OFF TO TOWN AGAIN / PHASE III FINISHED

So, back to town we went on Thursday (May 27). We dropped two old eyesore chairs off at the landfill in Orofino and carried Grandma Ina’s vintage rocker to the modular home.

 

 

We arrived in town shortly after 9:00. It was warm and pleasantly breezy. The carpet installation (Phase III) was finished, and we are pleased with it. In Phase IV, Mike and I will clean and sort, and in Phase V, we’ll move the furniture back in.

We picked up a few things at the house and traded the old pick-up for the Jeep. Then we went shopping – North 40 for a weedkiller, a tomato plant, and garden seeds; Big Five for my new shoes; and Winco for a few more groceries. You can never have too many groceries at the farm, or that’s the way it seems.

We left town at noon. It was 81 as we passed through Orofino, 73 at the farm. Mike quickly donned his cycling togs and hit the road, hoping to beat the predicted windstorm. I told him he was on his own. I worried about him on Saturday when a storm arose, but by the time I found him, it was all over.

Daughter Hallie and Nick are here now to spend the long weekend. I suppose next week Mike and I will return to the town house to begin Phase IV, but the town forecast is for 101 by Wednesday. KW

PHASE II COMPLETE

Mike has decided to cut back on the mowing here at the farm, so we’re experimenting with a few ideas. This is not a new dilemma. My dad also tried to simplify the yard.  

Mike suggested that we develop a “mini orchard” between the house and the grove. I’m all for it. If you know the yard as it used to be, my dad didn’t mow that area either. Grandma Ina had two pie cherry trees and a pear tree there. The old pear tree remains, but the cherry trees were lost when we remodeled the house – a disappointment. Mike said we could think about this idea, but I said that if we think about it, another year will slip by. We should get started, I said, and apples would be my choice. We already have a “honey crisp” there, but while looks healthy, it doesn’t bear. I think it needs a pollinator. And besides, Hallie and Nick are coming for Memorial Day, and I know they would love to help with the planting.

So, that brings me to Tuesday, May 25. We had to go back to town for food and supplies before Memorial Day, so as we drove in, we stopped at Green Things, the nursery on Riverside (Orofino). They weren’t open, but we peeked at the trees anyway, finding several apple varieties with reasonable pricing. Checking in town, we found the stock low and pricey -- $99 for a Granny Smith!

At the house, we found that the painter had finished, so Mike called the carpet company, and they said that our carpet was in and our job was scheduled for the next two days. Wow! We were so grateful we were in town and could deliver a key to them. Great timing, for once! So, the contractors work will be finished this week, and ours will begin again.

We bought groceries, picked up things at the house, loaded baskets, coolers, boxes, and our new porch rocker into the back of the big old pick-up, and set off for the farm, stopping once again at Green Things where Mr. Mount, the nurseryman, recommended a dwarf Emerald apple tree as a disease resistant pollinator. Mike suggested we buy another variety as well, and we chose the dwarf Freedom. Mr. Mount said that both trees should bear fruit next year. Oh, I do hope so, and maybe the Honey Crisp, too.

But – in our haste at the town house, we walked off without some things we’d like to have, so we’re going back today (Thursday, May 27). We'll carry back a half load of pine firewood from the lifetime supply in the barn, KW

BACK TO THE FARM

We were tired Wednesday night (the 19th) and glad to have a comfortable place to sleep. The only drawback was that on Thursday morning, we had to take the mattress and box springs to the garage ourselves. They don’t have straps, so they were difficult to manage. We rolled them out on Mike’s creeper.

Then we had several hours of work to clean off the kitchen and bathroom counters, pack toiletries, wash the remaining dishes – you know, all that last minute stuff you think won’t take long but really does. I always think of one more thing you mustn’t do.

I just didn’t have time to think much about what we would need at the farm, nor did we have a lot of extra room in the Jeep. I packed some food in the cooler and Mike whisked it off to the Jeep. We left the house after 10:00 and stopped at Albertsons for milk and the 99-cent carton of ice cream. I also ran into JoAnn’s (oh joy!) and was delighted to find the yarn I wanted, which I see as progress in the retail world.

On the grade, we saw a mama duck and her fuzzy ducklings on the side of the road. There must be a pond nearby. Otherwise, we haven’t seen much wildlife, unless you count the mice (we trapped several) and the bunnies. We saw fresh gopher activity, but we didn’t see the gopher.

It was 53 on the river and 43 at the farm – and that’s cold at a time of year when we expect warmth. Remember, last Monday (the 17th), I thought it was summer.

Then we had our start-up farmhouse chores to do. Mike started a fire in the fireplace. We had some initial difficulty getting power to the modem, but eventually we were connected. I baked cookies. He worked out. You know – the usual.

And it commenced to rain, but we need the rain. For the most part, though, it’s just a cold wind. We could use more rain.

