Huckleberry Fever...65º

After an early morning phone call from Pam, Herb loaded picking jugs, water, camp chairs while I scrambled to fix a snack of cheese, crackers and chocolate before we headed out north to a recently spotted huckleberry patch...Four hours later we were sharing a burger and beer at TG's after picking nearly a gallon of huckleberries...It was a good morning...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Let the fun begin...58º

Sunday on our way home from Boardman, we made a 25 mile detour into Milton Freewater to Edwards Farm where we bought peaches and tomatoes to eat and cucumbers to pickle...Kept the cukes in ice water overnight and started pickling early Monday morning...I gathered the dill and grape leaves from our garden, garlic from the lean-to, vinegar and salt from the pantry...Herb brought up jars, lids and hot peppers from the cellar...Jars washing in the dishwasher, I started to scrub the cucumbers, sorting the larger ones for sweet pickles and the smallest for dills.

Cukes in ice water

Fresh Dill

Fresh Grape Leaves

The larger cukes go into a salt, water, vinegar, alum brine in gallon jars where they sit for 6 weeks then they are drained, saving part of the brine, add sugar, slice cukes, place in pint jars, heat and seal.

Gallon jars of cukes for sweet pickles

The smaller cukes go directly into pint or quart jars, first I place chopped dill in the bottom, carefully arrange the cukes, add garlic cloves and hot red peppers down the side of the jar and a grape leaf on top...Pour boiling brine of water, salt and vinegar over top, heat and seal...They will be ready to eat in time for Thanksgiving.

Dills before adding boiling brine

Nine finished quart jars of dill pickles

Are any of you wondering when the fun part is going to start...It started at 8am with scrubbing the cukes and ended at about 2pm in the afternoon when the last jar sealed...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Family Fun in Boardman?...60º

Boardman is not much of a city, only a wide spot in the road, hot and dry, next to the freeway on the way to Portland...Why would we pick such a spot for a family gathering?..In the passed 30 years, since our kids left the nest, we have met in many different spots along the Columbia River in the "Gorge" for a family gathering...Herb and I driving from Joseph, Bobi from Portland and Rusty from Bend...We have met at Rufus, Arlington etc, at cafes or packed a picnic and found a shady spot for a few hours...Anyway you look at it we all drive for 3 hours, spend three hours eating and visiting and then drive three hours to get back to our respective homes...Family visits are important to us!

Yesterday was no different and we now know that Boardman is the closest to half-way for all of us to travel and meet...Also BM has a great little drive-in famous for its Bozo Burgers and milkshakes and it has a lovely city park, marina and RV park right on the river...Lots of shade trees, pavilions, tables, bathrooms and a swimming beach...Herb and I selected a spot, we brought lawn chairs, a tablecloth of sorts, Bobi and Ci brought napkins, forks, plates and a chocolate cake, Rusty paid for the burgers, milkshakes and tatertots...Not much of this had been planned out except that we were meeting for Bozo Burgers, the rest just happened.

Our family had all been together in Joseph in June but we got together yesterday to give "The Girl" (Cienna) a sendoff, get a final hug, made her promise to write in her blog once a week for the next year, while she makes her home in Thailand on a Rotary Exchange...She will spend the year with one or more host families, going to a Thai school, immerseing herself in the Thai culture and eating real Thai food and visiting sights that we only dream about...So we her family will be waiting breathlessly for these weekly blogs to keep in touch because Rotary tries to keep family contact to a minimum for at least the first three months so this Exchange Student will have to embrace her host family which includes parents, three year old boy, with a baby boy expected in September and a sister (also a Rotary Exchange student living with them for a few more months) from South Africa...Oh My!

