After Christmas thaw

The temperatures are finally staying above freezing, the snow is melting, just very slowly. It seems like the weather is getting back to normal now; mid 40's and rainy by day and mid 30's and rainy at night. I felt comfortable enough to drive to work today as the roads were clear though it is odd to see all the mounds of snow piled in parking lots. I'm just not used to seeing that much snow!!

The ladies have even decided it is safe to emerge from their box, they have been pretty much hibernating since the snow started getting above their ankles. Now they can at least maneuver from one bare parch of ground to another and dodge the snow piles....

It was like a second Christmas when Santa's second delivery arrived. Phoenix got to open her rawhide bones, which she has been exuberantly thrilled to gnaw on all evening and Russ and I love our various items from the Sautee-Nacooche area! Phoenix even took a moment to pose for the camera with the bone hanging out of her mouth... I thought it made a pretty funny picture!

Merry Christmas!

We woke up to a white Christmas... well, that was no surprise, considering there is darn near 1 foot of snow on the ground and temperatures have not gotten above freezing for the past 2 weeks. We have been enjoying all the snow. It is a novelty for the Georgia gal but mister for Alaska it is a refreshing return to normalcy.

A Christmas memory for me is trying really hard to go to sleep Christmas eve night and then waking up really early Christmas morning to view the loads of presents under the branches that Santa had brought. The most difficult part was lying in bed watching the clock at 5 am and debating if it was a reasonable hour to wake up anyone else. One year my brother and I agreed to wake each other up, no matter what time it was, just so we could turn the lights on and look at the tree before Mom and Dad got up. No matter how quiet we were, some how they seemed to know we were stirring and would be up not long after we were up and about.

Well, Christmas morning is not all that much different in the Schuchman household. We have two kids... furkids as we call them... except they don't really concern themselves with being quiet or not waking us up in the morning. And they don't save it for Christmas day, it is every morning they are anxious to get up and get moving. We slept in till about 6:30 and then the pacing began. So we got up and got some breakfast for the furkids and then marveled at our little Christmas tree and all the brightly wrapper packages underneath. After Max and Phoenix went through their morning routine of eating, going out and coming back in, they realised the tree looked different and Max in particular new what was going on. He remembered Christmas last year, both puppies got treats in their stockings and packages to un wrap. Max will actually help open a gift, if you ask him too. He was ready to dish out present for us, that morning! And some how he knew which present was for him. He carefully pulled down the one with his name on it and looked at us for the okay to take off the paper. He thoroughly enjoyed his new chew toy, it was his focus all morning.

Phoenix had some cookies she could enjoy while Max happily chewing away on his new toy. Part of Santa's delivery got held up due to the snowy/windy/icy conditions and her package was in the second box. She is a pretty easy going dog, though, edible things are just as exciting to her (or maybe even more so) than a new chewy toy.

Russ and I continued to enjoy opening presents and chattering about the things we'd received and then goatherd our selves up to head to Lucky and Jade's for Christmas dinner. They are to the north of us and had received even more snow so we took our snow shoes and sled just in case...

It was a good thing! There was a little path worn in the snow from the back door to the car, and that was it. The path was about 2. 5 feet deep. Russ and I put on our shoes to go anywhere other than the path and we needed them. The stuff was powdery and deep! It was fun trekking around in it. Jade and I even built a substantial snow man and went for a little bit of sledding down a small hill. The toughest part was getting back up the hill in the deep snow! Lucky and Russ built a snow pile of their own and we even had a small snow ball skirmish.

It was a very enjoyable Christmas Day!

Christmas Eve

...and there is still snow!! Though we are supposed to warm up to 36 today. Butmore snow coming tonight and into tomorrow.... looks like we are going to have a white Christmas! Russ took me out to the barn again today. He wanted to go for a ride in the snow!

A Snow Situation...

