Walking..34º

The days we live for in Wallowa County are here this week...After arriving at Debbies' at 9am, we, Tim running the front end loader, Herb moving the truck and shoveling, Debbie and I shoveling and raking, had the truck loaded and we were back home about 10:30...Herb unloaded the truck and I spread the last wheelbarrow of old manure on the garlic...With rain coming this weekend (we hope) the manure will nourish the garlic and it should really get a boost...Temperature was in the high 60's.

Pat and I walked at Iwetemlaykin State Park near Wallowa Lake yesterday...The pictures below show what an amazing spot we live in and how lucky we are to have places like this to walk and enjoy...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sunny...28º

Warmer spring days for the end of April and into May, reaching 59º today and up to 71º by Friday, before showers move in and it starts to cool...Sun and showers, that's what makes things grow!..Speaking of getting things to grow, Herb and I will go to our friend Debbies this morning for our annual load of Llama manure.

Yesterday I talked about our families love of pies...Herb's father was a lover of pies and raised in New York State he was fond of a saying "Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze." He took that saying a bit farther as he loved any kind of pie with cheese...He was also know for his saying, "I only like two kinds of pie and with a twinkle in his eye he added, warm pie and cold pie." He even ate pie with ice cream or whipped cream...He was partial to fruit pies...I turned up my nose at the idea of eating cheese with pie as I had been raised mostly on cream pies (my fathers preference.) Pumpkin, banana and coconut cream pies, piled high with fresh whipped cream...It took several years before the sharp cheddar cheese tasted good with pie to me, but with Dad's encouragement and obvious enjoyment I was soon an avid fan.

I'm not sure if either of our fathers had rhubarb pie growing up...It seems like rhubarb sauce was more common and used as a spring tonic, as it was the first vegetable/fruit available in the spring...Rhubarb sauce was very sweet and eaten as a breakfast fruit or a dinner dessert...I found the recipe for Rhubarb Cream Pie in the "Better Homes and Gardens" cook book that I received at my bridal shower and it soon became a favorite, one we look forward to every spring...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Two Seasons...29º

Yesterday was definitely a two season day...It started with birds chirping and sun breaking through the clouds....The next time I looked out the window it was snowing so hard we couldn't see acrossed our street...This continued all day long...Spring/winter, spring/winter!..I ventured outside once for a quick trip around the flowerbeds to see what seasoned perenial dared stick its head above ground.

Early yesterday morning I mentioned the possibility of making a rhubarb pie/crisp for dinner...Herb didn't waste any time pulling and trimming the lovely red stalks...They awaited me in the kitchen sink, where I rinsed, then cut them into chunks.

Chunked and waiting

This is only one of our favorite pies...If dessert is in the offering at our house it will usually be pie...This blog can go several different ways, such as; Rhubarb pie recipe, cook book that the recipe is found in, the cook book was a wedding gift, apple pie and cheese or any kind of pie and cheese, this very rhubarb root that we planted some 40 years ago when we moved to Barton Heights, how prolific this rhubarb is or how I keep changing to different pie crust recipes.

I posted a photo on Facebook yesterday and will post here for my friends not on Facebook...I call it rustic because the crust instead of fluted around the edges is merely folded over the filling and small pieces of leftover crust is scattered on top of the pie to make an easy double crust.

Rustic Rhubarb Cream Pie

This cook book has been well used.

It was tempting to have dessert first as the pie cooled in the back room but we waited until after our dinner of spaghetti and asparagus before diving into the sweet/tart pie with Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar cheese on the side...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Dinner

Dessert

Possible snow/rain/sun...31º

Love it when we get three seasons in one day...Kind of difficult to decide what to wear on a day like today, but layers are the norm...Dress warm to start with and then peal off the layers and add layers back as the weather changes...Guess you can tell I don't have much on my mind this morning.

I have house work to do, figure out what is for dinner and Pat and I have a yard sale this morning and walk afterward depending on the weather...Not much happening on Barton Heights this morning, no spectacular sunrise, just the blooming daffodils...Lilacs are budded...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Snowy Morning...32º

On facebook this morning it seems to be all about the weather today...Is that because we look forward to spring with blooms, warm rains, green fields and this morning awake to snow covering everything...Very likely that there will be no apricot harvest again this year...Apple tree isn't blooming so there is hope for an apple crop.