Cienna and her family are excited beyond words and have been preparing for this departure for over a year now, from the time she applied and was chosen for this incredible opportunity...Are we really prepared?...As much as we possible can be...Our goodbyes were exchanged, no tears shed, only good wishes, spread those wings, keep your head on straight, make the most of this opportunity and fly away so you can return and share this incredible journey with us....A chance of a lifetime and a year of tremendous growth as you leave this familiar nest, Cienna keep your enthusiasm and adventurous spirit, you are destined to experience great things and above all Cienna, keep a sense of humor and smiling that gorgeous smile...Hugs to You...OWAV:)

Ci and Oma

Keeping Cool

Fly away Ci

Make it quick...50º

Dirt roads, sparkling river, green fields, amazing views and mountains all around...Leaving at 8am with lunch and lots of water Pam and I spent the day picking huckleberries and catching up with each other lives...Back home I sorted berries from stems and chaff, gave them a quick rinse, bagged them for the freezer to be made into jam and toppings for cheesecake, waffles and pancakes...It looks like the year for a bumper crop, so already we are making plans for another trip.

Now I must get ready for a trip today as we go to Boardman to meet our family, visit over lunch and gives hugs to our granddaughter, Cienna, before she leaves next week for a year in Thailand with the Rotary Exchange Program...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Baking on a cold day...44º

One sure way to warm up the house is with a baking frenzy...I worked outside for awhile yesterday morning, clearing away more wild daisy's and watering the neighbors planters...In the sun it was almost too warm to work but the minute I stepped into the shade the breeze was bone chilling cold!

Soup sounded good for dinner and while rummaging around in the freezer for a pie crust (pie and soup for dinner) I found a pkg. labeled "Tomato Bisque"...Soup taken care of but no pie crust to be found...Nothing to do but mix a batch and since I had made a flour mess I may as well make a batch of hamburger buns so Herb will have something to eat when I'm not home...(hamburgers is his staple dinner when I'm away) Two hours later the kitchen was warm, soup simmered on the stove, apple pie (from frozen apples) baked in the oven and a dozen buns were cooling on the counter...Hot bread and soup for dinner, apple pie for dessert.

With the promise of good Celtic Music (30 different instruments) in Enterprise, we grabbed a quilt and jackets and were on our way...The music was good but Damn it was cold...We stayed for over an hour but as the crowd dwindled one by one to just a handful of people, we joined the departing wimps and came home to our warm house...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Cool Down...42º

It was bound to happen...The hot days and warm nights of July are probably over...Such great growing weather kaput!..I know we needed rain (we got very little) but the temps have dropped to the point of 40's at night and 70's daytime...Cucumber blossoms, just starting to form baby cucumbers, hide under the foliage hoping that summer will return...I guess its a good thing that I ordered 30# of picking cukes from Edwards Farms in Milton Freewater so I can fill the cellar shelves...I will continue to water my patch in hopes that I can label a few jars "Dills OG" (our garden).

Yesterday was a busy one...I was up early, clearing counters (a place to roll out the dough) before assembling ingredients to make cinnamon rolls...I have a special order of 100 (more or less) for an August fly in at the Joseph Airport...I mixed two batches of dough and by 10am it was pushing the lids off of the huge tupperware bowls...Pat arrived to help and you could say that for the next two hours we were "rolling in the dough."I rolled it out, she covered it with butter, sugar and cinnamon before I sliced it into giant rolls, 15 per pan for a total of 45, ready to be baked, frosted, covered tightly with foil and frozen...We have two more dates set to make more...Fun on Barton Heights.

Chief Joseph days is in full swing, an enless string of cars, motor homes, trucks and trailers coming into Wallowa County...Bucking horses showing their stuff as they galloped down mainstreet, first of four rodeos last night, (we could hear it loud and clear at our house) booths set up on mainstree, dances for young and old, parades Friday and Saturday, an Indian feast, a church service Sunday morning at the rodeo grounds will end the event for another year.

Overcast this morning, chilly in the house, we can't decide if we need to turn on the heater or if Mr Sun is going to make his appearance...Doesn't look very promising...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Just a few photos...58º

Busy morning so just posting photos from yesterday as I deadheaded...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Coreopsis and Lavendar

This Daylily escaped the deer

Bee gathering pollen 

He moves so quickly, photos are difficult

Morning Quiet...52º

I'm a quiet loving, person...Maybe that is why I like this time of day, 4am to 7am...It is partly cloudy this morning, cool, no wind and a nondescript sunrise...Even the birds are quiet...The only sounds I hear is the refridgerator running and the ringing in my ears...Many times when we walk into a restaurant, my first request is, "Please turn down the music."...My trips grocery shopping are quick, the music drives me crazy...When Cienna comes to visit, she says, "Oma, it is so quiet here." "Yes Cienna, compared to Portland, it is very quiet."