Here it is Monday and there is still snow! I'm not talking about the remnants from snow that has come and is now on the way out, I'm talking about snow that comes, doesn't melt and more comes in on top of it! I've never lived in that kind of snow!! The wet air came in and was not strong enough to move out the cold gore air blasting from the east so the Portland/Vancouver area got more snow! Saturday started with about 2 inches with an ice crust on top. Phoenix was surprised when she went charging out the door after breakfast and the ice went "crack" and then she went "thump" as it broke and her feet sunk in after each step. I have a list of things I wanted to do before the snow melted and building a snow man was one of them. Well, I settled for a snow Muppet. The picture doesn't do him justice. He has a red pepper beak, rosemary feather tufts and rose hips for eyes. Quite the character! Here he is again Sunday morning, he gained a few pounds over night! We got another good 4 inches over night! Then more came down again today. Russ kindly took me out to the barn again Saturday and today. Saturday I was determined to take Warren for a ride. The arena footing wasn't too frozen so after a good warm up, we rode for quite awhile. Russ did some shopping while I got in some good quality barn time. After spending all day cooped up Sunday, we were both a little stir crazy on Monday. Both of our offices were closed while the cities were figuring out how to deal with all the snow on the roads. That meant Russ and I could head off for an adventure. Of course we ended up at the barn again. And there was even more snow! I let Warren out in one of the pastures to romp, he seemed a little bewildered as to what to do, there was no grass to munch and he is not much of a frolicker. He settled for licking snow!

Critters in the cold

Warren is happy as can be in the cold weather. I put a heavier blanket on him after fighting a frozen lock and a frozen horse trailer door earlier this week. (And to Mom and Anna, I haven't changed one bit, if I can get out to the barn, you can bet that I will ride in the rain/sleet or snow, with out even thinking!, but out here we have covered arenas so it is not as much of an issue) So yes, I took Warren out for a ride on Tuesday with temperatures in the teens. I bundled up in my awesome warm and toasty fridgaware suit and got him tacked up and warm. When it was time to get in the saddle, I reluctantly peeled off my suit to my fleece lined riding clothes underneath. I rode for about 20 minuets until I started not being able to feel my fingers and toes. As long as you stay moving, the cold isn't too bad, but when you stop you cool off pretty quick. Warren was very content to be plunking around the arena, but I wanted to keep the feeling in my fingers (it is really hard to untack a horse with numb fingers!) so I called it a night and got back into my warm fridgeaware suit. Thursday Russ took me out to the barn and we were greeted with a happy looking fuzzy Belgian standing in the snow with practically a grin on his face.

The hens are another story. They have a nice warm box to get huddled in at night that has been keeping them pretty comfortable when the temperatures are super low. But they are not big fans on putting their feet down in the white cold stuff. They'll scratch for a little while then they'll go perch on anything they can find to keep their feet dry. (Thankfully everyone is done molting and all the feathers are back in place!)

Max loves the snow! He is like a little kid; he can't wait for us to go outside to play with him. He loves catching snow balls, eating snow, rolling in it, anything to play in the snow. Phoenix is a little more mellow about it all. She goes out to play a little bit and is quick to come back in to sit by the window and watch the winter wonderland from inside where it is warm.

It is all about timing

The way I figure it, meteorologists watch two big weather conditions this time of year; the masses of cold air and the masses of wet air. When the 2 hit, it often times generates white stuff falling from the heavens and with it panic and school closures in the Portland/Vancouver area. Most of the time that white flaky freefall doesn't happen. Typically, the wet brings with it warm air and so this area gets the characteristic 40 degree and rainy winters.

This week has been a different story. The cold dry air dipped down from the north significantly, giving Vancouver highs in the low 20's and lows down into low teens with clear skies.

