!

Thursday 5/29.  JB left for Down There at 8:30 am with clear skies and a chilly temperature of 45.  Clouds drifted over for most of the day and even though there was a lot of blue sky, the sun was often hiding behind them.  It is as if the clouds freeze up over the mountains during the night and then the warmth of the sun sends them on their way.  Usually by late afternoon they have all moved on and the sun is clear again.

I did laundry in anticipation of JB mowing again on Friday.  Then finally got the bird bath cleaned out.  That's quite a job, as I have to remove the large rocks and then scrub everything.  But the birds seemed quite pleased when I was all done.  

We have been thinking about getting chickens ever since we moved Up Here, but I just wasn't ready for the responsibility.  When Larry was up the other evening we got to talking about how poor Bella is still getting beat up on and wouldn't it be nice if we could take her.  Well, that got us thinking and we stayed up late thinking about where we could put a chicken coup and designing it.  Suddenly it just seemed like the right time to start our flock.

Well, Larry called the next morning to say that Elsie simply did not want to get rid of Bella, which I could certainly understand.  Then Elsie called later in the day to ask if we would want the two chickens that were picking on her.  Then last night, when we were talking on the radio, Larry said they wanted to give us all three of the same kind.

So yesterday, while JB was Down There, I decided that the best place for the chickens would be by the outhouse/garbage shed.  It gets a lot of sun and is sheltered from the wind.  We could build it on the south side and would only need to build three walls.  So that is our plan.  It will be a 6'X8' coup with a large run.  We will try to get it built within the next week.

I had it all planned out by the time JB returned home.  He will use the tractor to shorten the wall of dirt from the parking area and level the ground, being sure that it drains away from the coup.  He was going to get cement for the floor of the coup on his trip today, but found out it would just cost too much.  So they will have a dirt floor, which will be just fine.

He was home at 1:30 pm, then hopped on the tractor and we did about an hour of mowing.  He'll finish that one area tomorrow.

RJ called to let us know he is at his cabin.  I invited him to breakfast on Saturday.  Will be so good to see him again.

It was a nice day with large clouds drifting over and clearing up in the evening.  Our high for the day was 64.

Friday 5/30.  It is 53 and mostly clear this morning, with a forecast of warmer weather for the weekend.  And it it going to be a very busy weekend.  We will probably take the garbage down tomorrow and use the trailer to bring back most of the building materials.  Today JB will finish mowing and then work on preparing the coup site.

Thought for the day: If you are looking for that one person who will change your life, take a look in the mirror.

May 28, 2014 Finally Mowing

Blooms on my lilac bush beginning to open.

Monday 5/26. Slowly all of our unnecessary appliances are disappearing.  Hopefully never my washing machine, but after not having been able to use the microwave for more than a week, I realized that we really do not use it very often, and never for anything very important.  So, now I have so much more space available on my kitchen counter, and I can put that to very good use.  I certainly could have on Sunday when I was defrosting the freezer and fridge, making a pot of dog broth, and vacuum sealing meet for the freezer.

When Randy and I were talking on Saturday, he mentioned that from the photos I have of RJ's cabin, his first thought was that it looked like a Hobbit house.  Come to think of it, he's right.  Especially with the sod/grass roof.

And speaking of the out-of-doors, JB's new Field & Stream magazine has another great article on the last page.  This one is worth the price for the whole magazine.  It begins, "No matter how many times it happens, returning to the "normal" world after a few days in the wild hits me like a sucker punch."  As I said, definitely worth the price of the whole magazine.

As to our day, we could not get the lawn mower started.  JB thinks that it may need a new spark plug and will buy one when he goes Down There on Thursday.  It is a 30-year-old John Deere, so who knows if it isn't just old age.  Sometimes I wish I could get a new spark plug. . .

Miss Kitty's battery was dead.  I think because I have made too many very short trips up and down the south slope in the past couple weeks.  So we jump-started her with JB's Jeep.  Then, since she needed to be running for a while, we decided to go for a ride.  We had a great time and discovered that all the coasties who came for the weekend were gone.  We did run into Larry though, as he was coming up to our place from spraying for knapweed.  He used the little bit spray he had left on our road and loaned his spray tank to us to finish the job.  I told him that I hadn't seen any knapweed on our road, so he pulled one and showed it to me.  Seems he thinks we've been zipping along too fast in Miss Kitty to notice all of them.  Obviously I just forgot what they looked like.

What I did notice is that six of my irises have flowers forming.  Wow, six!  I only had one last year, so am really looking forward to so many.

Tuesday 5/27. The day began clear and 46, and we began it sitting by out on the porch with our coffee.  

I sometimes stand in amazement at what we have accomplished Up Here.  We are so used to living in houses that others have designed and built, that I sometimes forget all the blood, sweat and tears we have poured into this one.