Barton Heights was a cacophony (I love this word) of sounds this weekend...The crunching of gravel as cars arrived and departed, many times...Slamming of doors, hearty hello's, children's high pitched voices as cousins got reacquainted, strange voices and laughter...Lots of laughter and that is good noise...People were having fun, celebrating family and life...I welcome that kind of noise.

Yesterdays noise from the continual helicopter trips in and out of the Joseph Airport (near our home...) Bad noise because we have wildfires burning all over the northwest and one only a few miles away called the "Hurricane Creek Fire..."Good noise because they are dumping water on this fire to slow its raging flames...Late afternoon yesterday the wind kicked up and the fire sent huge plumes of smoke skyward over Chief Joseph Mountain...Helicopters flew one trip after another until darkness brought them to a halt.

As I turned out lights before going to bed last night, other lights burned brightly on the Joseph School football field...It was 9pm, middle of summer, couldn't be football practice...I'm thinking, a fire camp must be setting up...Usually it would be set up at the Rodeo Grounds but Chief Joseph Days starts this Wednesday so that spot is not available...Speaking of Noise/Chief Joseph Days...Oh My Gosh...Wonder where the earplugs are?....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

View from our deck, as the wind kicked up and smoke billowed upward behind Chief Joseph Mountain... 7/20/14

A Special Friend...51º

"Jane"

Yesterday found us at my favorite picnic spot at Wallowa Lake State Park...It is away from the main campground and the pavilion, with only a partial view of the lake through numerous trees...Usually it is very quiet but yesterday it bustled with activity as the Williams Family and friends gathered to celebrate the life of Jane Williams...Balloons marked the spot, decorated picnic tables were covered with scrapbooks and desserts, including Jane's famous peanut bars...These bars were a speciality of hers, made for the 4th of July and other holidays and always for the annual Williams' Family reunion...She delighted in inviting grandchildren to help after she made cakes and frosting, then set up an assembly line where everyone had a chance to frost the cake pieces before rolling then in chopped peanuts...This was a messy, fun process where I imagine much finger licking went on behind Grandma Janes back as the dipping and rolling commenced.

We moved to Joseph and Barton Heights over 40 years ago and as luck would have it the Williams House was next door...Jane was a busy mother of six and very involved in community affairs...I think her life played out in this order...Husband Bill, 6 Children, Church, Sorority and Eastern Star...Jane was a planner and a list maker...She was a seamstress, an excellent cook and ran a tight ship...Everything was organized and on schedule and Jane alway had a project or two that she was working on in her "spare time."..She also worked substitute teaching at the local school and held down a parttime job at the Joseph Library while she still had children at home...Then she went to work full time as the head librarian at the Wallowa County Library...Even working full-time, she still managed to keep up with all the other activities and now her life included grandchildren...She loved making scrapbooks for each child, commemerating their life... Christmas, Birthday and Wedding gifts were all made by her hands...She always amazed me because she never took a break...As one years Christmas would be approaching and she would have everything made, wrapped and under the fully decorated tree, Christmas dinner planned and half cooked she had already started making next years Christmas gifts!..Jane was an amazing, talented, lovely lady and I consider myself lucky to have been included in her circle of friends.

Yesterday as friends and family gathered in this, her favorite picnic spot, to visit and share memories...laughter floated on the cool breeze, tree branches filtered the sun, tables laden with desserts...It was as if Jane had somehow planned and organized this special day...Farewell My Friend...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Productive...51º Brrr

If only I could accomplish as much every morning as yesterday...6:30am, Herb was adjusting water so I started in the garlic patch of 200 plants...Most of them could be pulled up but a few had to be loosened with the potato fork, all were slightly moist and the dirt came free from the roots easily...The heads were all still firm and most are quite large...I can see where the inside plants could have used a little more water but overall it is a bountiful crop...I counted out 12 to a bunch and Herb hung them to dry in the lean-to...200 heads of garlic to share with family and friends.