Then Wednesday the wet air rolled in from the south and west bringing bringing with it some not warm enough temperatures to break the freezing temperatures. resulting in, you got it, snow! Actually, Portland got more than SW Washington because of the way the wet air moved in, but even a minuscule amount of snow and freezing temperatures triggers the Southerner in me. I stock up and bury myself in for the duration. To my Alaskan raised husband, it is just another day, so driving to work was not even a question for him. Me on the other hand, I decided not to go anywhere if I had to drive. However, I still had Christmas shopping to do... But ah ha! We live very close to the bus line. I bundled up and caught a bus to the mall. I got all my shopping done and Russ even picked me up! What a guy! Thursday was looking more promising, the temperatures had risen above the freezing mark. I hopped in my truck Thursday morning and got half way to work to find out there are lots of micro climates with all sorts of variable weather! I hit snow and lots of it. I turned the truck around and puttered home with white knuckles. I did stop by the store to pick up some baking and Christmas wrapping essentials. When Russ got home, he very kindly took me out to see Warren, who is happy as can be standing out in the snow watching the flakes fall.

It is now Friday morning and we again woke up to snow and border line freezing temperatures. There is about an inch on the ground now. Schools have been closed for 3 days making an extra long holiday break for the students. The cold air isn't letting up over the northwest and there is a huge mass of wet air predicted to move in from the coast by Saturday bringing even heavier snow. Russ put snow tires on his truck, he'll pick up more milk and bread on the way home and I'm hunkern down at the house with the doggies for the "Arctic Blast!"

Plug it in

We've been getting pretty chilly the last few days. "Arctic Blast" is what the media has dubbed this fine bout of weather conditions. Bitter cold works for me. Low teens at night and maybe reaching mid 20s by day. BRRR! Ferguson, my dern good 4x4 Dodge powered with the mighty Cummins Diesel has even been grumbling about being started on these bitter cold mornings. Russ recalled seeing a plug in the engine compartment, so he suggested we plug it in over night. HAH! I never thought I'd live in a place where I'd need something like that. However, it has made Fergie a very happy truck. Ya see, that plug is connected to a little heater in the engine block. The heater keeps the water warm in the block and the engine starts much easier in the morning. Not that I am likely to be going anywhere if the weather does waht they are saying it is going to do, but Russ might end up driving it too...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

ARCTIC BLAST! WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY, STORM WATCH, SNOW ALERT..... The Portland news gets pretty excited when there is a possibility for treacherous cold weather. Be sure you take care of your pets, protect your faucets, don't drive anywhere if you have to.... The weather forecasters kept predicting the possibility for snow this weekend. As we went into Saturday night with temperatures hovering around 36 degrees we were feeling pretty sceptical. The weather shifted around last night and we woke up to a light covering of snow this morning and the temperatures have been falling ever since. We have been having on and off snow showers and lots of wind. The mountains are counting their snow covering in feet now, which makes the skiers happy. Russ and I took Max on a short run to the Ace Hardware down the street for a Christmas tree stand. The phones were ringing off the hook with questions on faucet insulators, they were all sold out at 9:30! We came home and I have been decorating all morning! It is easy to get in the Christmas spirit with the snow blowing around outside.

Molting Chickens

Russ was quite alarmed to discover feathers all over the pen and two white birds, Hazel and Scratch with no tail feathers one afternoon in October. He thought there was something seriously wrong with the ladies, as they had been attacked or severely frightened. It turns out, this is a normal thing for hens. It is not that different than a hairy animal shedding it's coat. The process just looks rather disconcerting on a chicken as they tend to have bald patches and exposed feather shafts. Molting is quite a natural and regular process for a bird. However, since they are spending all that energy to molt, the egg production ceases to exist. I broke down and bought eggs at the grocery store the other day; they don't taste the same at all!

Ice Caves at Mount Adams

The weather has brought us a welcome break of cool sunshiny days, quite a contrast from the dark, rainy winter weather that seemed to have settled in since late October. Russ and I decided to take advantage of the nice day and make an adventure east up past Trout Lake, Washington and into the Mount Adams wilderness. Our destination: The Ice Caves. There is an ancient lava tube that had a tendency to hold cold air in the winter time and keep the caves at freezing temperatures all summer. The ground water leaking through the ceiling and floors makes some amazing ice sculptures in the cold air. So we packed up some warm gear, flashlights, and Max (Phoenix is still recovering from a leg injury and has been given the huge responsibility of guarding the sofa - it is an important job to make sure it doesn't leave the house!) and set out on our journey to the caves. Of course a trip east means a venture through the Columbia Gorge, and over to the "east side" where the air is drier and the landscape is noticeably different.

