April 4, 2014 Ticks and Down There

The view from my chair on the porch on Tuesday,
looking at the east slope.

Wednesday 4/2. Because the temperature has climbed to 50, the ice in the yard has visibly getting smaller each day.  Should be gone soon, but then it will probably be mud.  As it is, the dogs need their paws wiped every time they come in.  Typical April.

Sandy called this morning, finally able to talk without coughing.  So we had a lovely chat.  Such a great way to start the day.

With Spring comes bugs.  Lots of stink bugs.  I always knock each piece of wood I bring in to get any of them off that might be clinging, but some always manage to get in anyway.  At least I don't have to bring in as much wood, as now we usually do not need a fire after the first one in the morning.

Right after lunch we hiked up to the south ridge to take down some more of the fence.  We had asked our neighbors to move it off our property the first few years we were Up Here, and when they hadn't, two years ago we told them we would take it down.  We made a few gaps in it last year, and now this year we hope to get it all down.  They don't run much cattle any more, and the south ridge is too steep for them anyway.

It just feels so good to get outside and really work again without being so bundled up that just moving gets one out of breath.  The sun was so warm up on the ridge that we took off our jackets.  And the breeze coming up from the canyon was actually warm.  The dogs had great fun up there with us and the way they were diving into the bushes after suspected critters, I thought for sure we would find ticks on them.  But when I checked them over this evening, there were none.

The brown areas are quickly greening up.  The ridge and the canyon already have a green hue to them.

I got all the mail ready to take tomorrow.  Checked my lists to be sure I had remembered everything.  And figured out my route.  I am actually excited about going Down There. . .

We watched the movie In Time with Justin Timberlake.  The premise for the movie was very good but I just don't think he carried off being the main character.  It needed someone like a 28-year-old Clive Owen.

Thursday 4/3. It was 33 with a light overcast.  I don't like taking a shower in the morning as the bathroom is always so cold, and it certainly was this morning.  But I bit the bullet and charged in, and was able to get on my way by 9:00 am.  There are bare spots on the road but also still a lot of ice.  It was such a nice drive down in Miss Kitty.

It was much warmer Down There than Up Here.  I had a good trip and a nice visit with my cousin.  Of course my first stop was for a vanilla latte.  Ah, nectar of the gods.  Also stopped in to see Larry and Elsie.  She wants to go more gluten free, so I took her one of our cookbooks and JB had copied off some recipes for here.  I also loaned her the current issue of Mary Jane's Farm magazine as there is a huge article in it about being gluten free with lots of recipes.

After this trip down, I have definitely decided to keep my hair short as it passed the Fred Meyer ladies'-room-mirror test.  That mirror has a horrible cast to it and I always look like an old hag.  But today I actually looked human!  Had to have been the short hair.

I arrived back home at about 2:00 pm.  I had run a lot of errands but not really bought a lot of bulky items except a bag of dog food.  Not a big grocery run.  But after unloading, we were able to sit and enjoy the magazines and newspapers, which is always a treat.

We watched the first two episodes of Downton Abbey season four.  Don't know if I have noted how much I love that show. . .

Friday 4/4.  It is 35 and mostly clear, with a few clouds around the horizon.  There is a light breeze and more of the ice in the yard is gone.  We plan to take down some more fence today, and I have to get cleaning the house as JB's nephew and his six-year-old son are coming to visit tomorrow for one or two nights.

In answer to a reader from Kentucky, yes we do have ticks up here but they aren't really tiny.  Just "normal" tick size.  Sounds like we don't have nearly as many as you do, thank goodness, although a couple years ago the dogs came in one day with more than ten on each of them.  I have only had one on me, but I got it before it latched on, and I don't think JB has had any.

Thought for the day: The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants. Albert Camus 

April 2, 2014 Scents & Songs

Tray from trunk used as display shelf.

Monday 3/31.  I had taken some "oldies" cd's to Larry and Elsie's last night to listen to while we played marbles.  Unfortunately two of them were The Righteous Brothers, whom I enjoy even more than The Beatles.  Scents and songs tend to take you back to times and places, and I got quite melancholy as their songs took me back.  Not the best mood to be in while playing a competitive dice game.

We need to work on thinning the trees on our property this year, and will start on the north ridge where there are a lot of little ones crowding the larger ones.  That will probably be the easiest place to start and then go on to the east slop where we need to take down several large trees.  The west slope is the worst, as it is quite crowded and very steep, and although the trees are tall, they are small in diameter.

