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)