Trout Lake is a small mountain community that is peaceful and quite. I have spent sometime in the area working with the dairy farmers who live there, so I am already familiar with it's slow easy going pace. Russ found the atmosphere just as appealing. Once we left town and headed off onto forest roads, we found the wilderness to be just as peaceful and serene. Upon arrival at the caves, we equipped ourselves with lights and headed into the cave.

At the end of our decent of the stairs into the abyss, we were greeted with large boulders to climb over and then amazingly icy floors. The air was quite cold and damp for being "the drier side" of Washington. Russ has a wonderful assortment of lights from flooding beams to spotlights that would illuminate different aspects of the cave and the ice. Since it was the end of fall and the cold air in the cave had not been re established from the winter, yet, the ice formations were not all that spectacular, but there were a few beautiful and interesting structures to observe while in the dark.

After navigating over large boulders for a little while, and evaluating and comparing beams of various flashlight from the small collection Russ brought with him, we re surfaced into the light again. We were greeted by a family who missed the group they were to connect with for a tour of the caves. The elementary school - aged daughter was looking a little bummed that she was not going to be able to see the caves as she had no flashlight, and her parents were not too keen on making the excursion on their own. However, they were in luck, Russ and I were able to help in that department! We took the family back down in the cave and while the parents stood timidly at the foot of the steps with Russ, the gal and I went back into the caves to explore. We were not able to help them find their group, but we were able to assist in sharing with on our excursion.


Our next stop was to the natural bridges, just up the road. This was another ancient lava tube that had formed but collapsed, leaving some solid places and some deep gullies. The solid places made bridge structures over the gullies. It is a pretty neat phenomenon.

Portland Bike Ride

Sunday was one of the last beautiful fall days in October. Russ and I decided we needed to do something outside to absorb the last bit of sunshine. So we took our bikes to his office, in downtown Portland. From there we rode along the waterfront (on the Willamette River- which flows north through Portland and empties into the mighty Columbia - how is that for confusing?) all the way into down town, crossed the river and then back again. We stopped at a small cafe for sandwiches on the way home. It was a beautiful clear day and there were lots of folks out enjoying it. There were joggers, bikers, dog walkers, strollers, hikers, wheelchairers, rollerbladers, and skateboarders. The path was busy, but somehow everyone managed to not run over each other and all traffic seemed to flow well.

Aiport observations on my travel to Savannah

I went to Savannah this past week to celebrate Ben and Danielle's wedding. I left Portland on Thursday about 9 AM (10/9) on a little prop plane to Seattle, it was a short, very entertaining flight. The two flight attendants were actually stand up comics (or they had me and the rest of the flight convinced of it at any rate) and just did the stewards thing on the side. The gals were absolutely a joy with their witty comments, big smiles and their light spirited safety information shpeel. It was a fun way to start the journey. When I got to Seattle, I hiked across the airport and found the gate from which my next plain was departing. In the Sea-Tac airport there are numerous coffee shops, the most popular being Starbucks of course. Northwesterners take their coffee pretty seriously, ya know. Another interesting observation is the presence of built in recycling receptacles to all trash cans in both Portland and Seattle., no recycling to be found in the busy Atlanta airport.
The 4 hour plus flight to Atlanta was a loooooong squished to the window sort of flight. Thank goodness Delta had free satellite TV. Me and Rachel Ray had a good time in the kitchen and I have oodles of design and storage ideas for our house, thanks to the Home and Garden channel. As soon as I stepped off the plane, there was no doubt I was back in the southeast, I could easily shed the winter layers in which I started my journey.
After finding a bite to eat at the Checkers, I found my gate and the sat to people watch in Atlanta for a good 3 hours. Then it was time for another short plane trip to Savannah. There must have been a Red Hat Society convention happening in Savannah that weekend too. There were all sorts of ladies sporting their purple and red wear. There where several carrying red hat boxes while they sported red visors, purple wraps, red shoes or purple sweaters. There was even a gal with purple overhauls. I am sure the whole crew was in for a fabulous fun gathering in Savannah.
As we approached Savannah, I could see lightning flashes in the distance. It was a good ol southern thunderstorm that we were flying into.
We landed safely, the rain must have just passed as there was a smell of rain on the air but nothing falling to the ground. I waited for all the red and purple and black bags as they were carried around the baggage claim carousel and no bag looked familiar to me. Then came the dreaded "final bag" sign and I still had no luggage. So I wandered over to the Delta office, and there was my bag sitting waiting for me. I guess it took a different flight to get to Savannah. My brother was waiting for me and we journeyed to his house. By then it was 11:30 PM. Long day.