Yesterday with a 90% chance of moisture, it rained most of the morning but the sun came out about noon and it was a balmy 50º for over an hour...Pat and I took an invigorating walk at the head of the lake before the black clouds moved in for another storm...If one lives in Wallowa County long enough they will learn to enjoy and savor those brief moments of sunshine...It looks like today is a good day to have a fire and start a pot of soup...Another day the sun will shine...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Rainy/Sunny/Walk...38º

Changable weather yesterday, so Pat and I took advantage of a sun break before noon...Walked the track for two miles and watched a squall moving along the base of the mountains...It cooled us off but didn't get us wet.

Then Herb and I made a quick trip to Enterprise, me for acupuncture and he to run a few errands...Back home we enjoyed breakfast for dinner (sausage, eggs and pancakes) before settling in for an afternoon of reading in our cozy little nook...Facetimed Bobi with Birthday Wishes.

Will work on punctuation and evernote this morning at Pat's cabin and maybe another walk, although the forecast is saying 90% chance of showers...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Time Flys...34º

Seems like yesterday when a squalling 5 pound baby girl entered our lives...She soon became the apple of everyones eye and enriched our lives to no end and continues to do so...I'll stop with that so I don't get maudlin...Love you Babe, Happy Birthday...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Windy, Storm on the way...43º

Looks like spring rains/snow are on the way this week and into next...We need moisture but I do hope most of it is rain, not snow...Dafodills, forsythia and apricots are in full bloom, other trees are just starting to bud.

Yesterday at our monthly book group we discussed the book "Proof of Heaven." Not a book I would normally read but that is one reason I continue to participate in a group that reads all different genres...This book became a best seller, was interesting and believable...Although I just found some interesting rebuttal on the book published by "Esquire" which of course is questionable, but also believable...What to believe or not to believe?..Maybe it is better to stick to fiction...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Easter Sunday...34º

We finished the chili marathon last night about 6pm...The final count of 25 pints, 27 pints and a half and 4 quarts of chili...7 pints of assorted beans filled out the last canner...Along with the canning marathon over the weekend, we went to a few yard sales, Herb kept up with the laundry.

Taking a break we joined P and B for an Easter Brunch at Boggan's Oasis. Boggans is a small cafe located on the Grande Rhonde River, north of Joseph about half way to Lewiston, Idaho...It caters to locals, fishermen and tourists...We had reservations for 10am...After a senic drive out the north highway, where we spotted elk, looked in amazement at the many shades of green, covering the hillsides also dotted with yellow balsam root and syringa, we arrived deep in the canyon...Boggan's was gaily decorated with pastel tablecloths and cloth napkins and champagne glasses....I mention this because Boggan's is reminicent of a 50's diners and we usually stop there on our way to or coming from Lewiston for a milkshake or an ice cream cone...They have a small menu and occasionally we have eaten a meal but it's not a place that caters to the "dinner crowd." This place is small!..Ten or twelve tables lined one wall, with a narrow aisle down the middle, while on the other "wall" a buffet with fruit bowl, breads, salad bar, scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, hot cross buns, biscuits and gravy, fish, asparagus and chicken was hot and ready...At the other end was a dessert bar with homemade cheese cakes, pies (coconut, honey, pecan, banana cream and more) carrot cake, chocolate mousse, raspberry torte, oh my, what a display...It was billed as all you can eat Easter Brunch and the champagne flowed freely, no limit to that either...The cost $16.50 for seniors, what a deal...We asked how many they expected for brunch and the answer was "Last year we served 150 and we have reservations for 100 this year, with the largest party coming in at 2pm." So with walk-in's they were aiming for 150 this year.

