Spring day at its best...44º

If someone had told me a few years ago that I would enjoy having needles "stuck" in my arms, legs, neck, back, etc, I would have said, "No way!"...Herb and I both look forward to our regular appointments at Eagle Cap Wellness...Jamie and her staff have made the best of Covid-19 as they keep to the strict sanitation guidelines and social distancing , but still make patients feel welcome and safe...The hour flies by and we leave the office renewed and ready for a new day.

It is a lovely day for a drive so we take a side trip to the head of Wallowa Lake, about 6 miles from our house...It is a scenic trip on any day of the year, but this time of year, with the mountains still covered in snow is especially beautiful.

At the foot of Wallowa Lake

Half way to the head of the lake.

A birds eye view of the lake.

At the head of the lake, we took another little side trip to a cabin, where our friends', Pat and Brian made their home for several years...The lighting on the photos I took was terrible, so I won't display those here...The following photos were taken in 2013 at the cabin...Many happy memories were made there...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Photo from 2013  Amy, Idella, Pat

Apple Wood West

Heat Wave...36º

Supposed to be very warm today and tomorrow, then cool off by Friday, with possible snow showers...Sounds like April might be going out like a lion instead of a lamb...Anything is possible here in Wallowa County!

Looks like many of the Western States are moving toward recovery from the Covid 19 Virus...Slowly is the magic word and with many restrictions still in place...No big celebrations, vacation trips or family reunions...Everyone proceed with caution, masks, and social distancing is still the norm.

Herb and I will go for acupuncture this morning, then home to enjoy the sunshine...The final few loads of chips will just have to wait as we both overdid it for a few days...Both feel rested this morning...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

What we have to look forward to.

Mostly Cloudy...46º

It was a stellar Sunday, with early morning work outside, sheets hanging on the line to dry and home made noodles, shrimp/chicken fettuccine planned for dinner...No clouds in the sky, the sun grew hot if one was out in it too long, so Herb and I worked awhile and rested awhile...We called it a day early, took showers, put the wonderful smelling sheets on our bed, enjoyed dinner and relaxed in our cozy home.

Today is cloudy/possible showers, so we will be in and out, doing cleanup chores...We can always use more gentle rain, time will tell...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Daffodils of a different color.

Grape Hyacinths like to take over!

Almost the last load of chips.

We Crashed...45º

Herb and I were really on a roll, he loading, me spreading, the chip pile shrinking...My plan was to have it all gone by Saturday night...But common sense intervened and we took yesterday off to rest, relax and rejuvenate...It felt good, we were both exhausted.

This morning Herb has laundry going, breakfast in the making and I better wrap up this blog and get dressed, the chip pile is waiting and the sun is almost shining...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Grocery Shopping...41º

As everyone has been saying, "grocery shopping" is a whole new ballgame...We arrived early along with a few other hardy soles and lots of safeway workers in black masks, flitting hither and yon, stocking shelves and taking inventory...They all seemed to have the right of way...Didn't safeway used to have a crew that stocked shelves at night?

I found out, that my old brain does not work well when my mouth and nose are covered, add that to the fact that of course the shrimp I went after was all sold out and the chicken and most of the meat cases were empty...Maybe that's a ploy to get you in and out of the store quickly, unlike shopping trips of old...Herb was able to keep us headed in the correct direction, following red arrows and we made it to the checkout, into our car and back home...No chicken in the pot this Sunday for us!

Herb loaded and I unloaded three loads of chips, seems to be our limit for a day...Up this morning, after a restless night of aches and pains...The chip pile is almost gone, maybe today will finish it...The sun is shining on another beautiful day on Barton Heights....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

 Daffodils and Forsythia in full bloom, look nice with fresh chips all around.

Sunrise....35º

A brilliant sunrise coming in our livingroom window this morning...Looks like a good day to throw more chips...I'm hoping to finish up this job in the next two days...It looks so nice when it is all done...

The clock is close to 6am and we have a quick shopping trip planned to Safeway this morning, wish us luck...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Gardening 101...33º

Gardens can't survive without water, good soil, fertilizer and lots of hard work...Amending the soil with fertilizer, leaves, straw etc. makes it good...Growing up on a farm where there was no shortage of "fertilizer" every spring or fall, my dad would spread a load on mom's garden and she would be one happy gardener...He would work the aged manure into the ground and she would plant, tend and harvest...My mom's garden was her "paradise," she went there to be in her own little world, to work through the everyday problems...She loved long straight rows, weed free and little children, when allowed in had to stay on a path...It was mostly look, but don't touch or step outside the path...I can picture her now, wearing a broad brimmed hat and a long sleeved, mans, button up shirt.