It is hard to resist a sprinkler on a hot summer's day...

Really, who doesn't want to go running through the sprinkler on a hot muggy summer afternoon? This family had the right idea!! (Make sure the sound is on when go to this link.)

http://www.maniacworld.com/twin-baby-moose-in-sprinkler.html

Garden Harvest

Well, it looks like we are going to have a little longer summer, at least this week. We are getting promises of mid 80 degree temps for the next few days. I hope that is enough to get the big healthy green Brandywine tomatoes to turn red. We have been getting yellow squash, butternut squash, peas, red peppers, chili peppers, broccoli, lettuce, basil, dill and 2 varieties of cherry tomatoes pretty regularly. The mystery squash plant that has sprawled out of the boxes and all over the yard are pumpkins! There are 2 mighty fine looking pumpkins on the verge of turning orange. I bet we'll have more by Halloween! Oh yeah, speaking of crazy squash plants, I have 2 butternut squashes that are making their way down the driveway and out towards the road. Renegade squashes!!! I harvested a cantaloupe today too. It was OOO so tasty! I am really thrilled to have grown these plants, it's tough to do in this climate. I have 4 more on the vine that will be ready soon, it seems. I have really enjoyed watching my garden grow this year and been even more delighted with the tasty bounty it has been providing Russ and I this summer. If only I can figure out how to keep the hens in the front yard to help with bug control! (it's been hard enough keeping them in the back yard; Fern has been jumping the fence into the neighbors yard!) Never a dull moment on the suburb farm!

It's not summer without a trip to the beach!

I got together with a group of horse buddies and took Warren and Phoenix to the coast for a few days last week. We stayed in an Oregon State park that catered to campers, bikers and horse folks alike. It was a lovely few days.

I brought a friend of mine with me from Wintergreen farm, where we board. She has a 3 year old draft cross named Special.

We got to our camp site Tuesday afternoon just in time for the tide to be out which makes for great beach riding. We took a short ride letting the wide eyed Special take in the sand, the salt and the sound of the ocean. Warren had seen the beach once before so he did not seem to surprised with the scene when we got to the top of the sand dune. We took a stroll in the wet sand where the waves hand washed it smooth. It did not take long for even the horses to become soothed by the rhythmic sounds of the ocean. Even though Warren and Special are both comfortable with water, water that moved rapidly towards their feet was a new concept to them, it took a few walking forward and running backward maneuvers until the two of them figured out that they were not going to be attacked by watter approaching them.

Tuesday night we had a potluck dinner with the rest of the gang and hung out for awhile enjoying stories from the season's competitions. Then we all turned in for the night. Warren and Special each got their own corral at our campsite and while Lea camped out next to her horse, a wet, sandy Phoenix slept with me in the horse trailer. (While the horses initially had a little apprehension about the water, Phoenix had no aversion whatsoever; she plopped right in with typical wallowing Phoenix grace and style)