While working in the loft, I had put blankets in my Dad's Marine Corps trunk and there was no room for the tray.  So I took it out and am using it as a display shelf on the edge of the loft.  (See photo above.)  Am very pleased with how it turned out.  The black and white picture at the bottom left of the photo is a pen and ink and water color done by JB's Mom.

It was another partly cloudy day with a high of 46.  A good day to work outside, so we did.  I trimmed a couple of trees and we put the other string of solar lights on the fence.

Tuesday 4/1.  It was 35 and mostly clear this morning.  Clouds floated over during the day and we had a light, cool breeze.  Our high was 50.  The warmest day this year.

I have been getting too lazy - too sedentary - this winter.  I need to get moving more and this is the season to do it.  So today I went on the morning walk with JB and the dogs.  After lunch I drove Miss Kitty up the east slope to a pile of branch wood.  In two trips I was able to move it all down to the wood shed where I broke it into smaller lengths and stacked it.  Then I took the dogs for their afternoon walk while JB baked french bread and started dinner.  He tried a recipe for scalloped potatoes, making it with the dried potato slices, and it turned out delicious.

I will be going Down There on Thursday.  I had planned to go today but my cousin will be in town, so I am going to meet her.

We finished watching season three of Downton Abbey this evening and thank goodness I already knew the tragic ending, otherwise I would have been devastated.  It was sad enough as it was.  It is interesting that no other program affects me as much as this one. 

Wednesday 4/2. We have a light overcast this morning with a temperature of 35.  Looks as though it will be a good day to work outside.

Thought for the day: In the woods we return to reason and faith.  Ralph Waldo Emerson.

March 31, 2014 Mud Season

Bird house from Aunt Nene.

Friday 3/28. The falling snow turned to rain about 11:00 am and then stopped shortly thereafter.  The fog moved in.  The temperature rose to 39 and the 1" snow we received began to melt.  But more snow fell through the fog on and off all afternoon, too wet to stick and by 4:00 pm it was raining again.

Rufus is predicting that the next two to three weeks will be wet.  At our altitude, we could get a little snow, but it sounds like mostly rain.  Rufus is actually more accurate that NOAA.  Weather Cafe by Rufus can be found at ovs.com.

It was mostly an indoor day of chores, reading, crossword puzzles, sudoku and computer.  But it was pizza night!  

Saturday 3/29.  The morning began clear at 33 degrees and with some river valley fog.  The dogs woke me up about 6:30 am and I stayed up.  I guess the early morning light is finally getting to me.

The Mission Ridge avalanche canon is really booming today.  Larry says they also use dynamite, and with the explosions so close together, that is probably what they are using today.

I climbed the ladder up to the weather station again and drilled a tiny hole so I could get the second screw in that holds it to the mounting post.  Then we finally put the birdhouse outside that my Aunt Nene had given to us Christmas 2012.  I had been using it as a decoration inside.

Then the dogs and I went tromping about on the east slope and south ridge.  Jesse was tracking something way past the fence to the east.  He came back twice, only to go right back up.  JB finally went out to see where Jesse was going and it occurred to me that he had wanted us to follow him each time he came back.  When they both came back down, JB said he had heard a dog or two (or wolf?) barking and assumed they were feral.  Not coyotes yipping, but dogs barking.  Hmmm.

Our high for the day was 49 with a maximum wind speed of 16 mph.  As usual, the clouds began moving in around mid-morning and by mid-afternoon the sky was mostly overcast with the sun finding a few cracks to peek through.  A little after 3:00 pm a sleet and snow squall moved through and then we had sun and mostly blue sky.

We are going to drive down to Larry and Elsie's tomorrow evening to play some marbles.  Larry asked me if I really liked losing that much, but we'll see what happens.

We watched the last of The Walking Dead season three, and I am sure we will watch it several more times.

Sunday 3/30.  It was 33 and clear this morning with a breeze.  JB made German pancakes this morning, which we haven't had in a while.  Yum!

Before lunch we drove Miss Kitty down to where her snow plow was sitting.  We were able to put it back on her and drive it home.  Sure felt good to get it Up Here.

Living and doing for ourselves Up Here has convinced me that "experts" are over rated.  With experts in every profession, we tend to rely on them instead of ourselves.  I know that is part of what makes a community, but it also compartmentalizes everyone.  My Uncle Jack was a "Jack-of-all-trades."  He was the ultimate handyman and more, and I was so envious.  JB and I did some things for ourselves, and perhaps more than many do, but Up Here we are learning - by necessity - to be more self-sufficient every day.  And it is a very good feeling.  We may not be able to grow a lot of our food, but I think other than medical care, that is our only weakness.

