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| Little Canyon fills with smoke |
The
weekend was uneventful as Mike unpacked, cleaned, and put away his gear. Of
course, a big part of his work was to clean and service his motorcycle so that it’s
ready for the next outing. Perhaps the most exciting family events were late
afternoon trips to the beach to exercise the dogs. Bess loves to retrieve a
ball from the water. Nellie has lost interest in retrieving and just explores
the beach, venturing into the water only once or twice to cool off.
“Meanwhile,
back at the ranch,” another hot, dry week took its toll on my garden. You may
recall that the dogs and I came to the farm on Staycation Day 2 (Monday, July
25), and it’s a good thing we did. If I hadn’t watered at that time, my garden
would have shriveled up in the heat and that quart of strawberries I picked and
put in the freezer would have been lost. The vegetation in the tires (tomatoes,
zucchini, and strawberries) suffered most while the garden in the railroad fared
better. I picked a handful of tomatoes from the “Sweet 100” bush, and the
yellow summer squash is setting on. 
Anyway,
it’s cooler and windy – 80 this afternoon with the wind speed peak now reading
29 mph. There’s that tinge of autumn in the air.
Mike
just can’t relax if there’s work to be done, so he mowed and trimmed the yard. He
set up the hammock, but the wind interfered with his rest.
Nellie
and I went down the lane to check the black hawthorn berries. I picked a few,
but they are mostly past now – shriveled on the branches. Nellie was very brave
to go with me because the fresh gravel hurts her feet. Bess opted to stay behind with Mike.
They’re
cutting the grain at the old Wright place, but there won’t be a harvest here
this year. I have missed watching the ripening grain. The landscape owes its
beauty to the various phases of the maturing crops. Our fields are barren and
it doesn’t feel right.
P.S. It is smoky here and getting worse right now. KLEW-TV, Lewiston, reports that the smoke is from a wildfire near Moses Lake, WA. KW
3 comments:
Hi, Kathy! Glad your garden survived the heat - been hot and muggy here too for weeks until yesterday. Happy to hear that Dad returned safe and sound, and am not surprised to see him on top of the chores immediately. Hope that means that his back is OK. Looking forward to reading more about his adventures in OR and CA!
Hi Murray! So good to hear from you!
Yes, your dad is getting ready to write about his great N. California adventure. Today he finally feels he's on top of the chores and us taking a rest day -- not even a bike ride.
Think of you often. Thanks so much for the comment.
Poor Nellie needs dog shoes. I should bite the bullet and get her some. Maybe you could send me her paw dimensions.
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