What's on the menu?..61º

Dinner salads, such as taco on Tuesday, when Pam joined us on the deck, and yesterday Herb and I had a chicken salad, that we ate inside because it was about 95º on our deck...We topped it off, a bit later in the day, with ice cream covered with fresh raspberries from our garden and didn't feel a bit guilty!..It finally started to cool down at 7:30 just before the sunset behind Ruby Peak (I think)...We are in for another hot one today and I will check the raspberries early this morning, maybe another raspberry sundae today? 😇...Sounds good to me or maybe a raspberry milkshake..

I harvested another bunch of dill last night and parted with a few heads of garlic, all donated to the Methodist Church Ladies for their money raising project...They jar and sell several kinds of pickles, that have been a hit in recent years...I think we will get to sample some of their pickles this year...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Delicious

The Drying Shed...60º

Gonna get hot today...Somewhere close to 95º...That doesn't happen very often here on Barton Heights and usually doesn't last for very many days...We have a forecast of possible showers but mostly thunder/lightning storms, not good with the fire danger rising.

Herb and I had good intentions of harvesting the garlic 2 rows at a time but with clouds building up and even a slight chance of rain we finished it up in two days...The garlic was just at the right dry/damp stage that made them easy to pull and clean the excess dirt off by hand...The process went smoothly with me pulling and Herb bundling, before hanging in the drying shed...Always such a satisfying chore to have done...People want to know why we grow so much garlic?...My answer is, "Because we can!"...In a month or so we will separate the heads into cloves, peel, then slice on the cusinart, then dry all and then into the blender to powder most of it...It makes a winters supply for relatives and friends.

I must get moving, outside work to do before the heat builds up...Cooling the house off now, so we have a cool place to rest in the afternoon...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Hanging to dry.

Fresh veggies, tri tip and macaroni salad

 

Garlic Harvest...51º

Started the garlic harvest yesterday, nice size, easy to pull and just damp enough to clean off...Will do a few rows each day...Cloudy this morning, but supposed to get hot, trying to cool the house off, make breakfast and move water, to get the day started...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

So Pretty.

Lovely Evening, photo blog...52º

Perfect evening for taking photos on Barton Heights...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Garden tools...46º

As I finished up staining the front facing boards on our deck, a memory kept floating through my mind...It involves of all things, shovel handles...It takes me back to a time when I arrived at my Moms' house to find her sitting on the back porch, resting after a morning of digging and planting...She was holding her old shovel (handed down from her parents), and was sanding the handle...A can of old stain/paint sat nearby...That day I got a lesson on taking care of gardening tools, because money didn't grow on trees and this old shovel had lasted for many years because it had been taken care of and young people of today didn't appreciate how hard it was to make a living "back then," and instead of taking care of what they had would just throw it away and buy a new one!..I'm sure many of you can hear her saying this. 😃

Yesterday when I finished for the day, a small amount of deck stain remained in the can and guilty thoughts came flooding into my mind...How long has it been since I took care of the garden tools?

So from the many shovels/tools that I have, I selected 5 of them, that I use the most...The shovel, that was my Moms, a second shovel that Herb bought me 30 years ago, a hoe, (handed down from Mom), a 4 tined digger, and a fork to spread chips...For about an hour, I rested, while I sanded the handles until smooth, then "painted" them with the leftover deck stain...It was a good feeling...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Sanded handles

Mom's shovel handle.

little shovel, hoe, digger, pitchfork.

and Moms shovel...Left to right.

An Abundance of Dill...50º

Dill is ever present in the garden...Last year I let it grow and go to seed, so this year in the garden paths it was like a carpet, soft and fragrant...I resorted to pulling what I could and covering it with straw, that sort of worked, but it still grows, willy nilly, among the asparagus and the raspberries...It is blooming and needs to be pulled before it goes to seed again...I could pull it and dry it for later use, but I really like it fresh for dill pickles but you need cucumbers for pickles and they won't be ready for another month...What to do, what to do?..Hugs to All...OWAV:)

A good Day...55º/ Rainy

We are still working on the list of finishing with the stain on the steps that lead into our house, touching up the edges and thinning the apple tree, plus the everyday/week chores of watering, mowing etc...Herb did steps, I thinned the apple tree, so our apples will be big instead of golfball size!

A little rain storm this morning has cooled temperatures for today, but are predicted to go up for the weekend and next week...It is a nice little respite...The garden is doing well, raspberries turning red, potatoes starting to bloom, carrots are almost a foot tall...Sweet peas are producing a small bouquet every day...I snapped a few photos before coming inside last night...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

My newest plant in the 

garden, dwarf, purple bee balm.