We spent an hour eating, drinking, visiting and people watching, before we made the windy trip out of the canyon and back to Joseph...It was a great day and hope they continue this tradition as I have it scheduled on my calendar for next year...Thanks P & B for a great interlude...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

More Chili...36º

Chili ready for the jars

Canned in pint and a half jars

I've been ask why I bother to pressure cook chile instead of just making a batch and maybe freezing the leftovers...Maybe I like having the cellar shelves full is one answer but also I like having it available for quick meals...It can be used for chili dogs, chili burgers, a filling for burritos, enchiladas, a topping for baked potatoes, taco salad, nachos supreme and even blend a jar then simmer it to make a spicy bean dip...Occasionally we have a bowl of chili topped with cheese, onions and sour cream served with cornbread...It also is a good base for cabbage soup on a rainy summer day.

So far we have 19 pints, 16-11/2 pints...Taking a break this morning for Easter Brunch at Boggans...Happy Easter to All...OWAV:)

Sales...36º

Started the chile process yesterday, browned deer and pork burger with added onions, chili powder, garlic and salt...Cooking beans this morning before mixing it all together, then fill jars to go in the pressure cooker...H and I going to a couple of yardsales this morning and a few things at safeway..,Hugs To All..OWAV:)

2 &1/2 miles...39º

Before our Florida/DC trip I started walking again, knowing that if I didn't strengthen my legs and lungs, I might die on the streets of DC...Not the place I want to go to my demise...It helped a little and our kids patiently stopped to let Mom stretch or sit, just looking the other way, pretending they didn't know the "old lady" gasping for breath or doubled over in a stretch trying to keep the cramps from going into full cramp mode as they siezed her legs...I lived to tell about the DC trip, thanks to the metro, taxies, escalators, elevators, shuttles and children who evidently love me most of the time.

Now back home the walking continues...P let me go for a year while my knee healed but once I gave the word that I was considering walking, it was "Katie bar the door." At first she impatiently waited for me to say "lets walk today." Now it is more like "I will be at your house at 11am, is it the track or the airstrip?" (She is going to give me hell over these quotes, "oh well I have to add a little levity to this blog at someones expense.") So I dug out the pedometer (batteries still working) snapped it to the waistband of my jeans and away we went...Of course, I'm still not up to speed and P is very patient, walking to my pace...Our goal (have to have a goal) is to slowly increase the speed keeping our heart rate up just enough that we can still keep up our conversation while walking, maybe not increase the millage but just the time that it takes us...I have to admit that I am sleeping better and maybe my energy level is up just a little...OH and the leg cramps are minimal.

Today, before our walk, we are on schedule to edit one of my essays, thinking P can help me see the rhyme and reason to commas and periods and I in exchange will be instructing here in the ins and outs of organizing our lives into an app called "Evernote."This will definitely be fodder for another post entitled "The blind leading the blind" or "Dumb and Dumber hard at work."...Stay tuned...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

April on Sheep Creek...29º

Canyons so lush, blooms everywhere as we made the steep decent into the Imnaha Canyon...We maneuvered through a herd of cows and calves that were being herded to the corrals up Big Sheep for the spring branding...Janie's little piece of heaven was a riot of color; quince, forsythia, syringa and fruit trees all in bloom and the grass -- greener than green.

Time for our annual Write People meeting, six of us had packed a lunch or brought potluck to share and after taking photo's we settled in for a couple of hours of reading and visiting before lunch...As always it was an inspiring day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Pat

Janie, Cathy, Evelyn

Quince

Pam

Field Trip...36º

Write People are traveling into the Imnaha Canyon today for a spring outing...Janies cabin sits along side Sheep Creek (Crick to the locals) so we pack a lunch, sit outside, gaze at the rimrocks and listen to the river...Maybe some of us have even been inspired to write so we have something to share...I seem to have lost my inspiration...Writing my blog is still easy as I don't worry much about sentence structure, craft, scene, musing, description, punctuation or even if it makes sense...I let stream of conscience take over and where ever my mind goes that is what gets recorded.

Writing a "real memoir" is different...It must have a catchy title, a cover like no other, index, chapters with names, some kind of order,  characters that come alive on the page, colors, smells, similes, metaphors, scenes, musing and punctuation...It can be creative non-fiction, which gives you some lee-way as to the truth of the whole thing...It is what is still in my memory and only my sisters and a few neices and nephews can dispute what I write...Everyone else is dead.

