Seasons Bounty...45º

The apricot tree is the first to bloom in spring and usually puts on quite a show...That doesn't mean it will have fruit every year but about every 5 years we have a bumper crop...Herb and I diligently thin the apricots when they are tiny green orbs, so they will grow into nice sized apricots...We have to resort to climbing a ladder to do this...Since we now avoid ladders, except for the very lowest rungs, I've found that a long wooden pole, used in July, banging on the branches and clusters of apricots, knocks the fruit to the ground, thus thinning the crop.

2014 August 1st, 

mostly large green apricots...this

was before I figured out to use a pole.

This years apricots were thinned and the waiting game began for them to ripen...They turn a lovely orange color and look good enough to eat...Our neighbors start to worry that they will rot on the tree and try to help us by putting apricots on our porch, signaling that they are ripe...But only a few were ripe, the others are still rock hard and sour...So we wait and watch.

Photo last night thanks to Marsha.

Herb has been picking a few each day and we have them for breakfast and snacks throughout the day...I've shared some with friends that don't live close...I text Marsha last night, "I think the lower apricots are ripe," and she picked enough to make jam and took a photo for me to share...We have younger people (ladder climbers) that will pick for themselves and others as the fruit continues to ripen.

Our next project is the Santa Rosa plum tree, it is also loaded and sort of thinned...It is really tall and almost impossible to pick, so we wait for them to fall and pick the best ones off the ground to made into the most luscious jam and maybe a rustic pie.

Meanwhile the garden is running away with patty pans but only a few zucchini and an occasional cucumber...The green beans had a short season and were quickly packed into jars for "Dilly Beans," they now reside on the cellar shelves, for winter Bloody Marys'.

I've been having problems with a torn meniscus in my right knee, so am limited to what I accomplish on any given day...I still hope to get tomatoes to roast and cucumber for pickles from Walla Walla in early September...Wish me luck...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

That Peaceful Feeling...47º

Some 46 years ago, after living in the high desert country of Duchesne, Utah, for 7 years, the Forest Service moved us to Joseph, Oregon...I was in heaven, back to the same kind of country that I grew up in, in McCall, Idaho...One of the first places Herb took me was to the upper Imnaha River, where the yellow pines tower above everything else, grass grows lush and green and the Imnaha River, runs free and clear...Over the years, we tent camped there with our kids and later, Cienna joined us in our 5th wheel...Playing in the river, building the evening campfire, roasting wieners and smor's are now all memories but the peaceful feeling of that place is still very real.

The huckleberries had been calling for a few weeks now and Pam and I were ready for a day of idle chatter, recalling memories of grandchildren, hobo dinners, lazy creeks, yellow pines and the sound of huckleberries hitting the bottom of our picking jugs...Richard fixed us breakfast before we set off for the HB patch of the day...Some 7 hours later, we had survived the buzzing wasps, and assorted other "biting bugs," many berries picked, our picnic lunch eaten, and our voices now quiet, we left the yellow pines, knowing they will be there another day...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Beautiful Berries.

Quiet Week...46º

After all the hubbub of the past few weeks, we have settled into a quiet time...We still water, deadhead and weed...But mostly we rest, enjoy the view and watch the sauerkraut ferment and the garden grow...Thunder storms and rain showers were predicted for the weekend, but we got only the edge of the storm at our house...Sun has arrived for the next few days.

Our patty pans and zucchini have flourished and we have enough to share...I think they will slow down now as the nights are cooling...The vacant bed (after the garlic harvest) has been layered with chopped leaves, stalks from the comfrey plants, squash leaves, straw and manure...Now it has been soaked with water and a little rain, more will be added later, then all is left to decompose over the winter and ready for planting next spring.

The "fruits" of our labor appeared on our dinner table yesterday...Potato salad, (I robbed new potatoes) patty pan squash, stuffed with leftover chicken strips and topped with cheese, and fresh pulled carrots and onions all roasted, in the oven, on a cool Sunday afternoon...It has been a very good week...

A doe and her two fawns have made themselves at home in our yard, eating petunias on the deck, autumn joy, day lilies and clematis from the flower beds...We are left with shasta daisies, coreopsis, golden rod, cone flowers and bee balm...I guess we are sharing flowers as well as veggies...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Blooms in the yard.

Butterfly on the cone flowers.

Find the butterfly?

Volunteer dill and poppies, fading fast.

Yucca plant that only blooms

every few years.

Garden dinner.

Hot August days...60º

We had some relaxing days before Rusty arrived for a few days, on his way to Idaho and a visit with friends...I had renewed the "honey do" list...Of course his agenda also includes working with John...Yesterday we were outside early, he and Herb pulling garlic and hanging it to dry for a few weeks...The biggest cabbage was cut and grated/sliced to start more jars of kraut...The temp was close to 90º but we relaxed on the deck, in the shade of the aspens...Dinner was creamed potatoes and peas, alongside salmon on the grill...I have appointments today, Herb will be chasing water in flowerbeds and lawn, Rusty will be helping John...We will get together for dinner and Rusty will leave early Wed morning.

Last Saturday, we had visitors...Rusty's friends Randy and Justin, on a 14 day motorcycle trip, stopped for the night and camped in our backyard...We enjoyed visiting with them about their jobs and travels...Randy is a pilot and flight instructor, out of Bend and Justin is an aircraft mechanic, with  a home in Boise, Idaho and stationed in the Philippines...It was fun getting to know about their jobs and travels.

I should be in the kitchen making a huckleberry pie, so will include some photos and get up and moving before leaving the house until late afternoon...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

9 1/2 pound cabbage

Ready to grate

Rusty with the cabbage and garlic

Sauerkraut working for 3 days.