I think she learned gardening from her mother and of course grew up in a time when most people had a family garden, their survival depending on it...A story I remember about Grandma Parkin and gardening, it goes like this...In her later years, after Grandpa passed away, she continued to garden on the outskirts of Bountiful, Utah on their small lot...Fertilizer wasn't as available as on a farm and Grandma Parkin, being a "genteel" lady, would ask her sons to please bring her a load of "chewed hay."

Now I come along, who didn't even want to be a gardener, but somehow fell into it and I'm not "genteel" and have a deal with our friends, that they can put animals in our small pasture if they will furnish me with manure...Well over the weekend Tim brought two loads of manure and dumped them in our backyard(pasture)...So when most people are trying to get rid of the sh__ in their back yard, I'm one happy gardener with a huge pile of sh__, that should last me about 5 years!...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

I call it black gold.

Progress Made...33º

The chip pile doesn't look much smaller, but my flowerbed are looking better...The fresh chips clean everything up, discourage the weeds somewhat and the perennials make their way to the sun...When my arms, neck and shoulders say I've thrown enough chips for one day, I pull out my folding chair and sit down, with the sun at my back, and give the lavender plants a haircut...All spring one thing leads to another, and what looked totally dead a few weeks ago is now all in bloom...This is why I love spring...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Good Aches and Pains...33º

Good aches and pains are the ones that go away with more work, not the ones that land you at the ER and then surgery and months of rehab...These aches and pain let us know that something was accomplished yesterday, and we can do more today.

Herb and I were both out early yesterday, he finally got down to the last chunk of wood to go in the cellar, and can now get it all neatly stacked...A load of chips was waiting for me...I spread chips for awhile, then got side tracked, picking up debris, pruning out dead plants or old growth or digging up plants that have gone wild, like chives tend to do...Then it was time to take a break, sit on the deck and enjoy our magnificent view, before scattering more chips!

I planted the newly bought pansies and thought about planting onions but by then it was time for a shower and time to get food on the table for our dinner...We both felt good about our day working...We toasted each other with a glass of wine and enjoyed our steak, baked potato and salad dinner...Hug To All...OWAV:)

Big pile of chips

Daffodils and old hand plow

Planted Pansies.

The last of the giant Crocus

Looks like spring.

Wallowa County Nurserys'...33º

I made a solo trip to the nurseries yesterday, I have usually gone with either Pat or Pam, for many years...It was different but enjoyable...I went early in the day and actually this is quite early in the season, but I want to get onions, broccoli and cabbage in the ground early this year and see if they are ready any earlier than if I wait until mid May to plant...I was the only early shopper and was back home in less than two hours, which is a first, and didn't do much impulse buying...I bought "Million Bells" for planters and put them in a South upstairs window, to fill out, until about mid May...Then they will go outside, next to the house to "harden off," until June 1st...I picked out geraniums for the front porch, and will pick them up at a later date...I try something different every year and last year the deer seemed to eat everything I planted!

I bought pansies to go in a small wooden planter that sits by our back door, their happy faces always bring a smile to my face and welcome visitors to our house...I hope that soon we can have visitors again!

While I was gone, Herb loaded the last of the fire wood and we are now ready for next winters supply...To me it is like money in the back to have that neatly stacked in the back lot...He also loaded a trailer full of chips for me to mulch flowerbeds with...I can take my time doing this job.

Pam came to dig Starry Twinkles and Windflowers, they are still blooming, but if we don't get them now, they soon are hidden by other flowers and disappear from site...Keeping our social distance, we enjoyed a glass of wine on the deck, a bit chilly, but nice...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Pansies

Spring Pruning...33ª

The jobs never end in spring time...Everywhere I look there is deadheading, pruning, weeding, chips to spread, things to transplant and blooms to enjoy...I especially enjoy the blooms and that is why we do all that other stuff!

The wind flowers and starry twinkles are on their way out, but the daffodils are opening up everywhere, even after the inch of icy snow last Wednesday bent them over...Next will be the pasque flowers,  forget me knots, lilacs and tulips (if the deer leave some for us to enjoy), the show continues on through the summer...I'm thinking about a trip to the greenhouse this morning for cabbage and broccoli starts, maybe onion starts and whatever veggie seeds that we need.