About 2 AM I woke to the sound of rain. It was a little cool and the horses had no roof over their heads so I felt compelled to go through a rain sheet on them. So I used one of the handy super bright flashlights that I had been so lovingly equipped and got the horses tucked in a little snugger for the rest of the night. By the time we started thinking about getting going in the morning, the rain had let up and there was blue sky tyring to break through. After an easy breakfast, Lea and I took the horses down to the beach walk in hand (no riding). As I suspected, Warren couldn't resist the soft sand, he had a lovely roll in the soft stuff. Special had an exciting romp on the beach when her lead line broke and she got a chance to run around freely. Fortunately, she had deiced that Warren was her buddy and after running around Lea in a few circles, she wasn't too interested in getting out of her pal's sight and Lea was able to catch her easily enough. Wednesday afternoon turned out to be beautiful so Lea and I went for another ride, we rode all the way down to Nahlem Bay. It was quite exhilarating to be cantering along the beach with the rhythm of waves crashing on shore and the sounds of two pairs of thunderous hoof beats drumming along.

Early Thursday morning we went for one last ride on the beach before heading home. It was a beautiful morning with the tide and the fog headed out and the sun rising to warm the day. We had a fun time on the coast and look forward to the next time we will return!

Russ the Inventor

Russ loves designing and creating ways to improve the function of a particular tool, widget or gadget. From door knobs to the bathroom shower curtain, our house is full of thoughtful fixes that make living just a little more efficient. This affiliation for engineering has carried over into his hobbies as well. Most of the flashlights in our house (of which there are many, as Russ is an avid collector of high performance flashlights), are modified to hold ultra bright LEDs, run off lighter batteries or just turn on and off better.

Did you know there is an entire community across the nation that is just as interested in flashlight mods as Russ!!? Well my dear husband has tapped into the community and is learning all kinds of information!!! He has even found a flashlight friend locally in the Portland area! The share all kinds of flashlight stuff. In the past 8 months Russ has been mentioning the need for a lathe to make more flashlight parts for his modifications. With this piece of machinery, he can make even more customized parts. Besides the fact it is another piece of machinery to figure out how to work. It just so happens that our friendly neighborhood craigslist had exactly what he was looking for at a real bargain of a price! In the last few weeks, Russ has not only figured where to get parts and how to run the lathe but he also managed to turn out a large number of flash light parts too - woo - hoo!!

Happy Birthday!!!

We celebrated Russ and our friend Jade's birthdays on the lake in early August. It's not a party on the party barge without balloons and party hats, so I made sure we had both! There was recycled cake (Erica's sister's wedding cake leftovers) and hamburgers cooked with plastic forks (it makes grilling way more exciting!!) and tubing fun to be had by all!!

August Already!?

So here we are in August and the garden is really taking over the yard!!Seems like the last few weeks all the greenery has exploded! I have tomatoes sprawling everywhere, The broccoli is trying to take over and the volunteer mystery plants (squash, pumpkin, or cucumber, I'm not sure yet) is creeping out of the boxes and sprawling all over the yard!! It's great!!! There are lots of green tomatoes promising to turn ripe soon and my little plant of sungolds is producing tasty sweet tomatoes regularly now. I even found a surprise when I was watering the other day, a fist sized cantaloupe growing under the leaves, yipee! I might have a melon by the end of the season, how exciting!!!

Russ and I did something really fun today. We met up with a friend of ours to go on a horse back riding adventure. It is called a trail trial and it was put on by the Oregon Equestrian Trails group. It's basically a trail ride through cow pastures but along the way there are all kinds of horse obstacles; maneuvering through "the car wash", dragging logs, walking over logs, moving around balls, approaching mailboxes, navigating through a course of balloons, etc... Kimberly, our pal, has a youngster that needed some exposure to new obstacles and she happened to have an extra horse to ride if Russ wanted to ride too. So we hauled Warren down to a ranch along the Columbia River and went for a ride. We encountered all sorts of fun obstacles, Warren bravely stuck his nose on most of them, Jubee, the youngster was doing good to just see them from a distance and Dodge (how appropriate I was riding Dodge!!) was a pro at opening the mail box (though the instructions were to side pass to the mailbox allowing the rider to be close enough to open it to retrieve the Tootsie rolls) Dodge thought it was way more fun to walk up to the mail box and open it himself! It was a really fun day all the way around!