Ready to hang.

Admiring our crop

Garlic done by 8am I had time to spread alfalfa pellets and two wheelbarrow loads of composted llama manure to amend this spot for next years planting of anything but garlic!..This done, I had just enough time to shower and make it to the Wallowa County Museum for my 3 hour volunteer stint...20 people visited the museum while I was there.

Home to fix dinner and rest (I was wiped out), then rejuvenated, Herb and I took in the weekly music at the Gazebo in Enterprise...It was a lovely evening, in spite of the wind..Back home on our deck we watched the smoke drift over the top of Chief Joseph Mountain as the helicopters flew near our house to land at the Joseph Airport...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Smoke over Chief Joseph Mountain

Smoky Haze...55º

Monday nights electric storm started several fires in the area...Crews are working on them and smoke fills the air...A slight cooling trend for the next few days but more thunder showers are predicted.

We have plans this morning to harvest the garlic crop...A satisfying job as we preserve out first crop of the year.

Yesterday was a hot one...I met Pat and Mason at the lake for a couple of hours in the sun while Mason played in the water and we visited and sipped on iced mochas...Later in the evening Pam stopped by and Herb and I visited away the evening with her...She is on a different work schedule so today starts her 3 day weekend and she starts back to work on Sunday morning.

I for one am enjoying this heat but probably because I don't have to work in it...Nice when one can pick to work in the cool of the morning and choose the cool of the house in the afternoon...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...Wasps and bees are busy gathering nectar.

Yellow Jacket on the Sea Holly

Honey Bee in the Poppy

Heat of Summer...58º

After the thunder storm yesterday morning it turned hot...Funny how in a few short hours we go from sitting in our living room covered with small quilts, doors open, fans humming to quick, close all the doors and windows to trap the cool air inside so we have a cool house for the rest of the day...Both of us again worked outside early morning...We had a simple dinner of french dip sandwiches and cherry/rhubarb pie ala mode for dessert.

I looked back a year ago and we were just making preparations for our kids to arrive for two weeks...Our life stays the same, just in a different order...Time for me to get outside as it will be another hot one...I have Write People this morning and as always thinking about menus for the coming week...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Foxgloves

Thunder Boomers...60º

Thunder rumbling off in the distance, a sprinkle of rain, then that loud clap that brought me straight out of bed...Windows open, fans on full speed...In my groggy state I navigated the stairway to turn off the fans and close the west windows...Two hours later the storm has passed leaving the air smelling fresh, cool breezes blowing...The forecast says sunny and 87º today.

An unusual hot spell has Wallowa "Countyians" complaining about the heat, heading to Wallowa Lake in droves or like Herb and I, staying home and enjoying this brief interlude...Often old timers are quoted as saying, "Wallowa County has two seasons, Winter and July." Our old house is two stories, well insulated and has a deck with built in shade trees, so most of the time we manage to stay cool in July and warm in winter...It is supposed to remain hot through this week so we will continue to works at our chores in the morning, watering, weeding and deadheading, then relax for the afternoon and evening...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

New steps onto the deck.

Cabbage plants covered with netting.

Garlic almost ready to dig.

Readings, Thai Food, Concert...55º

A lovely Wednesday afternoon on Pat's deck, while her "Guys" were off on an overnight camping trip, found us glass of wine in hand, sampling Thai food, before we spent the evening at FishTrap's open mic...After listening to Brenda Miller, Kim Stafford/Perrin Kerns and John Danials, we exited the parking lot with an almost full moon illuminating our way.

Moon through the trees.

We are blessed/cursed with an abundant apple crop this year...Since last year we harvested just enough apples for one pie I was pleased when the tree bloomed profusely in the spring and the frost stayed away...Not so pleased now as I climb a ladder, stick my head up through the branches and remove apples the size of golf balls so the remaining ones will grow to a nice size...Herb emptied two five gallon buckets of these over the bank to compost and I decend from the treetops "itchy and crawly" headed for the shower...This is not my favorite job but one that must be done.

