Imnaha Adventure...08/19/11...5am...51°...Sunshine

Janie's Big Sheep Retreat

I was in such a hurry to get ready and out the door yesterday that I forgot to tell you where I was going...So here goes...Last fall, friend Janie Tippett purchased property near Imnaha on "Big Sheep Creek", fulfilling a life long dream...She has a rustic cabin sitting next to the creek on 14 acres...A view up the canyon, a small orchard, room for a huge garden and a place to pasture a couple of horses...While having lunch yesterday she mentioned that the blackberries were getting ripe at the cabin and would anyone like to go picking?..Didn't take long for Ruth, Phyllis and I to accept that invitation.

Friendship Garden

We left Janie's Prairie Creek home at 9am armed with berry picking buckets...We were wearing boots, jeans, long sleeved shirts, and floppy hats...The Imnaha is much lower in elevation than Joseph and fruit and vegetables grow in abundance...It is famous for its black berries but also for its rattlesnakes...First stop was to view the "Friendship Garden" on Janie's property, planted and tended by local people, as a way to give to local schools and people who can't afford fresh produce...Nearly an acre is planted in tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and corn...A green lush spot amid the rimrock country of the Imnaha.

Taking a quick tour of the two bedroom cabin, we oohed and awed over the screened in porch that sits next to the creek and the front porch covered by a grape arbor for shade... Janie is repairing and cleaning a little at a time with help of family and friends as the property and cabin have been neglected for several years...Her face glowing with pride as she showed us each room and the furnishings that she has found at local yard sales.

Now it was time to tackle the berry bushes and be on the lookout for snakes...Black berry vines are wicked, they grab onto your shirt sleeves, tangle around your legs until it feels like they will swallow you up...They are very reluctant to give up their berries...We persevered and by noon had enough berries for desserts and some to freeze...We relaxed under the grape arbor, ate our lunch and had a hard time dragging ourselves away from this beautiful oasis...We picked a few apples to add to our bounty helped Janie clear a spot to stack a supply of winter wood and arrived back on Prairie Creek at 2pm...What a day!

As I arrived home Herb and Cienna were finishing up their lunch after a leisurely morning of reading, laundry and walking the dogs...I had promised Cienna a trip to the lake with Ginger...Gathered up towels and away we went...She spent her time getting Ginger used to being comfortable in the water and retrieving a ball...I sat in the sun, with a nice breeze and did some people watching.

Before

After

Home again, I just wanted to sit down, but instead, with Cienna's help we made a huge pie with apples on one side and blackberries on the other...Later in the evening Pam arrived just in time for warm pie ala mode...at 10pm I fell into bed exhausted but happy...OWAV:)