Sauerkraut made yesterday, 

trying a new way of fermentation.

Week Flies by...49º

The last week in July is always a busy week in Joseph, Oregon...46 years ago, when we moved here, it was the only week that Joseph ballooned, as people came from far and wide to join in the action of CJD's, Chief Joseph Days...Now nearly all summer our little town, fills with tourists, reveling in our town, with its' lake, unending scenery, Wallowa Lake State Park, hiking trails, campgrounds and a multitude of vacation homes, so everyone has a bed to sleep in.

When my sister Mona called in June and said, "Can we come for a visit the last week of July?.. " Without a pause, I said, "Of course, it is CJD's but we stay close to home and out of the craziness, that takes over, but if you want, I suppose we could take in a rodeo performance." "No, was her reply, we only want to sit on your deck and look at the mountains."

For the entire week, that is what all of us did, well almost...Herb and I had some appointments, we had to keep, I had signed up with Becky to make rolls for the hospitality room, for visiting law enforcement officers, that come every year to keep our town safe...The 85º weather was next to perfect, only two days close to 90º, and the nights cooled off...We moved out of our chairs to eat, two meals a day...Chicken, pork, meatballs, salads, fresh produce from the garden, raspberries from a neighbor and huckleberries from the surrounding forest and hot rolls appeared most days...We savored the huckleberry pie and made it last for two day's, with the addition of ice cream...We were in  "hog heaven."..Our niece Susan came for a morning visit, Pam stopped in to deliver huckleberries, other than that it was just the four of us...We visited, laughed and reminisced,

I can't say it was all peace and quiet because we live on the edge of town, near the rodeo grounds and about a mile from the airport...So we hear some of the action, but don't have to deal with the crowds...The week flew by and all too soon, Mona and Jerry were on the road, back to Utah and their family...Herb and I woke up early this morning, so guess we are rested and back in our groove...Of course the cleaning, laundry, watering and weeding is never ending, but it is quiet and peaceful...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

We made bread the first day.

Huckleberry pancakes for breakfast

Broccoli from the garden.

Hot rolls

Rustic huckleberry pie.

Jerry, Susan, Mona

            

Many Thanks...53º

I enjoyed seeing comments from some of the many people whose lives Margaret had touched...Thanks to all who posted a like, love, chuckle or a wow, she was loved by many and will remain in the hearts of her family and friends...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

PS...My flower gardens are planted in remembrance of family and friends, gone on before us...Margarets name is now included.

Poppies grow where seeds blows in.

A small bouquet of lavender.

Corn lilies from my sisters garden in Oklahoma.

A rather invasive but showy flower, 

called pinks by the old-timers. 

"It's me again Margaret"...50º

That was a traditional greeting when I called her or when I returned one of her phone calls...Margaret loved a "play on words," or a "joke" of any kind...She was a great teller of jokes and had an endless stream of them in her memory bank...Margaret was an adventurer, she was a strong, determined woman, always said what was on her mind, sometimes using her sense of humor to lighten it, but not always!..Margaret had started the lunch program at the Joseph Schools and was proud of the program and what she had achieved, but she had another agenda and that was too travel.

Margaret mentioned many times, that when Kyle graduated from high school and she was old enough to retire, she was going to join the "Peace Corp" and see some of the world...In 1983 she retired,  applied to the PC, was accepted, bought a plane ticket and flew away to Belize...A country she loved, for its warm weather and loving, kind people...They pronounced her name "Mawgret" and often referred to her as "lee white lady" (little white lady)...There she worked, made friends, and traveled by bus, (mostly broken down buses) boat, on foot, sometimes hitchhiking...After two years she returned to Wallowa County, bought her first and last new car and set out to explore the good ol' USA...But first, she rented a remote cabin, on big sheep creek, near Imnaha, where she relaxed, unwound and wrote stories about her life.

Next I think she flew to Alaska and cooked for a hunting/fishing lodge, she spent a summer cooking at Red's Horse Ranch before loading her station wagon and was off to Yellowstone Park and another cooking job, another adventure...Slowing down a bit she found happiness with Vanden and loved the life of living winters in Arizona and back to Wallowa County for the summers...After Vanden's passing she spent the rest of her years in Joseph, where her family and friends could come for a visit...She stayed independent as long as possible, but health issues made the decision for her to move to the Alpine House, where she renewed old acquaintances, made new friends and through it all, she kept her positive attitude.

Margaret had an extraordinary life and most of it was because she made it happen...She endured the lost of a daughter, husband, companion, son and great granddaughter, always putting on a brave front...I started this post with the line "I lost a friend last week," in a way I did, but I have memories that I will never lose...Thank you Margaret for being part of my life...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

PS...I have to include this paragraph

After my first day on the "fill in job," the next time I was called it was much easier and I was able to relax and even enjoy cooking for 300 people...The pace was set and well thought out, the hours flew by and soon I was thinking, "I can do this on a regular basis."..Time went by and Margaret and I were not sure about each other, still both of us wondering if our personalities would mesh, until the day that I was filling in as the bread maker...The dough was mixed and waiting to be shaped, but as I returned to "my spot," Margaret was standing in my way, taking her time, sorting through the knife drawer...I needed to get on with my job, so I gently bumped her with my hip and said, "Heist," she jerked around and glared at me, but I was smiling, then she laughed and we both knew that this was going to work...I had just called her a "cow" and got away with it...We both grew up on a farm and that was what you "lovingly" said to a cow, when you wanted it to move over...Our friendship was cemented.

Photos that Margaret would have loved.

Chief Joseph Mountain

Wallowa County Wildflowers