But still, we are part of a small community and everyone needs that.  Being self-reliant doesn't necessarily meaning going it alone.  It also means sharing those abilities with neighbors.  And that's what it is all about.  Even if it is just your friendship.  That in itself is an extremely important ability.  

We left for Larry and Elsie's at 6:30 and didn't get back home until a little after 11:00 pm.  Great visit.  Great competition.  Guys won the first game.  Girls won the second.  The tie breaker came down to whoever rolled a one first, and JB did.  Elsie has her plant starts sitting in windows, and they brought home the chicks on Saturday, who are now in a big box near the wood stove in the living room.  As the weather warms up, they will put them in a small pen near the chicken coop so the other chickens can get used to them before they put the little ones in with the big ones.

Monday 3/31.  It is 30 and clear this morning, and I am slowly waking up.  It's a good thing I wrote most of this last night before we left. . .

Thought for the day: Don't cloud my happy!  Elsie

March 28, 2014 Our Own Weather Station

Wild Rose attaching the weather station
to the pole outside.

Our weather station!

Wednesday 3/26. We finally installed our weather station outside that our son had given us for Christmas.  JB wanted to put it on a really tall pole, so we attached one to the northeast corner of the woodshed pen.  I'm sure he wanted it that high because he knew the smallest and lightest of the two of us would have to climb the ladder to install it.  And I did (see photo above.)  I didn't even breathe, let alone move, while JB was taking that picture and not holding the ladder for me.  It will take two weeks for the forecasting part of it to work correctly, but everything else seems to be doing great.

By the time we were done, it was too late to bake cookies, but I did bake corn bread to go with our chili dinner.  So nice to have an oven again!  And it feels so good to have fixed it ourselves.

JB is going Down There tomorrow to fill our gas cans and run a couple errands, including mailing a birthday card to our Granddaughter who turns seven next week.

After dinner we watched a couple episodes of season four of True Blood.  I think when we finish this season and the one of Vampire Diaries, I'll be done with vampires.  However, I doubt that I will ever tire of zombies and The Walking Dead.

And speaking of eerie, with so much of our snow having melted, the nights are much darker now, especially the moonless ones.

Thursday 3/27. The morning began partly cloudy and 33 (26 on the porch).  I figured the weather station would record warmer temperatures than the gauge on the porch.  The sun doesn't hit the porch much and I'm sure the cold reflects off the metal side of the house.  But what I really like is to be able measure the wind.  Larry says we will probably scare ourselves knowing how strong it is.  We set an alarm for when it hits 70 mph.  If that alarm ever goes off, I am heading straight for the trap door and sliding underneath the house!

JB got about a half and hour later start than he wanted as Jesse was on a long after-breakfast jaunt.  We have to have both dogs in the house or they will follow him.

The sun disappeared behind clouds around noon while I was baking cookies.  Lots of cookies.  JB arrived back home at about 1:30 pm, and as soon as we unloaded everything and JB got into the house, the wind blew in a half-hour snow "storm."  Then it blew the clouds away and we had a sunny rest of the afternoon.

Our weather station can tell us just about everything that is going on outside and keep a history of it.  Our strongest wind gust for the day was 16 mph, and we received .01" of precipitation.  The high temperature for the day was 49 (42 on the porch).

I want to go Down There next Tuesday for some groceries.  JB was surprised that I want to go down so early in the year, but I'm ready.  The road is ready.  And Miss Kitty is ready and able.

Friday 3/28. It was 33 and snowing when we got up.  Small, wet flakes.  And it looks like it's been at it for a while as the ground is already turning white.  NOAA is has a winter storm warning through tomorrow morning for elevations over 3000'.  That would be us. . .

Thought for the day: Almost half of the people over 40 believe they look younger than they are.  This says something important about older Americans: We have terrible eyesight! Dave Barry

March 26, 2014 A Working Oven!

So recently covered with snow. .
(A spot on our north ridge)

Monday 3/24.  We could see blue sky all day through the light overcast and the sun was able to shine through it.  Our high for the day was 38.

The temperature was just 26 when we left at 9:45 to drive Miss Kitty down to Larry and Elsie's.  I got to drive this time and, although there was still quite a bit of ice, Miss Kitty did great with ice chains just on the back wheels.  We had a fun drive and visit.  They had just finished laying a beautiful wood floor in their bedroom yesterday and Larry was working on the finishing touches.  It had  to have been at least 15 degrees warmer at their place.  We put the items from my Jeep that JB could not fit in MAX and drove back home.  Even going uphill in the icy spots was fairly easy.

After lunch we all decided to take a nap, but by the time I got to the bedroom, JB and the dogs were settled in with no room for me.  So I took my nap on the couch. . .