And speaking of blood, sweat and tears, we put the mower back on the tractor today.  That also included a lot of cussing and yelling.  After a phone call to the place where we purchased it for one small piece of extremely important information that was not in the instructions, it was on and running.  JB spent the next hour mowing and Rose Camp is getting to look less overgrown.

It was a good day to be outside, with a high of 62 and clouds floating over most of the time.  Cool in the shade and warm in the sun.

Larry drove up to bring a hand wand for the spraying unit he loaned to us.  With the wand we can get weeds that are beyond the reach of the spray.  We talked for a while and learned that poor Bella is still getting beat up by some of the other chickens.  So when he expands the coup next weekend, he is going to put in a private apartment just for her.  

Wednesday 5/28.  It is a chilly 40 with mostly clear skies and a breeze.  JB will be mowing today and I'll be. . . hmmm.  Don't quite know yet.  Will have to take my coffee out on the porch and think about it.

Thought for the day: The contented man is never poor; the discontented man never rich. George Eliot
  

May 26, 2014 Home Again

Paintbrush blooming in May
instead of June.

Bitter brush blooming on the
south ridge and slope.

Friday 5/23.  A very warm early morning, 63 and overcast.  I was able to leave for Down There at 8:15 am.  Got all my errands and shopping done quickly and was home by 1:00 pm.  Put everything away and then relaxed on the porch, picturing JB there with me tomorrow.

Saturday 5/24.  It was 50 and clear with a breeze this morning.  I have switched back to watering the garden in the evening, so no more doing it in my pajamas.  There is lots to do today to be ready for JB's return, but first, sit on the porch with my coffee.  Doing so, I was greeted with sweet, heavy scent in the air.  I knew right away it was from the bitter brush bursting into bloom on the south slope.

Randy called and we had a nice chat.  JB also called at various points along his journey.

Dishes, laundry, cleaning, vacuuming, morning walk, baking.  Busy, busy, busy.  JB was home at 3:30 pm, having stopped by his brother's winery on his way back.  Then he had a couple errands in town.  So very good to have him back.

Sunday 5/25. This morning began overcast and 48, but the clouds cleared by mid afternoon.  I didn't let my decision to get up at 7:30 am from now on keep me from sleeping in til 8:15 am.  I was actually up before JB.  It was a slow and lazy Sunday morning.  No sitting out on the porch first thing, but rather inside devouring the human side of life in magazines and newspapers.  Not the most inspiring lot, but entertaining enough.  I know Mother Nature is out there and she knows I know, but JB is back and we enjoy being together, even if it is often just being in the same room, engrossed in our individual readings.

The dogs are also thrilled that he is home again.  After fixing a Sunday brunch of eggs, toast, hash browns and bacon, he took them for their morning walk a bit late.  Then we all sat on the porch for a little while.

Yesterday was a beautiful beginning to the holiday weekend and JB saw lots of white water rafts on the Wenatchee River.  Even though I am not a water person, I have rafted the river and it is quite exhilarating, and wet.

While shopping on Friday, I made a tentative foray back into the world of rice cakes, and got hooked.  These are not the dry, cardboard snack they once were. . .

JB spent a few hours fixing the electrical problem and discovered it was a failed outlet.  He replaced it and we are up and running again.  This means the short-wave radio is working again, and when we talked to Larry this evening, he said traffic into the canyon began Friday evening.  There is one large family who usually comes over for one holiday weekend, and this was obviously it.

Our neighbors from the coast were up in their yurt for the weekend and came to visit for a couple hours this afternoon.  It was so good to see them and we had a lively conversation, as usual.  While on his morning walk, JB saw four cars lined up at the gate to come in.  Always a busy time in the canyon on a holiday.

Monday 5/26.  It is a cool 47 this morning with a mostly clear sky.  Hoping to get a start on all the mowing that needs to get done.

Thought for the day: Responses to an article on the new "tiny home" movement in the Tacoma newspaper: "Lots of people live in tiny spaces.  It's called poverty." "A lot of people live in big houses they can't afford.  It's called debt."

May 23, 2014 Springtime at Rose Camp

                                                     

                                        Springtime at Rose Camp!

Thought for the day: The world's favorite season is the Spring.  All things seem possible in May.  Edwin Way Teale

May 21, 2014 So-Called Experts

Still raining to the norht

Flox & sweet peas in
Mother Nature's garden

Monday 5/19.  Time again for a rant.  This one is against so-called experts, like Dr Oz for example.  He is against so many people thinking they are gluten intolerant.  It is my opinion that he is simply in it for fame and fortune.  Plenty of people who do not have celiacs disease are adversely affected by gluten.  Whether he likes it or not, that is a fact.  The problem with these so-called experts is that they have diminished our ability to think for ourselves.  Just how does one become an "expert" anyway?  It seems the only requirement is to just claim to be one.

