Monday Already...58º

Since my blog last Wednesday, the time has flown by...Pam was set to have 3 or maybe 4 days off in a row and had heard that the huckleberries were ripe...We were on our way at 7am Thursday morning, headed out the 39 road (Wallowa Mountain Loop) to our favorite patch...Pam invited a friend, one of the campground host to go with us, hoping that with more people, maybe we would find more berries...What a day, we picked in the old patches, found new ones, laughed a lot, waited out a rain shower and arrived home just before dark with about 3 gallons of berries...With some effort, I managed to get out of bed the next morning, knowing that I had berries to clean and bag for the freezer...As Pam and I talked while cleaning berries we planned another day of picking and were on our way again, early Saturday morning...The berries are plentiful this year, with many green ones, waiting to ripen...We are concerned that they will dry up on the bushes if we don't get some moisture soon...Guess that means we better start planning another trip, if only Pam didn't have to go back to work!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Very big berries.

Random photos...58º

Photos from the last week or so, flowers and food...Our weather continues hot with possible thunder showers, we could really use some rain (without the lightening)...Chief Joseph Days is in full swing, "horse stampede" on main street yesterday, rodeos start tonight and go through Saturday night...Friday and Saturday parades entertain locals and tourist alike...Herb and I, for the most part stay away from the madness, content to water, weed, deadhead and eat delicious food from our garden...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

 Rustic Huckleberry Pie before it goes into the oven.

Not in our garden. 

A rare treat of fried shrimp with garden bounty.

Shasta Daisies at their peak.

Lavendar in full bloom.

Lovely Hosta

More Daisies

A bit cloudy over the mountains.

Sunset

Garden dinner of beet greens, zuchini patties, onion and salad.

Garden Harvest...57º

Knowing that the temperature was going to be in the 90's yesterday, I was out early in the morning, tending to the vegetable garden...Peas and broccoli were ready for picking, a nice sized zucchini magically appeared, a couple of mini patty pans and beets with abundant greens also said, "Pick me." I love this time of year, when we can eat from the garden...Both the tomato plants and cucumber vines have tiny green fruit...The pole beans are blooming, cabbages are making heads and the Brussel sprouts are forming little nubbins along the stock.

Ready to eat.

Dill is ready to make pickles.

Last Wednesday was our day to harvest garlic, what a fun and rewarding job that is...I loosened the garlic with the potato fork, trying not to slice into the cloves, pulled them from the ground and cleaned off as much dirt as possible...Herb picked up bundles of 10 and hung them in the lean-to, where they will dry for about a month, before I clean them and cut the stems off, so we can share them with family and friends, either fresh or after we dry and powder the cloves.

Music garlic, the heads are about 

3 inches across.

Herb finishes hanging the 150 plants.

A lovely sight.

I always think of my Mom when we harvest the garlic...The garlic she grew is still in my garden and has been in the family for about 40 years...It is called "Gramma's Garlic." It has multiple cloves, tinged with purple, large and small mixed, a good sized head is about 2" across...I use it in dill pickles, because I like the contrast of the purple and green in the jars...The Music garlic is relatively new, given to me by a neighbor about 3 years ago...Mom would have loved this garlic because of the large bulbs that it produces...Remembering her, she loved gardening...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Time Flies...47º

Summers in Joseph are always short...Winter hangs on for a very long time, making spring almost non existent and fall seems to arrive anytime after August 1st...This leaves us with a "July Summer," plus a few more day, if we are lucky...I was looking forward to this July for a couple of reasons...Yes I love summer and my friend Pat was coming for a 3 week visit in July, since they have moved back to Maryland full time.

Our friends Pat and Brian have lived in Joseph for about 8 years, going back to their home in Maryland/Florida for the harsh winter months...We met while volunteering at Mule Days...Pat and I have developed a friendship that some people never experience...We were billed as "Two Peas in a Pod," or "The Bobbsey Twins," and usually where you saw one of us the other one was close by...We were alike in many ways, about the same height, same age and same values and we each have one grandchild...We often had the same thoughts and finished each other sentences, sometimes it was spooky!..Different in other ways, I grew up on a farm in McCall, Idaho, she grew up in Hood River, OR, where her family owned a pear orchard...She graduated from college, accepted a job with the CIA, lived in Washington DC, then in Germany for two years, moved back to the US and didn't get married until she was in her 30's and has one son...I on the other hand, graduate from beauty school, never really worked in that occupation, got married and had two kids by the age of 23 and had only traveled in two states...Now many years later we "bonded."

Our friendship is easy, relaxed, we have other friends that we add to the mix, but for the most part, for 8 years we were happy with each other, going to yard sales, local events, book group, write people, whatever was happening in our county...We did some trips, overnighters, doctors appointments, out to lunch, mocha's at Arrowhead Chocolates, walked miles and miles in sunshine/rain/wind...Laughter was always at the forefront of everything we did...Laughter, as in doubled over "belly laughs," giggles moving into hysterics, or just a glimmer of a smile, as we shared a secret.

Over the last year or so, we realized that this was all going to change...We didn't talk about it much, didn't want to say it out loud, maybe it wouldn't really happen...But it did...Pat and Brian now live in Maryland, coming back to Joseph and their cabin at Wallowa Lake for a few weeks each year...Pat and I are moving on, adjusting to our new lives on opposite sides of the US, stay in touch daily on FB and are forever thankful for the years we had and the friendship that continues in a different way.