Talked to our son today as I do several times a week and he was telling me about our Granddaughter's love for reading.  (She is 7 years old.)  Unfortunately she reads out loud.  One evening last week, both children had gone to bed but were still reading.  Our son was downstairs listening to his daughter and just dying.  She was reading a book with several characters and giving them all a different voice.  Finally he sneaked up the stairs to try and take a video of her, but by then she had finished the book.  Sure wish we lived closer.

Tuesday 3/25. This morning broke overcast with 30 degrees and NOAA is predicting rain.  This may be the start of mud season, as so far the cool temperatures have kept the mud fairly firm.  A few snow flakes fell about 10:00 am but soon turned to rain drops for a short shower.

I noticed a junco checking out the bird house, but the holes are just too small.  Haven't seen the wren yet.  Just two weeks ago we were solidly in Winter, and now it is definitely Spring!

After lunch our project was to put the new part in the oven.  JB had printed out another customer's how-to description and it turned out to be fairly easy.  The longest part was cleaning the oven. . .  Am definitely going to bake cookies tomorrow, and maybe even some banana coffee cake, as we have one banana left that is quickly browning.

We heard thunder about 3:00 pm and a few moments later the rain arrived.  Turned out to be just another short shower, but not nearly so light.  It smelled so good outside as I was getting the wood and then taking the dogs on their walk.  While I did that, JB was checking out the weather station our son gave to us for Christmas.  We plan to put it up tomorrow, finally.

We watched two episodes of season three of Downton Abbey and right now I am very upset with Mr. Julian Fellows (the writer).

Wednesday 3/26.  It is 25 and overcast with more rain on the way.  I am still quite upset with Mr. Fellows.  If he ever writes Maggie Smith (Granny) out of the series, he will ruin it.  Oh, I will still watch it, but it will be ruined.

Thought for the day: As your faith is strengthened, you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.  Emmanuel Teney   (This is the only description I have ever seen that expresses my belief system so well. Rose)

March 24, 2014 Spring!!

Turkey tracks on the lower road on the south ridge.
Little arrows pointing in the opposite direction
it was walking.

Friday 3/21. I was looking forward to Spring for so long and thinking it would never get here, that I completely missed its arrival yesterday!  I am usually right on top of the equinoxes and solstices.  But here we are, officially into Spring.  Hurray!  So I celebrated with two oatmeal/raisin cookies for breakfast.  Thank you, Elsie.

On our morning walk, the north ridge and grove were full of birds.  I could see several kinds, including robins and juncos.  JB is much better than I am at identifying the birds and remembering their names.  I could also hear a woodpecker, wild turkey and the blue grouse with his mating call..

I finished the fifth Jason Bourne book and started the sixth.  There are eight so far and I am on a roll.  There's a great line in book five about a PDA.  The guy calls it his "PET: personal electronic thingy."  I love it!

I can see buds on my lilac and nine-bark bushes, when less than two weeks ago they were all completely covered with snow.  You wouldn't even have known they were there.

The dogs and I went hiking about on the east ridge after lunch and then I worked a bit in the wood shed.  The row of kindling was leaning precariously outward, so I re-stacked it.  Also pulled out the really tiny twigs and stacked them separately.  I think we are going to have enough wood left for next winter!

After our afternoon walk and feeding the dogs, I lay down for what turned out to be a delicious two-hour nap.  My, that felt good.

I am often surprised at how much I enjoy writing about our weather, but as I think I mentioned before, I have never lived where I have had such an intimate relationship with it.  Today, like the past several days, started out clear, but clouds began moving in around noon.  There was always some blue sky though, and the sun shone most of the time.  Our high for the day was 31.

I watched the movie, Narnia, this evening.  One of my favorite movies and books.

Saturday 3/22.  I got up at 7:15 am knowing that JB would be calling around 8:00 am when he left Seattle.  It's a good thing I did get up so early as he actually called at 7:30 am, getting an early start.

The morning began clear again, with a temperature of 20.  And again, the clouds began moving across the sky around mid-day.  But it was warmer, with a high of 36.

On our morning walk, the dogs flushed a couple of grouse out at the south ridge.  Dinga is also flushing out the smaller birds that she sees in bushes.  And the birds are everywhere.  They certainly didn't miss Spring's arrival.

JB made good time and after running a few errands Down There, was home at 1:30 pm.  The main canyon road is mainly bare of ice and not yet too muddy, but our road was very icy, so he had to go slow with MAX so the tracks wouldn't come off.  They tend to do that on hard surfaces.  But this will be the last trip down with MAX for sure, as one of JB's errands was to pick up the chains he had ordered for Miss Kitty.