It's like the biologists who come into a place they are not familiar with to study the wild life.  They end up "discovering" a "new" mammal or reptile that everyone living in the area has know about for years.  Or deciding that one is endangered because they cannot find very many, when in fact, the area is practically overrun with them.  Once again, experts making claims based on false assumptions.  So, with this writing, I will claim to be an expert on so-called experts. . .

Of course I wrote this sitting on the porch, which is where I do some of my best writing, and come up with some of my most interesting and challenging ideas.  I think I just pick them up as they float by on the breeze.

And, speaking of challenging, yesterday sudoku was hardly one.  However, I could barely fill in any space on a crossword puzzle.  I think I many have used up all those brain cells writing my blog.

I brought another load of wood down from the east slope.  One more ought to clean up that once-big pile.  While I was unloading and stacking it in the wood shed, a small hail shower moved through.  There were still a lot of dark, threatening clouds, so when it stopped I took the laundry in.  Just made it back to the wood shed when a bigger, longer shower began.  Hail and pouring rain that made a horribly loud noise on the metal roof.  The dogs dashed for the porch and when there was a slight let-up, I ran for the house.  It lasted about 40 minutes and gave us .2" of rain.

I got on the computer after our afternoon walk and completely forgot about the wood left in Miss Kitty.  So at 5:00 pm I went out to finish unloading and stacking.  By then the sky was clear except for around the horizon.  Our high for the day was 61.

Larry and Elsie drove up to visit.  Larry was concerned about the circuit into which our short-wave radio was plugged.  We came to the conclusion that it is a problem with the circuit breaker itself.  I have it turned off and will let JB deal with it when he gets home.

Tuesday 5/20.  Today began with a clear, blue sky and 50 degrees.  And again, I began the day by sitting on the porch with my coffee.  While I was there, Jesse ran down the driveway barking.  Dinga just watched.  Then she sniffed the air and went under the porch.  I have learned not to be too concerned about Jesse.  He seems to be quite capable of taking care of himself.  A few minutes later, he came sauntering back up to the house.

Most of the humming birds hover while they are drinking from the feeders, but there are a few who perch.  They sit there drinking and drinking until I am sure that once they decide to leave, they will just be too heavy to fly and will fall to the ground.  There are several plump ones whom I presume are females with eggs growing in there bellies.

And speaking of dogs and bears, I just thought of an incident with Larry's and Elsie's little dog and a mama bear.  Larry had taken him out for a run with his 4X4, when he saw a mama bear and two cubs in the distance.  His dog saw them also and ran after them barking.  Larry soon heard a yelp, and then another one.  Fearing the worst, he headed in that direction only to see his dog come tearing down past him and straight for home.  Elsie was in the house and said the dog literally banged on the door to come in.  He wasn't hurt, but was her velcro dog for the rest of the day!

A robin was in the bird bath this morning.  One doesn't realize how large they are until compared to most of the other birds around who are quite small.  Living Down There, I really didn't think they were big at all, but then I don't remember having so many different kinds of other birds.  Or, perhaps with my busy schedule of dashing here and there, I just never noticed.  Too busy focusing on people and their nature, instead of Mother Nature herself. And there seems to many more robins this year, or maybe I am just sitting on the porch more this year. . .

The wall above the gravel on the south side of the house needs to be reinforced, so I worked on putting rocks there before the day got too hot.  I got about six feet done and it looks pretty good.

On our morning walk, I startled a large bull snake sunning himself on the south ridge.  Then as I was walking back down towards the house, a hawk flew up and landed in a nearby tree.  I took a picture, but because he was in the shade and I had to zoom in, it didn't come out very clearly.  The temperature was already 58 by then and quite warm in the sun.

After lunch I brought down another load of wood from the east slope in Miss Kitty.  This finished the once-huge pile and I started on a smaller one.  There are small ones scattered around all over the slope, so I still have my work cut out for me.

Then I reorganized the pitch wood in the shed and began to bring the last row of wood from the porch into the shed.  We really don't need to use the larger wood from now on.  The kindling makes a nice fire when we only need a small one to take the chill out.

It was another beautiful day with a high of 65.  There is more such weather forecast for the rest of the week, with rain due on Saturday, which is when JB is due back home.  Sounds like he will have a wet drive back, but I will be so very glad to see him.

Wednesday 5/21.  It is 46 and clear this morning.  I hope to get another load of wood down and stacked.  I have started a third row of kindling and, hopefully, that is the only kind of wood we will need for the rest of the season.

Thought for the day: God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done.