The daily temperatures remain in the 90's and we water continuously and try to get our chores done early morning...Herb has been making new steps leading onto our deck, making the access easier as we get less agile... Also he is putting in new barrier poles along the driveway flower beds...So we work for a few hours in the morning and shade up for the rest of the day enjoying our lovely views of mountains, field of mustard and flowers blooming with utter abandonment in our yard...The vegetable garden got off to a slow start but is looking better now with garlic close to harvest, cabbages starting to form heads, cucumbers, squash, peas, beans and potatoes "growing."...The grape vine is making nice leaves that will soon be made into a batch of Dolmas/stuffed grape leaves.

Volunteer field of Poppies

Petunias on the Deck

Last night Herb opted out of the Thursday night music so Pam and I set up chairs along with about 100 other people to listen to fiddle music put on by the annual "Fiddle Camp" taking place in Wallowa this week...Good music and good friends made for an enjoyable evening capped off by a lovely sunset after I arrived home.

Barton Heights Sunset

News from our kids...Bobi has been nursing a badly sprained ankle for a week, only to find out after a trip to the doctors and xrays that it is really a broken ankle...A boot and crutches will be her constant companion for weeks to come...Rusty is finishing his job in Yakima and will return home to Bend next week...Cienna lifeguarding and awaiting the exact date that she will fly to Thailand to spend the next year as a Rotary Foreign Exchange Student...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

High 90º...Morning 58º

A string of warm days had Herb and I outside by 6:30am taking advantage of the cool morning air, to accomplish all we could before the temperature started to rise...Don was here early to do some touch up painting...I found a shady spot amid the branches of the apple tree, thinning apples...Herb was soon busy mowing lawns...By noon we were taking a break on the deck.

My afternoon was spent with the garden club as we toured about an acre of gardens mostly planted with "deer resistant" perennials, high on a knoll above Hurrican Creek, with amazing views all around...The vegetable garden was made up of raised beds, fenced against the deer...It was a very warm day for Wallowa county and we opted for the cool house to eat our dessert of strawberry/rhubarb pie.

Back home I fixed tacos for our late afternoon dinner...A nice breeze kept the deck cool enough to enjoy the evening reading...This afternoon/evening, Pat and I will take in some of the FishTrap events...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

PS...News from Portland...Cienna started her first day as a lifeguard at a small community pool in their Garden Home Neighborhood.

That's our Girl

Summer Days...58º

I have a few things scheduled for this week...The monthly summer garden club meeting, Write People and an afternoon/evening at summer Fishtrap, taking in the open mics...All the daily things such as cleaning, cooking, gardening thrown in for good measure.

Yesterday I practiced more photo taking since the annual poppies are popping out all over the garden...These lovely little flowers are mostly volunteer and show up in unlikely places, bringing a smile to my face with each new bloom...The blossoms are brilliant shades of reds and pinks and the petals look and feel like silk...The honey bees can't resist their nectar and sometimes collect so much that they have a difficult time flying away...Exactly how I feel after overeating at dinner time.

Baking was also on yesterdays agenda...The smell of cinnamon rolls drifted outside through screened doors and windows...We shared the bounty with friends and visited the afternoon away, thus ending a perfectly lovely summer day in Wallowa County...Hug To All...OWAV:)

PS...I've noticed a few more check marks in the "reactions" at the bottom of this page but would like to see more...So don't forget just take a moment and make your mark...It keeps me writing knowing that friends are reading... :)

Center of poppy after the petals fall

Yummy

Long Weekend...58º

Since I thought Friday was Saturday this has morphed into a nice long weekend, instead of this being Monday it is only Sunday!...Don't know why I'm so excited as weeks and weekends all run together in retirement, but it helps to keep some kind of structure in daily life.

Today should be a quiet one in Wallowa County with the Flea Market drawing to a close, Wallowa City had their yearly parade and celebration...Joseph "Shake the Lake" fireworks over for another year and the 3rd annual Music Jubilee played its last note about 10pm last night.

I worked outside most of yesterday morning, fixed a summer salad dinner, (gleaned from leftovers,) then spent the afternoon on the deck amid blooms, breezes and the wafting fragrance of alyssum...Pam dropped in for a glass of wine before joining the downtown crowds to enjoy the last of the Jubilee.