We have clouds and sun this morning, not quite as nice as yesterday but still an enjoyable day...Dinner is yet to be decided...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

This was a bouquet of 

buds, when picked on Wednesday.

Weekend Looms...24º

A bright sunny Friday and more sunshine for the weekend, kinda makes up for the crazy Wednesday weather...We will be soaking up all the rays we possibly can.

Yesterday Herb and I both had acupuncture appointments...Eagle Cap Wellness has kept their office open, with a reduced staff...They are meticulous about the sanitation and social distancing and giving every patient special attention and a fantiastic treatment...Usually only one person at a time is scheduled to go in but since we live in the same house, they take the two of us together...First to the hand washing station, then temperature is taken before each of us goes to a treatment room...The staff has on white "coats" and masks (the heavy duty kind)...Herb and I both wear cotton masks to keep from spreading our germs...An hour and a half later we are back in our car and headed home, and looking forward to our next appointment.

We try to make every trip out of our house productive, so on the way to acupuncture, we stopped for seed potatoes at the local farm store and a quick stop to deliver our garbage to the dumpster and a bag of recyclables to the recycle center...Back home we took advantage of the sun coming in our South window to relax and rest, before reheating pizza for our dinner.

If this was a normal spring, we would be looking forward to the musical "Matilda" at the Elgin Opera House, but because of Covid-19 it was canceled and has been rescheduled in September...Sometime in August (hopefully) we will again order tickets for a Saturday afternoon performance...I hope some semblance of normal has returned to our world by then...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Sunny Today..25ª

A crazy weather day, from cold, sunny, breezy, to rain, hail, thunder/lightning and finally snow...Cold and frosty this morning, with sun coming in the East windows.

It was bread making day on Barton Heights, the sourdough start was bubbling away as I added bread flour, rolled oats, cornmeal, quinoa, whole wheat, hemp meal, molasses, salt, butter and water...The Bosch mixer had all it could do to mix and knead the 10 pounds of dough, but as usual in about 15 minutes I lifted the dough into my big mixing bowl, sealed the lid and left it on the counter to raise...About 3 hours later, I punched it down for the last time and shaped it into loaves and a few sandwich buns.

It was the perfect day for french dip sandwiches with a salad of spinach/fresh pear, grapes and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar...I slathered the warm buns with blue cheese dressing and horseradish before adding warm, leftover beef roast...Couldn't have been better, with a blizzard raging outside, we dipped our sandwiches and ate them with gusto!...We are so lucky to have good food...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Bread ready to bake

Dinner

A wintery day

Daffodils covered with snow.

Busy Tuesday....40º

I had two projects going yesterday...First mixed a small batch of sourdough for pizza crust and while it was raising, I cut out more face masks...I experimented with adding a coffee filter to a couple of masks, then remembered that I had some fusible interfacing in my stash, so will try that today...Don't know that the coffee filter with hold up with multiple washings...Keeps my mind and hands busy and I get exercise going up and down the stairs.

             Back sides                                                                       Front sides.

The pizza crust dough doubled in size, was light and puffy, had good stretch...The pizza looked great going into the oven, but the dough didn't raise, was chewy and tough...Damn, I have to practice some more!..I was very frustrated to say the least.

Cream/lemon/garlic sauce on the chicken/spinach/calamata olives and cheese

 Roasted tomato sauce with sausage/olives/cheese

Had a little rain overnight, hoping for more soaking spring rain...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...While I was doing this Herb was loading another load of wood into the pickup, only one more to go and it will all be in the basement!..

Quiet Easter...25º

Not supposed to get really warm today but with the sun, I hope to get outside and cut down more lavender, spread some of the chips, as we have a huge pile, just waiting, or clean up more flowerbeds.

Last Friday I planted sweet peas after soaking the seeds overnight, now they need a little rain to encourage growth...They actually like this cooler weather, needing it for them to germinate...They bloom profusely all summer, as long as I share many bouquets, so they don't go to seed...Their fragrance is sometime overpowering and their simple beauty unsurpassed.