May 19, 2014 My Sixth Anniversery Living Up Here

My Mother's Day gift from
Larry & Elsie

Bear grass on the south ridge

Friday 5/16.  We have a pair of wrens building a nest under the eaves above the bathroom window.  I certainly hope it works for them, as last time it was attempted, the whole thing fell to the ground.  I don't understand why they won't use the bird house.

The walking stick I use from May through September is also my "snake" stick.   It has metal "wings" on the bottom and one of our nephews told us it was a weeding stick.  Well, that may be what west-side flatlanders use it for, but we mountain folk on the east side of the mountains use it to protect against and kill rattlesnakes.

On our morning walk I saw a pair of western tanagers flying about the north ridge.  They are so pretty in their yellow, orange and black coats.

It was off to work at 11:30 this morning.  Another enjoyable afternoon with Elsie in her shop.  It was at least 8-10 degrees cooler down there today, thank goodness.  Our high for the day Up Here was 65.

Tomorrow is my birthday and Elsie said that I simply could not spend it alone.  She is going to buy a "cook it yourself" pizza on the way home and I will drive Miss Kitty down to share it with her and bring a bottle of wine.

Saturday 5/17.  My 67th birthday and the sixth anniversary weekend of my living Up Here, the first three months being in a pop-up camping trailer.  

The day began as 48 with a heavy overcast.  I washed the dishes and hung out the laundry.  By the time of our 10:30 am walk, the clouds had drifted to the north and the sun was out.  I vacuumed when we returned and cleaned the house a bit.  Had to do this even though it was my birthday, as I had spent most of the week outside, letting everything go inside.  I really should get the lawn mower out, as the grass and dandylions are shooting upward at least an inch a day.  And JB will have a lot of mowing to do with the tractor when he gets back

While sitting outside with my coffee before all this, I saw that at least one junco had discovered the corn meal I had spread at the foot of the porch posts for the ants.  Oh well. . .

It was an incredible birthday gift, just to be able to wake up in our mountain home.  When the dogs woke me up at 5:00 am, I opened all my cards.  Then when I got up again at 7:30 am, I opened my gifts.  I do wish JB could have been here with me, but that's just the way it is.  I spent a lovely hour talking with Sandy.  She had sent me a Pearls Before Swine book, which is one of my favorite comic strips, and a pair of peace-sign earrings.

I thoroughly enjoyed my special day and left for dinner with Elsie at 6:15 pm.  We had wonderful time chatting, eating, and drinking a bottle of wine.  I took a bottle of Orange Muscat I had been hoarding from last year, and it was the perfect cap to the perfect evening.  She gave me a beautiful humming bird solar light for the yard.

I was back home by 9:30 pm.  Went right to bed and had no problem going to sleep with the help of the wine.

Sunday 5/18.  This morning began clear with 47 degrees.  I watered the garden and other plants, again in my pajamas and dressing gown.  It occurred to me while writing this, that there are several words for "dressing gown" that I know of, including bathrobe and house coat.  My Mother always referred to it as a dressing gown, which is the English term.  JB's Mother calls it a house coat, which is, I guess, a mid-west term.  And then there is "bath robe", which I hear out west.

My special day has passed, and I admit, I am a little let down.  It really was a great day, with all the wonderful cards, gifts and phone calls.  I love birthdays and Christmas.  My Mother always made them so special.  I am sure I will feel my child-like excitement for them always.  Even if one doesn't like birthdays, they are certainly better than the alternative. . .

With all the lush green foliage everywhere, it is difficult to imagine a snow-covered landscape.  Spring never fails to startle me with its brilliant and many shades of green, and colorful wild flowers.  Arrowleaf arnica has burst into bloom practically overnight during the week.  So many more are blooming than usual.  It must like the dryer weather.  There is also a lot more bear grass on the south ridge than usual.

The birds are especially vocal this morning.  I sat on the porch trying to absorb it all.  The certainty of nature.  No good or bad.  It simply is what it is.

I saw a different bird this morning.  It must have been a bobolink.  The only one in our book that looks like it.  Very pretty.

I brought down another load of wood from the east slope.  That big pile is now down to almost nothing and I ought to be able to clear it up in one or two more loads.  It was perfect working weather, with a high of 57.  Huge cloud formations drifted over and looked as though they might drop some moisture.  At one point it looked as though it was raining in the mountains to the south, but we never got any.

When JB called, he said that his Mother was doing much better but he wasn't sure when he would be home.  Next Saturday at the latest.

I watched a couple Downton Abby episodes to close the day, and then it was off to bed.

Monday 5/19.  It is 47 and partly cloudy with a breeze.  Today is our Grandson's tenth birthday!

Thought for the day: That moment when the overwhelming feeling of peace descends as you realize control is an illusion, and hope and love a truism.