Back on the homestead; I have managed to find a way to keep the girls in their pen, they aren't too thrilled with it, but Fern has gone past just laying eggs in random places in the yard. She was jumping the fence and hanging out in the neighbor's yard. That is not okay! So now the chickens are confined we aren't home and they let me know exactly how they feel about it, too! burrawk cluck cluck brrraaawk sqwaaak squaaaak.....

Blasting through July

I can't believe it is already past the mid point of July! At least it is finally starting to feeling like Summer around here! On a very hot late June weekend we went out on Lake Merwin for the maiden voyage of Jade's party boat dubbed the strawberry el-De barge. It is a floating deck and a wonderful addition to the fleet. We tootled around the lake which was very high and had a mass of drift wood floating around in it. The barge pushed right through paving the way for other boats. The snow was still melting off the volcano so the water was VERY cold but by the sweltering afternoon we were all ready to get at least our feet wet. I pulled on my wet suit and eased myself into the water. Yeah, that is amazing, I was in before Russ and after drying off and baking in the sun, got in for another dip. It was a hot day!!

The garden is growing away! I have hopes of red tomatoes.. there are lots of promising green ones appearing from yellow blooms and I also have yellow squash and a few peppers that are almost ready. The cantaloupe is looking pretty good too.



Strawberry season is over, all the road side strawberry stands are closed and getting ready for raspberries and blue berries. I got a flat of the tasty strawberries from a local grower to freeze as I am the only one who enjoys strawberries in the house. I made several tasty strawberry milkshakes with some of the fresh ones too. I picked up some rhubarb from another local road side stand (my rhubarb is looking a little pathetic right now) so I decided to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie. I was quite impressed how it came out. Yum!

Russ and I have been going on low key local adventures, we take short bike rides, went miniature golfing, and pretty much just hanging out the last few weeks. He is staying pretty busy with a deck construction project too. Other than that, there really hasn't been too much going on. I took Warren to a horse show yesterday, which was a long day but a pretty fun time (I write about my horse stuff on another site: http://members.horsecity.com/warrenpeace/ )

I need to figure out how to keep the hens in their coop during the day. They start out there in the morning and somehow figure out how to get free and are running all over the yard in the afternoon. It wouldn't be that big a deal except they have taken to laying their eggs around the yard. I found one of their nets, but I think either the dogs have learned about it too or they have found a new hiding spot to lay them as we have not been getting any eggs the last few days.

Summer at last!

The temperature finally got more summery in Washington and the tomatoes and I are thankful. I got so inspired about the warmer temperatures and the opportunity for things to grow that I had to make more room to plant things! At first it started as tilling up more lawn in the front yard. Then the thought shifted to making a lasagna garden in the back yard in a newly observed sunshiny spot near the house. Lasagna gardening is the method of layering compost and peat moss on top of the soil then planing in the layers instead of digging down into the soil- works great on lawns (start with wet cardboard or a heavy layer of newspapers to act as weed cloth) After some consideration about the chickens and the dogs and the fence building that would need to be done in addition to the major scoring of some free 6'x8' lumber from a restaurant who had just redone their front stair entrance, Russ and I decided we could install a few more raised beds in the front yard while still using the lasagna methods. Russ came up with a unique design of triangles to complement the original square foot garden. I got the basic run down of the tools I'd need and where to find them then it was handed over as my project. Weee! Power tools, air wrench, dirt and hot sun! By Saturday afternoon I had 3 new boxes.



Sunday I shuffled compost and horse manure around while Russ mowed down the ever growing and too much shade providing shrub by the driveway. By Sunday afternoon I had a garden spot for strawberries, cantaloupe (I know it is tough to grow here but I am giving it a shot!) broccoli, more tomatoes, bell peppers, basil, dill, parsley, lettuce, spinach and carrots.