Herb is waging war, this morning, on the gophers that have moved into our back pasture...Last week it was woodchucks that he managed to exterminate and always the marauding deer that love our flowers...Of course he can't get rid of them, but only scare them away...I will spray the stinky deer fence tonight, to deter them for a few more days...Such is life on Barton Heights...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Newest Poppy

A bunch of Poppies with a few Peonies Peeking in...

Lostine Flea Market...58º

It was a full morning as we checked out yardsales in Joseph, followed Hyw 82 to Lostine where the annual flea market was in progress, along with two "living estate sales"...We wondered if others are called "dead estate sales?"...I hate to say it but I think the "lostine Flea Market" after 40 years is on its way out, either dead or dying, certainly not very "lively."...A handful of booths on main street and a few on the side street, but nothing like its heyday when booths were packed into every available nook and cranny and crowds of people slowed and backed up traffic...It was a sunny day and people seemed to be enjoying themselves...Many were eating fry bread, covered with cinnamon and sugar...Pat and I walked through but soon decided we had seen enough of other peoples "treasures" for one day and hit the road for home!

I had it in my head yesterday that it was Saturday, so asked Pat if she wanted to stop at the Farmers Market while I picked up my greens at Arrowhead...Also wrote in my blog yesterday that the music jubilee was on, but all of those things are happening today!!.So now the fire works are over but we have other events going on in Joseph today...Might even check out another yard sale or two.

Herb and I spent a quiet afternoon at home, he BBQed a steak and we were in bed before the fireworks really got going...Another 4th of July is history...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A better photo of the poppies

This bloom always makes me smile!

4th of July 2014...58º

Looking forward to a quiet day at home, interrupted by occasional fireworks...Pat and I have yardsaling planned for this morning...A music jubilee starts at 11am in downtown Joseph and continues throughout the day and into the evening...The real show starts at 10pm tonight with fireworks at Wallowa Lake.

Many years ago Pam and I would pack up our lawn chairs, quilts, Irish Cream and hot chocolate...Early afternoon we would park a car (headed home) at the foot of the lake and late evening Herb would drop us and our "gear" off at the Chief Joseph Monument and we would spend the evening, sipping our drink and waiting for the fireworks to start...The fireworks weren't much back then but the comradery was what it was all about...Now the fireworks are hi-tech and the crowd and traffic is more than we want to deal with...A glass of wine on the deck will be enough celebration...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...Our patch of volunteer poppies in the driveway are putting on a show for the 4th of July!

Costco Run...57º

We are always on the lookout for wildlife on our way to Lewiston/Clarkston where we go to the nearest Costco...We travel through forest land traversing a windy road over two mountain passes...Rounding a corner, about 2 miles before Boggans, a rather large bear was crossing the road...By the time I got my iphone onto camera and snapped the first photo, he was making his way up the hill...He stopped and turned around to watch us before moving on...All of the photos were taken through the windshield of our car.

Curious as always he looked back

After walking a bit he took a second look

Then he disappeared into the brush

The rest of our trip was uneventful as we walked the aisles of Costco filling our shopping carts...We didn't even take time for lunch as I succumbed to the smell of BBQed chicken (added it to my cart) and we smelled it all the way home...A milkshake at Boggans eased our growling tummies and after unloading the car I made chicken salad for our dinner.

The Wallowa Mountains welcomed us home...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A new Month...46ª

The year is half over, where has it gone?..We must be having fun...After blogging, mixing bread and splitting wood, yesterday, I got Herb to haul dirt so I could plant another daffodil bed...From there I moved on to digging iris starts for a new bed in the back corner...While I was doing all this the bread dough was raising/rising and ready to go in the oven at 11:15am...I left it cooling and was out the door for my docent stint at the Josephy Center from noon to 4pm, just as Herb was coming home from mowing lawns...JC was quiet with a few visitors...Back home I cut garlic scapes to share with a friend then sat on the deck reading until a cool breeze chased me inside for the evening!

This morning July 1 will be more of the same, splitting wood and digging in the dirt before Write People at 10am...Should be a good afternoon to sit on the deck...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Me and Ci (from last week)