The deer have decided to let

the day lilies bloom

for a change.

Pearl yarrow, a good filler, but also spreads.

Hosta folliage, no blooms yet.

Little noticed plants...55º

I always think of hosta plants growing in the shade to fill in where nothing else will grow...Their foliage is attractive all summer long and they grow with no boundaries...The blooms can be quite nondescript...This year I have three small plants that are blooming like crazy, saying "Look at me!"...I don't know why they haven't grown!..Not sure where I was going with this, other than it is the only photo, I have to post. 😉

Blooming Hosta

After months of seeing very little of each other, Pam and I have fallen into a twice/regular Tuesday afternoon visit...She spends Tuesdays in an office counting money from the campgrounds that she cleans...Not her favorite part of the job, so she comes here to relax, eat and drink, our favorite passtime...We still practice social distancing, trying to do our part in not spreading "Covid," if one or the other of us happens to have been exposed...We are really missing our long car trips out of the county and struggling with the fact that our yearly huckleberry picking probably won't happen...Will Covid never end?!!!

Things to do today, that i've talked about but haven't accomplished are touchup work on the deck and thinning the apple tree and the never ending, "What are we having for dinner?"...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Flowers and Bees...50º

A vegetable garden is for more than veggies...Annual poppies, grow easily from seed and pop up everywhere, from gravel driveways to the most fertile of garden soil...Usually I pull most of them, when they are tiny but this year there were so many, I just let them grow...Now one corner of the garden is full of poppies and with them come the honey bees collecting their nectar, and pollinating the fruits/veggies...The cherry tomatoes, snap peas, raspberries are in bloom and the constant hum of bees abounds...Another garden visitor is a garter snake, that weaves his way under the netting around the cabbage plants, I think he is eating the bad worms that like them, I hope.

Herb and I have acupuncture today, so take it as a relaxing day, doing the minimum of chores...Also the temperature is in the high eighties, another reason to relax and stay cool...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

One corner of the garden.

Almost Done!

The floor of the deck is done, 2 sets of steps left to do, plus all the edges, that only show when you stand back and survey the whole project...It will get done, as it is backbreaking work to do, a little at a time as we follow the shade...Time now to thin the apple tree, thankfully this year there is a small crop of apples, enough for pies in September.

Flowers coming into bloom are lavender (honey bees are loving them), shasta daisys, hostas, and sweet peas...Time to mow lawns,  garlic will be ready to harvest soon, and we will keep busy watering, as temperatures are staying in the 80's...We have acupuncture tomorrow...That's life on Barton Heights...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

All Done.

Another View.

Glamour Shot, this new camera is fun!!!

Semi Productive Day...52º

Up and outside early yesterday...First to set the water on the potato patch, water all plants in pots and assemble all the stuff to start staining the deck...Then we took time out for breakfast...Put eggs on to cook for hard boiled eggs and a pork roast in a 200º oven, to cook for hours, until fall apart tender...As most cooks, I am always thinking ahead to the next meal, as well as food for the days ahead...The pork roast will be todays dinner (along with salad, fruit ???)...Tomorrow maybe pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and if I get potatoes cooked, the eggs will go into a potato salad, and maybe deviled eggs for another day.

We started staining the deck about 9am, finished the first half at 10:30, both ready to take a rest and then decided to wait for another day to do the other half...That way this morning we can move table, chairs etc onto the newly stained and finish the rest in the cool of the morning...Temp is going up into the 80's today.

Herb took care of the potato watering, switched it to the pasture, made sure the animals trough, (old bathtub) was full for the day, while I pulled a couple of onions, and cut a bunch of cilantro...Salsa was sounding good to me, for a mid morning snack, (we eat dinner at about 2:30 each day) so I chopped cilantro, onions, garlic scapes, jalapeño peppers and a tomato, added this and freshly squeezed lime juice to jarred salsa, for my own rendition of fresh salsa.

While in Safeway on Friday, I spied a bag of multigrain tortilla "cups"and on a whim put them in the cart...With salsa made, I melted cheese in the little cups, added salsa and a dab of sour cream and our morning snack was ready...The smell of pork roasting in the oven, meant dinner was soon to follow.

Mid afternoon, still thinking ahead...Lately I've been making a chocolate concoction, semi healthy, (think peanut clusters) for our treat for the day...My chocolate supply is dwindling, but there was enough to melt, add peanuts, a few mixed nuts, raisins, craisins and diced apricots, to the melted chocolate, drop them all out in clusters, and we have enough treats for the next 15 days!...Hmmmm I guess this was actually a very productive day....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Deck is waiting for us to finish.