It is kind of fun to imagine what life might have been as I rode horseback, free as the wind, drove a bobsled and team atop six feet of frozen snow, harnesses jingling, steam rising from the horses backs and the ever present smell of horse manure in the frozen air...Or in summer when a bicycle was my mode of transportation (much easier than catching and saddling a horse) or was I sitting tall on the John Deere tractor, eating dust from the harrow as it smoothed the ground ready for grain to be planted or maybe the cleaner job and the smell of fresh cut alfalfa now in windrows waiting for the baler...Did I walk 5 miles to and from school in a raging blizzard climbing uphill both ways, summer and winter?..Did I really have a fairy book childhood where my parents loved me and I alway went to bed with a full tummy?..Who is to know how much truth goes into these pages when this author takes "poetic license" as her 70 year old mind conjures up a lifetime of memories.

Sad to say I'm frustrated with this writing game that I took on when I thought I could just put a few stories on paper, telling about a childhood that is foreign in todays world...It would be a simple little booklet, writen in my own jargon, minus commas, colons, semi colons, quotation marks, told mostly in summary, stapled together and titled "Memories of a Farm Girl." OR "life Under Jughandle."

I have learned much about writing over the last few years...It has been a fun journey and I appreciate the teaching and mentoring from all people involved but writing is not a passion for me...I don't have to write everyday to feel fulfilled...I write because I need an outlet for my feelings and thoughts and I enjoy that, but I've come to the conclusion that I don't live to write....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Last Years Weather...25º

Looks like our lovely spring days are waning as the forecast is for rain/snow showers off and on for the rest of the week...This prompted me to look back in my blog for the weather last year at this time, as I remember a snowy spring...April 14, 2013 we made a sunny trip to Lewiston, arrived home just before it started snowing and put down 5 inches, early enough in April that no damage was done...But on May 22, 2013 we had another 6 inches of snow that kept everything in its icy grip, freezing blossoms on the apple and apricot trees resulting in no apricots and enough apples for only one pie last season...Luckily the Santa Rosa Plum tree bloomed late and we made many jars of plum jam...We are hoping for no snow storms in May this year.

A quiet weekend on Barton Heights...Herb has been restocking our basement woodshed with wood from our outside stash for next winter...This gives him some much needed exercise and guarantees that we will have a warm house...P and I have been walking daily for our much needed exercise and yesterday changed our routine walking to the school and then around the track, taking in the mountain view...Yard saling has also been on our list, looking for the illusive treasures...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Brians new goat herd (yardsale)

Brian and Goats

Tacos for dinner

Busy Day...32º

Yard sales and walking was on the agenda for yesterday...Pat arrived promptly at 10am, only one sale but she scored with a large yard art of two sparing goats...(A gift for B as he loves goats and misses the ones at their farm in Maryland...)A long walk on the taxi-way got us thinking about chocolate to renew our bodies for the rest of the day...My turn to treat with mochas (why didn't I think to get photos)...An hour and a half later we were finally talked out and I back home, in time to fix dinner of deer finger steaks...The last Fishtrap Fireside started last night at 7pm with two of my friends reading, couldn't resist that, so it was after 10pm when I crawled into bed!

Yard sales again this morning and I must put my thinking cap on about dinners for the weekend, sunny weather is forecast, so soup is out of the question, not warm enough for chef salad, leftover ham in the fridge, wonder what google has to say?...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Spring at 8000 Feet.

Spring at 4000 Feet.

Perspective...33º

It was cloudy/rainy yesterday with sun breaks, decent temperature for walking and with Pat's Mickey Mouse rain poncho's we kept dry as we "flapped" our way for more than a mile...Back home I was fixing mac/cheese to go with baked ham when I remembered my acupuncture appointment...Left Herb to keep an eye on dinner and sped to Enterprise and Amy's office, where I relaxed for an hour of soft music, not feeling the numerous needles sticking out of my body.