It was so good to have him back.  The dogs thought so too.  JB said that after a week in Seattle in March, he could already feel the webbing between his toes start to grow back.

He brought the mail and lots of newspapers to read, and the most heavenly GF chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting from Trader Joe's.  After dinner we got back on our TV series' schedule and watched two episodes of season three of The Walking Dead.

Sunday 3/23.  Another clear morning with a temperature of 24.  And a big breakfast with newspapers and magazines to read.  So nice!

When doing the dishes, I realized that having JB back for just two meals created about ten times the amount of dishes I would have used. . .

After lunch, JB went out to clear a couple areas of snow with the tractor on the road to the south ridge where it hasn't melted.  I brought in wood, and then we put the chains on Miss Kitty's back tires.  The chains for the front tires have to be cut to fit.  We tried her out with just the back ones on, as most of the ice is soft now.  JB drove her down to the short cut to RJ's and back up again.  The dogs had a nice run and I had a great ride.  Don't think we'll need the second set of chains til next winter.  Tomorrow we will drive Miss Kitty down to my Jeep at Larry and Elsie's to get the few items that JB didn't have room for on MAX.  

Kathleen Jarschke-Schultze's article in the April/May issue of Home Power Magazine is a must-read for anyone planning to live off the grid.  She and her husband have been doing just that for 28 years now and have probably come up against all the challenges such a life affords.  But, like us, they love it and "wouldn't trade it for anything."

Monday 3/24.  It is 24 and clear this morning.  And JJ - the jig is up.

Thought for the day: For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of potential happiness.  Edna Trammell from Guideposts magazine

March 21, 2014 Cookies & Ice Cream!

The north edge of the storm over us.

A bloom on the south ridge!

Wednesday 3/19.  It tried snowing at about 10:00 am but wasn't too successful, and during our walk at 10:30 am, the sun broke through the clouds.

Dinga spends most of her days outside now, if it isn't windy, rolling in or eating what is left of the snow; barking at critters real or imagined; or lying on her bed on the porch.  If Jesse isn't outside, he is in lying by the fire or sleeping on our bed.  Since JB has been gone, he sleeps on our bed most of the night.  That's nice, but he snores almost as loud and JB, and when he dreams, his kicking really jostles the bed.

Found a tiny cricket in the bathtub.  Now there's a sure sign of Spring.

I started the fifth book in the Jason Bourne series.  Did the laundry and dishes.  Checked the cistern, but it still does not need any water.  It's been that way for more than a week now.

Snow began falling again about 1:00 pm.  The sun was shining from the south, but the wind was blowing in a wall of snow from the west.  The worst of it never arrived though.  We seemed to always just be on the edge of the storm, so just sporadic snow and lots of wind.  Our high for the day was 37.

I don't mind the wind so much in the late Winter and early Spring as at once it both helps to melt the snow and dry the mud.

Thursday 3/20.  18 and clear this morning.  A trace of snow fell during the night.  Just enough to turn the bare ground white again, or at least until the sun hits it.  But clouds started skooting across the sky late in the morning and every little one that passed over us tried dropping a few snow flakes, as if shaking off their dandruff.

I took advantage of the sun and vacuumed right after we got back from our morning walk.  I'd meant to do that yesterday, but didn't get motivated until it was too late and the clouds had moved in.

About 1:30 pm it began snowing in earnest, very tiny flakes.  Again today we are right on the edge of the storm that is playing havoc on the mountain passes.  This shower only lasted about a half an hour, but it continued to snow in fits and spurts throughout the afternoon.  Sometimes flakes, sometimes tiny balls of sleet.  Out high for the day was only 29.

This evening I could see the thick, new coat of snow on the mountains, the clouds obviously having spent most of their load before reaching us.

Larry and Elsie drove/slid up to visit bringing gifts of cookies and ice cream!  How very, very lovely.  We had a good visit, and before they were out of sight, I was enjoying the ice cream. . .

Friday 3/21.  It is 17 and clear out there this morning, and the dogs are out chasing some poor critter.

Okay, JJ.  Are you telling me that the snow melt sinks down through the snow and ice to run off the bottom because of gravity?  Or it melts from the bottom because of gravity?  I can see the snow on top of the ice disappearing, but I can't believe the melt from it is sinking down through the solid ice.  We are talking about snow on a slope here.  If it were strictly gravity, seems to me that the top melt would run off the top because gravity would pull it in the direction of the slope, not down to the ground at an impossible angle. . .  Help me out here.

Thought for the day: Life needs to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you, kid. Lets go!  Maya Angelou