Saturday was a windy, chilly day but John had time to do one of my "honey do's," since Rusty didn't make it home due to Covid-19...An ornamental apricot tree that I planted many years ago, needed to come out, and be replaced by a flowering plum tree...The gala apple tree has never produced much fruit and what it did wasn't the best...It needs a warmer climate and longer growing season...So it took him about 1 1/2 hours with his chainsaw to take care of them, (Herb and I hauled most of the branches away, while he was cutting...Then he dug a new hole and we planted the new tree...It will take it several years to take the place of the apricot, but it has lovely blooms.

A special pancake breakfast, pancakes covered with huckleberry jam (added frozen HB's) started our Easter Sunday...Roast beef, mashed potatoes and broccoli for dinner..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

HAPPY EASTER ONE AND ALL...30º

Wishing you a day full of sunshine and flowers...Celebrate with your closest friend or relative...Keeping a safe distance...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Soaking up the Sun...36º

Checking the weather forecast this Friday morning, it looks like this is our last day of pure wonderful sunshine...Cooler weather and wind moving in tomorrow, it will be mid week before our temp gets back into the 60's...Many years on Easter, kids have been hunting eggs in the snow, no snow this year but also no Easter Egg hunts with groups of children...Please everyone do family hunts, just because it is Easter, doesn't mean that Covid-19  has taken a break...BE SAFE.

Herb and I spent most of the morning outside, he on the 4-wheeler harrowing the pasture and me in the garden, whacking down the currant bush and giving the grapevine its spring pruning...Warm, sunny days feel so good.

Pam came for a short visit, our first in about a month, we spent the time outside, no hugs, no contact, chairs far apart we had a small glass of wine, while we talked and laughed, sitting on the deck, soaking up vitamin D...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

The Windflowers are competing with

the Starry Twinkles.

Stellar Day...35º

Yesterday was one of the days that we live for, here in Wallowa County...We awoke to the full moon descending, West, behind Chief Joseph Mountain and the sun soon to rise in the East...The temperature rose quickly and stayed in the 50's/60's all day...Herb finished clearing the old leaves out of the irrigation ditch and hauled them across the road to use for mulch around the fruit trees...I spent about 5 hours in the vegetable garden moving fence panels off of the raised beds and securing them to the outside fence...I added more straw to the garden paths so we aren't walking in mud...Years ago I just had to have a black current bush and now it has gotten so overgrown, that I just want to get rid of it!...Much of my time was spent, cutting back the currant bush and puttering here and there...It was so nice to be out in shirt sleeves soaking up the vitamin D!

My friend Mary sent me a link to a post with different views on "washing or not washing fruit and veggies."...I read it and agree with some, disagree with other things...I haven't always washed all of that stuff but for the last few years I have usually washed or rinsed what I buy from Safeway, mostly because you don't know how many times it has been handled before it is put on the self OR how many people have touched it, breathed on it or sneezed on it while on the shelf!...I could really get on my soapbox about this and if you should or should not wash a chicken/turkey before you cook it, but I will save that for another day!..

I am including the link to this site for you to read and make your own decisions, Wash or Don't Wash, what ever you want to do... Hugs to All...OWAV:)

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/04/9650670/should-i-clean-groceries-wash-vegetables-fruit

Full Moon, Sunny Days, Starry Twinkles.

Last nights full moon https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-april is called the Pink Moon, first full moon of spring...Click on the link to read about it...It was spectacular, had people oohing and awing and my FB friend "Wayne" said the coyotes howled all night!

Herb and I walked yesterday, then he raked old leaves out of the irrigation ditch, prepping it for spring irrigation water...While on our walk we saw, actually talked with, (at a distance) several of our neighbors, it was fun catching up and having a conversation...Appreciate the little things, right!

The Starry Twinkle are starting to bloom in the flowerbeds, a sure sign of spring....More time outside today...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Keeping Busy, in a crazy world...27º

Finding things to keep us busy, that we like to do, gets difficult after awhile...There are always mundane jobs around the house, sorting, cleaning etc, but not much fun...Since our neighbors volunteered to do our grocery shopping and garbage hauling, and our friend Debbie delivered eggs to our doorstep, we have resorted to taking more walks...That of course is good for us and since the snow has melted off again we are able to work on the stack of wood in the back pasture...We stretch one load out for 3 days, 1 to load, 1 to unload and 1 to stack in the cellar...I help some but Herb actually does most of the work.