I wrote yesterday of the lovely weather we have been having and several times have mentioned the rather mild winter and sun filled days here in Wallowa County...Imagine my surprise yesterday as I exited the medical clinic, spoke to an acquaintance as we passed and she immediately launched into a diatribe of the horrible weather of the last few days and the awful winter here in Wallowa County...I was speechless (that doesn't happen often.) Now I'm wondering if I've been wearing rose colored glasses all winter if maybe I should get my eyes examined again or maybe check in at a councilors office to readjust my thinking...No, guess not, I prefer to stay in my "sunny/rosy world," plaster a smile on my face and enjoy each day as it comes along, rain or shine!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Not very good photos, but you get the idea...Not flying just walking the taxi way.

Della

Pat

Lovely Spring Days...37º

Cloudy this morning but that's okay...We have had 3 days of warm, sunny weather of 60+ degrees...Out of my closet came the capri's that I wore in Florida, short sleeved shirts and cotton blouses...Pat and I walked with the sun at our backs, then turned around to face the stunning view of the Wallowa Mountains, still covered with snow, brilliant in the sunlight...Spring in Wallowa County is made up of fleeting days like this that we treasure and remember when Mother Nature turns her other side and pelts us with rain, snow and wind.

The last couple of days I've wandered around the flower beds, picking up stray limbs, moving mulch away from emerging daffodils, reveling in the miracle of spring as bits of green and tiny flowers poke their head out of the frozen earth...Just now I hurried outside to catch the sunrise, always more spectacular with clouds...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Barton Heights Sunrise

Sunrise reflection in our front window

Glories of the snow

Happy Birthday Eldest Sister...40º

Sending you love and Happy Birthday Wishes, Loraine, on your 87th Birthday...Thinking of you with fond memories and wishing you a happy day with family and friends. Below is a short excerpt from the essay I am writing about you in the essay titled "Siblings."

Loraine, my oldest sister, “Sister or Rainie” that’s what we called her. Being 15 years older than I, she didn’t play with me as a sibling so I remember her always as a mother – a grown up. She married Steve Smith at age 17 when he was home on leave before heading to the battle fields of WW II. Loraine was the brainy one in our family as well as a dreamer. She was a voracious reader, and writer. She had beautiful penmanship and wrote long beautiful letters and stories. Her hand written journals were lost in a fire when Steve and Loraine’s century home burned to the ground in 1998. Loraine is very opinionated, a lifelong democrat and for many years wrote a column for the local newspaper called “The Flip Side,” where she freely expressed her side of the issue.

Below are a couple of photos from her childhood with Barbara and George and our parents Blanche Parkin Ashton and Joe (Elmer Isaac Ashton)...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Loraine, Daddy, George and Barbara

Loraine, Mom, George and Barbara

Loraine holding son, George

Rain/Snow/Sun...32º

When the day is gloomy, like yesterday, I looked to the kitchen to lighten my day...After a quick trip to Enterprise for a yardsale (bust) I was back home looking in the fridge for breakfast...As I reached for the leftover soup I saw the bag of red peppers (Costco) and the mushrooms (Grocery Outlet) that were begging for my attention...Soup eaten I started a small batch of dough for pitas or flatbread, thinking pizza for dinner...With the help of the cuisinart the mushrooms and peppers were quickly sliced, then spread on cookie sheets, drizzled with oil, sprinkled with ground garlic and sea salt...Into the convection oven to roast...After letting the dough raise a couple of times I divided it into balls and proceeded to roll them out...Following the recipe and directions to the letter (unusual for me) I ended up with a couple of "frisbees" (good if eaten warm with butter and jam) three small pizza crusts and one perfect pita...Using some of the roasted mushrooms and peppers for pizza (I froze the rest for another day) added salami, ham, pieces of pastrami, onion, olives and mozzarella cheese, it made two individual pizzas...We only ate one!..The pita will make a lovely sandwich of tuna salad and lots of fresh greens for todays dinner...Anybody for leftover pizza for breakfast?..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A few more...36º

Quick trip to LaGrande yesterday for Herbs eye appointment...Too early for lunch so we had breakfast, shopped at BiMart and Grocery Outlet before heading back to Wallowa County...Sunny day nice drive...Looks like showers over the weekend...Went to a piano concert with P and B at the Josephy Center last night...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

More photos from Washington DC...

DC Picture it..32º