Productive Day...52º

It was a perfect day to clean the deck, mostly sunny, temperature got into the 80's by mid afternoon...Getting wet is part of the job and using the ditch water works, because it is actually warmer than our city water...With Herb manning the pump (on/off switch) I was able to spray the deck in sections, then spray it with a mixture of soap and bleach, scrub it with a stiff broom, then hose it off...I finished up about 1pm, wet almost to my waist, but it kept me cool.

Then it was time to fix a simple dinner...After rummaging in the freezer I came up with frozen wieners and buns and a quart of vanilla ice cream and frozen berries...We sat down to what Herb called a "gourmet dinner," of hot dogs with all the trimmings and berry milkshakes.

After all these years, the deck really needs to be sanded down and refinished but that is not going to happen...So we will settle for a new stain job...Not sure if we will get the stain on today...Grocery shopping is at the top of list and we will be watering lawns, pasture and garden non stop for the next week, no rain in sight and temperatures rising...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

As clean as it is going to get!

Hot Summer Days...52º

Looks like a perfect week, weather wise, to stain the deck...If only our energy holds out?..Today will be spent moving everything to one side of the deck, then cleaning with soap and water to get rid of the winter grime...Then it has to be rinsed and rinsed again, then letting it dry completely before applying the stain.

Herb built the deck in July of 1995 and it has served us well for 25 years...Many gatherings have been held with family and friends and many other days with just the two of us taking in the view and counting our blessings...It has been a nice addition to our home...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Summer

Fall

Winter

More relaxing day...52ª

I have a lymph massage scheduled for this morning, so not much outside work today...Trying to decide if I want to brave Safeway or leave it for later in the week...Lymph massages are great for boosting the immune system, a good idea as the covid 19 cases keep growing...In Oregon we are now asked (mandated) to not only wear masks in public buildings but also in outside areas where people can't keep a social distance, such as city sidewalks, etc...Thankfully Herb and I can choose the times that we mingle with the crowds of summer.

Pam and I spent a peaceful evening on the deck last night, with a glass of wine and our lovely view...As usual the topic of conversation was about her job (cleaning Forest Service campgrounds, not easy with the Covid pandemic and all the precautions, they have to take to protect themselves.)..On a lighter note we always talk about our love of flowers and gardens and the joy they bring us...Pam and my friend Willa were instrumental in getting me started in the joys of gardening...Sending me home with starts, seeds and bulbs and encouraging me to dig and plant, when I wanted to sit and read a book...Many thanks to both of them.

My Mother was a gardener, so I have the gardening genes, and in her later years we gardened together and I learned to enjoy her as well as gardening...I have a sage plant, like the one she always had and I harvest and dry sage to keep along with other herbs and spices in the kitchen...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

What she called "tame sage."  Different

from the wild sagebrush that

she made into a bitter tea,

that she drank for medicinal

purposes...I never 

learned to like that!..

Summer Days Coming...44º

The last few nights have cooled into the low 40's, but starting today temps for both night and day are moving up, with no rain in sight...That means, if we can keep everything watered, it will grow like crazy, and we will have a very busy week...Always more deadheading to do, the apple tree needs to be thinned, deck is still waiting to be stained and poppy roots, that Becky dug up a few days ago, need to be separated and planted in potting soil, to see if they will grow new roots!

I don't want to bore you with more photo's of the same flowers but that is what is blooming now, and they change daily, and get more beautiful...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sea Holly with a honey bee.

Sea Holly gets more blue

each day...It is a close

relative of thistle.

All of these blooms are on

one plant of the annual

Shirley Poppiest

Lettuce, Spinach, arugula and 

chard from the garden.

Yesterday was a hot one!...46º

Yesterday morning was spent following the shade, while deadheading, weeding and digging plants to transplant...A cooling breeze, made the deck a nice place to sit...Afternoon Pam joined me for a visit and a glass of wine...With Covid, our visits have become far and few in between, also her work schedule gets in the way.

Late afternoon Herb and I had a light dinner of chicken salad sandwiches and fruit, before seeking the coolness of our house for the rest of the day...In the veggie garden, I picked one last bunch of asparagus, a small handful of arugula, more onions, chard and crispy green lettuce...Soon we will have snap peas and beet greens to add to our table...Looks like a quiet Sunday on Barton Heights...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...While waiting for Shasta Daisys, Lavender, and Sweet Peas to bloom, I still have a few peonies and annual poppies that keep some color in the yard...

A single peony, white with a yellow center.