Pickup loaded

Ready to head for the house

Looking for ways to keep me busy and after reading that maybe it is a good idea for the general public to wear masks, just a basic cotton mask, gave me an idea...WE put our neighbor in Jeopardy, shopping for our groceries so I went to my fabric stash, then looked in the sewing box for elastic...Talk about hoarding, I found elastic that i've had for possibly 30 years (and it still has stretch) and it is the perfect size, I  probably got it at a yard sale...It was a steal.

                                     

How long has it been since you've

seen a Sprouse Ritz store? The 

yard sale price, 25 cents.

In the fabric stash (hoard) I found

the perfect golfing fabric...He

said, no one laughed at

him in Safeway.

Monday is the day Bill leaves our groceries on the front porch...We have a card table set up and the sanitizing bleach solutions ready...I spray everything bags and groceries with the mild solution, let it dry, then bring the groceries into the house, where apples, oranges, and potatoes are washed in a warm soapy water, then rinsed and put to dry before going to the downstairs fridge for storage...I'm a bit more gentle with the grapes and onions just get sprayed, no washing for them...I'm not sure this is all necessary or right but it gives me something to do!..That done I take a walk and get home in time to start thinking about, what will we have for dinner?..Hugs To all...OWAV:)

After spraying with bleach, they

are air dried outside.

Hoarding, Conflicting, what to believe...35º

As most of you know, Herb and I haven't had a working television for many years...So we don't watch daily news stations from CNN or FOX, but we can get info from these stations on our wifi connection or from Facebook and a "tamer version" from OPB...We can filter more of what we watch...You can call it burying your head in the sand or I prefer, "keeping some form of normalcy and keeping ones' sanity."

Where we sit here on Barton Heights, secluded from the rest of the world, just like we were from 911 or tornadoes in the south or other world disasters, it is hard to fathom what the rest of the world is going through...And feelings of guilt bubble to the surface.

We have heard/read of the hoarding, listened to the conflicting stories about when Covid 19 would hit the US, how bad it will be and how long it will last?..Will we run out of medicine, facemasks, gloves, gowns, respirators, hospital beds...Will social distancing help slow/stop the spread?..Will closing all schools and businesses sink our world into a recession/depression like none that has been experienced before?..No one knows the answers to these questions and all the speculation, in the world, will not change the outcome...So we wait it out, we follow what seems to be the right path now and we stay secluded in our little bubble, protecting ourselves and protecting others from us!...

It has been a relativly short time since we cut ourselves off from the rest of the world and the "air hugs and kisses" are already growing old...Do we yearn for the feeling of arms around us, in a bear hug, will we appreciate those, when a more "normal life" resumes?..Will we be more appreciative of the little things in life, instead of always wanting more material things, will we be satisfied with a more simple life, give more of ourselves instead of asking for more?... We can only HOPE....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...in spring "Hope" springs eternal...The garlic doesn't let the snow stop it from growing and the daffodils still bloom.

April 1/ Snowy World....26º

We woke up to a snowy world yesterday...Seven inches of snow dumped overnight and it was still snowing, off and on...The snow was wet and heavy and our fruit trees and lilac bushes were groaning under its weight...Shortly after 7am, Herb and I were cacooned in winter clothing, shovels in hand...We have a set routine, he does front walk and the back steps, while I work on the deck...We could sit in our warm house and wait for it to stop snowing and the weather to warmup and melt everything, but that drives me crazy and we need the exercise...We took it slow and easy, but steady and by 8am we were back in the house fixing our breakfast of sausage, eggs, fresh fruit and toast.


After breakfast, I felt really sorry for the groaning trees and bushes, so with a 6 foot aluminum pole I got some more exercise by hitting the tree branches to shake the snow off and lighten the load...While I was doing this it snowed two to three more inches and again Herb shoveled walks and I redid the deck...The rest of the day we had intermittent snow showers and sun and this moring we woke up to no snow overnight, no shoveling needed so far...The week coming up, every day says snow showers...Time will tell.

On Monday, we did our tele-visit with Dr. Bell, neurologist in Bend OR...It was an informative visit, not really what we wanted to hear, but it seems better to know more than not...Hemosiderine is the name he put on the problem that causes bleeding in the brain and leads to confusion and other problems...This is a shortened version, of our almost hour long visit and we are still trying to wrap our minds around it all...When the Covid19 dies down, Dr Bell would really like to have another MRI and an in person visit with Herb...That could easily be four months away...So all we can do is go day by day and keep plugging along and keep busy...I balk at saying "let it snow." Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Between shoveling

All done!