We had a great time the past 3 weeks, much of it was spent in quiet places, lakeside, at the park, talking, laughing, hugs and it included mocha's, ice-cream and wine...Hugs dear friend...OWAV:)

Bicycle Riding 101...57º

 Cienna has made many visits to Joseph, (she came at Christmas, Spring Break and Summers) from the time she was a wee girl, Papa and I got her all to ourselves for a week or two...Fun activities were always scheduled for these visits...The most impromptu one happened when she arrived in June 2009, just before she turned 11 years old...One of the first things we did was make a trip to Soroptimist looking for bargains...That day as we waited in line, then elbowed (not really) our way through the crowd and in the door, Cienna almost stumbled over a bicycle in the foyer. "Oma, LOOK a bike," said Cienna...We both looked it over, the tires were kind of flat, it wasn't fancy and it wasn't quite big enough for her, but I said, "Papa can raise the seat and it well be easy for you to reach the ground to keep your balance and Papa is really good at fixing/changing tires, tightening chains and all that stuff." "Yes Oma, and the tag says it is only $1.00."  Who could pass up a bargain like that.

We couldn't wait to get it home but she needed a helmet, we looked in all the stores and finally I bought this funky little helmet, not sure what it was for and I doubt if it would have helped if she had a really bad crash and it cost a lot more than the $1.00 bike but it stayed on her head and that was the main thing...True to form Papa raised the seat, fixed the tires and tightened the chain...Then the fun began...Oma holding onto the back of the seat (sort of running) while Ci tried to pump up hill, because we didn't dare come down the hill until she could work the brakes...We finally went out to the back yard where the grass was soft and the ground had a slope to it...There she could try over and over staying upright for a short distance and then catch herself as she started to tip over...From there she graduated to the driveway that was also pretty safe...This went on all day long and we both went to bed early and slept very well, knowing Cienna could ride a bike.

Thinking back now, as today she has her 19th Birthday, this sticks in my mind as one of my favorite memories of Cienna's visits to Joseph...Lots of fun times that we have had with this girl, we cherish the memories and love her more with each passing year...Many HUGS to Cienna on your 19th Birthday...OWAV:)

After practicing on the grassy slope.

Around the driveway she comes.

Oops she almost lost it.

She corrected it and stayed upright.

Almost to the end of the driveway.

Whew!

Now up the Barton Heights Hill.

Sailing down.

The end of the day, one happy girl.

A Nice Surprise...52º

I answered an early morning phone call, thinking it was kind of early for the telmarketers and was pleasently surprised with the voice of niece Lynelle saying, "Hi, Aunt Della, are you going to be home this evening?" Without thinking I said, "Well we usually go to the music on Thursday nights," then quickly added, "but we don't have to."...Lynelle said, "We will be there about 5:00 and want to take you to dinner, is there a place to eat in Joseph?"

After hanging up I thought, I really should cook dinner for them but it was going to be a very hot day and not a good day for cooking...Going out sounded like a good idea...They didn't plan on spending the night so I wanted to spend as much time visiting as possible.

Lynelle married to Steve is my oldest sisters', youngest child, the baby in a family of nine...She and Steve have 4 children and I think 7 grandchildren...Lynelle is 2 years older than Bobi and spent a couple of weeks each summer with us, when we lived near them in Utah, hadn't seen her in a couple of years, so we had lots to talk about.

Lynelle is an avid gardener, so we toured our gardens, looked at photos, talked about families, nonstop from 3pm to 5pm, then went to the head of the lake for dinner...Steve had never been here and was very impressed with our mountains and the beautiful area we live in, so I wanted him to see Wallowa Lake and the State Park, thinking maybe they will come back for another visit...They left before 7pm on their way to Washington to visit more family...It was a lovely afternoon/evening, thanks Lynelle and Steve for stopping by...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Lynelle and Steve

Selfie before they left.

Flowers on the deck.

Downpour...52º

Yesterdays temperature was moderate, making good weather to clean out flowerbeds and garden...As usual some things haven't done well in the garden...The row of turnips made a big show but were mostly tops and very small bottoms, I think turnip greens are edible but they have never been on our table...I pulled all of them and we happily munched away on the little white globes, along with our lettuce leaves and radishes...The brussel sprouts seem to be all leaves and no sprouts, so they might get pulled up as well...I will chop all of them and put in the compost pile, putting them to good use!..Now I know why year after year I plant lots of garlic, it has yet to disappoint us, always puts out a good crop and is easily shared with friends and family while it is fresh and after it has been dried...We have a good crop of onions this year, the peas, beans and cabbages are coming along nicely...Potatoes are pushing through the straw and the cherry tomatoes and cucumbers are slow but growing....Raspberries are blooming and forming berries and after two years of succumbing to the crown borer, I have my fingers crossed that they are going to bear fruit...I'm still a bit skeptical as I saw yellowed leaves starting to show up yesterday...I will be soooooo disappointed.

Pam stopped for a visit after her morning hike and we enjoyed beer and tomato juice, stirred with a celery stock, while sitting on the deck...It was my first beer in over two months, as I follow a "NEW" eating plan on my journey to improve my health...(More about this on another day.)

We had a late evening thunder, lightning, pounding rain storm...Thankfully no wind and the rain will really help our pasture and garden much more than all the irrigating we do...Only bad thing is the local farmers have hay down, waiting to be baled.

Pat text us about 9pm last night, with the news that instead of being in Lewiston for the night on their way to Joseph, they are stuck overnight in Salt Lake City, as they missed their connecting flight because of the storms, so they won't arrive in Joseph until Monday...Darn!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Front porch planters

Cozy seating on front porch

Front porch at a distance

Some of the back deck flowers