Cool Morning...50º

Yesterdays temperature was in the high 80's, maybe even hit the 90º mark...That is pretty warm for our valley and thankfully in these high mountains the night time temperature dropped down to 50º...We keep windows open and fans running all night to cool the house down, then close it up for the day...What work we do outside is done in the cool of the morning.

I picked a handful of raspberries yesterday, most delicious when eaten right off of the bushes...Garlic is starting to die back and will be ready to dig in about a week...Peas, patty pans, zucchini are starting to bloom...The deer came in last week and ate almost every marigold bloom off of the planters on our deck...Silly me, I thought that was one flower that they absolutely would not eat...Shasta daisy, sweet peas and lavendar are blooming...That's all for today, must get outside...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Joseph Fly-In...51º

A beautiful weekend for the annual Joseph fly-in...Since the airport is about a mile from our house we have a ring side seat for most of the air activities...The noise is intense some of the time but we take it in stride, knowing that it only happens once a year...In 10 days from today the noise and crowds of people will reach its peak for the summer, as Chief Joseph Days (4 day rodeo) starts on July 25th...Luckily we live at the edge of town and can stay out of most of the craziness and only hear the sounds of the rodeo announcer...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...
A few more photos from our Hat Point excursion and a brief glimpse at planes high in the sky over our house yesterday...Click on the photos to "get the picture."

Beautiful Canyons.

One of the many overlooks.

A huge bouquet.

Blooms and Rocks.

I loved the rocks almost more than the blooms.

Over our garage

High in the sky.

Hat Point...52º

Four years ago Pam started working summers, cleaning campgrounds, for the forest service...Her area covers a lot of territory...Bear Creek, Lostine River Area, Hurricane Creek, Wallowa Lake Trail heads, Hat Point, most of the Imnaha, Hells Canyon Overlook and also Fishlake...Since we have always had fun exploring the great outdoors, it is no surprise that she wants me to see these places...She called on Tuesday night and said, "Do you want to go to Hat Point tomorrow, the wildflowers are in full bloom." Without hesitation I said, "YES."

So as we used to say, she took a "bus man holiday" drove her car, on her day off and we retraced her route, 30 miles to Imnaha, then 5 miles of very steep, rough, narrow dirt road, we stopped at 5 mile overlook to look out over the Imnaha Country and back to the Wallowa Mountains...The road smoothed out after that and the next 17 miles are mostly smooth, if you miss the potholes...Next stop was "Granny View" where we walked the loop and were surrounded by carpets of wildflowers, nestled in among the rock out-croppings...We drove on to Hat Point where we ate our lunch, looking down into the Snake River Canyon and the Seven Devils, mountain range in Idaho.

After lunch we drove on to Hat Point Lookout and climbed to the very top of the tower...Pam spotted the Mountain Sheep/Goats way off in the distance...I could only see them with binoculars...Sad to say we forgot to take a photo as proof, but more amazing views greeted us from that Lofty Perch...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...My photos don't show how beautiful it really was, but gives you an idea.

Wallowa mountains in the background.

Stinky Stuff...56º

I'm always optimistic that the deer will leave some blooms for us...I'm willing to share but they don't seem to have the same mindset...Do they think I plant just for them?..As I deadheaded this past week, I found that they are deadheading EATING the buds, not only on their usual fare, (day lilies, gailardia) but even my purple cone flowers, hostas and autuum joy, that haven't been to their liking other years...So Herb mixed up the "Stinky Stuff," liquid deer fence, and I sprayed, almost the entire garden...Maybe that will help.

That brings up the subject of wolves and is it because of them that our town is inundated with deer?..Deer that are so brazen, that they bed down in our yard, walk on our deck and dare us to enjoy our own back yard...A bumper crop of wildflowers carpet the forests that surround our town, why are they not out there eating those delicious flowers?!!!!When we moved here 43 years ago, deer were not roaming the Joseph streets, where they have now taken up permanent residence...There has to be a reason...Our problem is small, compared to the cattle ranchers, who battle the wolves on a daily basis, as they are protected, and have free run of our county...Will there ever be an equitable solution?..Hugs To Most...OWAV:)

bouquet on one stem

Will the deer add these to their diet next year?

Do we have to learn to love only foliage?

A few photos...41º

After a hectic time of lunches, dinners, sorting, packing, and visiting with friends Pat, Brian and Mason start their journey back to Maryland...About 2 weeks will be spent on the road, stopping to enjoy Crater Lake, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore and other sights of interest along the way.

Pat and I made the most of our time together, as we reminisced about times past and looked ahead to the future...Took in some yard sales, had a final mocha (for this year) and as a last Hoorah P & B treated us to dinner at the Wallowa Lake Lodge, an experience we will talk about the next time we meet...Some good, some bad, always memorable.

In all this time I forgot to take photos...As a parting shot I managed to get a couple last night at our final celebration...Wishing the Adelhardts a safe and fun journey, Hugs to Them...OWAV:)

All Seasons...37º BRRR.

From our Barton Heights, front porch...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY AND SAFE 4TH OF JULY.

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July 1st, Brrr...42º

Sunny blue skies are overhead, but a breeze is omnipresent, making it cool, unless you stay in direct sunlight...That is good working weather, but not as nice for sitting on the deck...So I've found jobs to keep me moving...The last two days have found me with my body on a ladder and my head in the apple tree...Our only fruit tree that bloomed this year is the Gravenstein apple and it set on so many apples...In order to have nice, big apples, the apples must be thinned, they are anywhere from marble size to golf ball size...I spent about 4 hours, (off and on) up and down the 5 foot ladder and picked 2 1/2, 5 gallon buckets full of these small apples...Now the apple tree looks naked, but trust me, it will have plenty of apples...(I hear my Mom saying, "Thin some more, Della.")

Yesterday afternoon was warm enough for some deck sitting, Pat arrived with more treasures that she has cleaned from her cupboards, and it gave us a chance to visit...Pam also stopped by, so the three of us could do some catching up...Luckily, late afternoon on the deck was warm and inviting, a perfect afternoon in the company of my best friends.

Photos from the passed week are more loaves of bread, a bouquet of peonies, (that may be the last for this summer) and also a photo of the last small bunch of asparagus (the last) and a new head of broccoli, so sweet, that Herb even liked it!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

A few brave souls, at the Thursday night music.

Asparagus and Broccoli

Two of the 6 loaves of bread, pre baking.

Peonies are beyond gorgeous this year!