Bread seed poppies that volunteer

in the garden keep blooming

away and the honey bees

love them.

A few photos...58º

Poppies and peonies are fading fast, not many blooms to take their place, until the shasta daisys start blooming...I have some digging to do today, moving perennials into a more sunny spot...Hugs to All and a Happy Day...OWAV:)

PS...I do have lots of Shirley Poppies and Bread Seed Poppies that volunteer everywhere...They are such happy flowers, that bloom profusely.

Pink double Shirley

Red single Shirley

Sea Holly, just starting to bloom

will soon have a blue cast.

More about gardening....49º

Working outside yesterday, in the cool of the morning, I added another layer of straw to the potato bed...Next, from my pile of well aged manure, I loaded the wheel barrow, and scattered it by the shovel full around all the potatoes that have really taken off this year...The last step was to give them a good soaking...For the next two months, we will water regularly and after they bloom, I will rob some new potatoes, for creamed peas and potatoes for dinner and in late September, they will be ready to harvest. 

Soon this will be completely

covered with potato vines.

The rest of the day was spent puttering, weeding, and watering in the flower beds...We had a delicious elk steak dinner (thanks B & J), leftover potato salad and luscious greens from our garden...Then it was time to sit on the deck and enjoy the view...Early evening found me taking photos of he latest blooms...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

An annual "Shirley Poppy, that seeded

into the vegetable garden.

One of the deck planters, lobelia

sweet alyssum.

Lemon thyme perennial.

Brrrrr....36º

There was definitely a nip in the air yesterday and again last night...Not sure what is going on as July is usually "Wallowa Counties Summer."...The world is in such turmoil, maybe the weather has a voice all its own...Maybe it is keeping it cool, so we can wear a mask, without suffocating or hyperventilating...It makes me want to find a spot far away and hibernate, until the world is sane again...I know that is wishful thinking...Our town is crazy with tourists, busiest 4th of July, on record...Enough blathering, will work on positive thoughts, put a smile on my face and move on one day at a time...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sorry, it won't let me post a photo.

The time flew by...52º

Four days filled with laughter, visiting, food, chocolate, berry shortcake, card games, picnic...Sometimes we reminisced, sometimes looked into the future, other times just shook our heads at what is happening in our world today...No answers, just questions, trying to keep positive thoughts and love one another.

The "girls" are back in the Portland area, and Cienna will soon go back to Corvallis, where she has an apartment, classes online and a new job to keep her busy...She will celebrate her 22nd birthday on the 12 of July...How fast the years fly by.

Herb and I busied ourselves with laundry, outside work and relaxed in our quiet spot, here on Barton Heights..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A Long Ride...44º/sunny

So thankful that our girls are up to making the long trip from Portland to Joseph, mostly freeway travel, with the last 75 miles on secondary roads, but the scenery is incredible...They arrived at 2pm...It was warm enough to sit on the deck and catchup for awhile...It has been a year since we have seen them in person...Soon we were inside slurping garlic/lemon chicken over homemade noodles, with nonstop chatter all around.

Cienna will celebrate her 22nd birthday in 9 days, she wrapped up another year of college classes and last week she started a new position in her job with "Safe Ride," (a transportation program, within the college campus, at  Oregon State University.)...She has one more year of college to finish up her credits and do her student teaching at a grade school in Corvallis...All of this to be done, with the "Covid 19 Pandemic" in progress...Who knows how it will all play out?

The Willamette Valley, where the girls live, is known for its fresh berries, this time of year...Soon Bobi was slicing and mixing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, while I made buttermilk biscuits...Berry shortcake topped with whipped cream wrapped up our day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS We are missing Rusty, busy at his job in Bend, OR.

Ahhhh, the fragrance...41º

Cleaning up after a rain storm has its' rewards...We have 3 beautiful, fragrant bouquets adorning our living room...Huge peony blooms, soaked with rain, flattened almost to the ground, were rescued and hung to dry before "arranging" them in vases...Yesterday the fragrance was almost overwhelming, today not so much...They will be enjoyed for a few days, before the petals loosen and fall, only the photo's are left.

On the agenda for today, the sourdough start has been fed and is working away on the kitchen counter, soon to be made into dough, shaped and baked into bread...A different fragrance will fill our house this afternoon...Along with that, Herb and I will do a final cleaning, he vacuuming, me sweeping, mopping, cleaning before our "girls" arrive tomorrow...Weather is looking good for their visit, not to rainy, not to hot, let the fun and games begin...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Random photos.

A lone yellow iris.

White peony, before the storm.

A bouquet of pink, white and burgundy

after the storm.