So, we’re here without a meal plan, but so far, I’ve been able to feed us. It demands flexibility, and that never hurts. KW

PHASE I COMPLETE

Phase I of “Operation Refresh” (the modular home) is now complete. We have moved everything out of the little house into the garage with the exception of closets and built-in cupboards.

“Well, you actually did it,” exclaimed Mike. “You cleaned out your sewing room.” Oh, but it wasn’t easy! It was many trips back and forth to the storage shed, and I was amazed at what I was able to pack into it. In the end, we just stacked my books (I have many) on a big piece of cardboard on the shed floor. You know how it is – last in, first out, but I have a lot to do before I have to worry about it.

Dealing with the stuff is one thing, but then it comes down to the furniture, and that’s another story. Even though we were only going a few steps from the house to the garage, we had to have help.

On Monday, Mike confirmed dates with both the mover and the painter – the mover for Wednesday the 19^th, the painter for the 20^th. The plan was to move the furniture into the garage, and we carried out as much of the small stuff as we could. Wednesday morning we were ready for the mover, but when he was 15 minutes late, Mike called him. He was mixed up on the day but promised to come as soon as he could.

Meanwhile, Mike and I began the process on our own. We took the coffee table and end tables. Then Mike took the bed frame apart and we moved it out in pieces. Next, we tackled the dresser, which is a big piece but on rollers. And then, we just had to quit. We couldn’t do any more.

The mover was an hour and a half late, and then we had to wait another hour for his helper, during which time Mike and the mover were able to do some prep work and move some things. The hardest piece to move was the big desk in the office. Mike had to remove slats from the door frame in order to get it out.

It was all over by 2:30, and when the mover left, he took our old sofa and loveseat with him for disposal. They served us well for 35 years – way too long.

That left us with one night to spend in the house. Mike brought in the gamer chair he uses to watch sports events on TV for himself and my new porch rocker for me. We left the mattress and box springs in the bedroom, so I made the bed. Then we took our friends Ken and Ginny out to dinner. KW

JUST WHEN YOU THINK ITS SUMMER . . .

It was hot for several days in a row, and I thought summer was here. Being a native North Central Idahoan, I should have known better. The wind came up yesterday afternoon, and as I write, it still shrieks and howls. “Spring-o-ween,” for sure.

As I worked the Sunday word search puzzle on the theme “Springtime,” I was reminded of the lovely spring days of yesteryear. We had these things called “rain showers.” “It’s just sprinkling,” we would say, but it might sprinkle for quite a while. It made the grass green and the spring flowers more fragrant. And flowers were everywhere – daffodils, tulips, iris, lilacs, roses, peonies, pansies – all coming forth according to their season. Mornings and evenings were cool. Afternoons were pleasantly warm.

Well, times have changed. We just don’t get those lovely showers anymore, and we have so much wind. And it can turn hot in ways that hardly ever happened. And we don’t have those prolonged showers. We’re lucky if we get any rain at all. And that means we have more dust.

As for the flowers, I think there were more flower gardens in the world back in the day than there are now. For one thing, it takes time to putter around the garden, and people are busier than they used to be. And for another, in the 1950s, I think we lived by different values. We had “carry-overs” from earlier eras – people of the homesteading generation who were well-versed in the home arts. Their orderly yards and gardens were extensions of their orderly homes. It was what they did, and they took pride in it. And that brings us back to the fact that it was cooler and moister.

My mother always saw to it that I had a raincoat, slip-over boots, and an umbrella. I wasn’t fond of wearing boots, but she insisted. Do I need a raincoat today? No, I have hoodies and windbreakers instead. And I guess I don’t have to tell you that I don’t have rubber boots! KW

 

CLEARING OUT THE MODULAR HOME

Bess sniffs a gopher hole beyond the rhubarb plant

We’re clearing out the little modular home now with the expectation that the furniture will be moved to the garage on Wednesday (the 19^th) and the painter will begin on the 20^th. So, we’re cleaning out hutches, bookcases, and cabinets; transferring this here so that we can put that there; carrying what we can to the garage or the storage shed, a process we don’t especially enjoy. We’re brought face-to-face with decisions we have put off for years – years, I say – and sometimes there’s just nothing you can do but toss the item back into the sea of indecision.

“What should I do with these useless CDs?” I ask.

“Do you know what this cord belongs to?” asks Mike.

The whole thing is just one big disruption to life as I enjoy it, and yes, it matters to me, but Mike says the house will be nicer and more comfortable once it’s refreshed. I wonder.

Anyway, we decided we needed to make a quick trip to the farm, so on Thursday (May 13), we packed the Jeep with stuff, loaded Bess, and set off. It was a lovely day in the mid-70s. It felt good to be there even though the stay was brief. Mike mowed the yard where the grass was high. I puttered along both inside and out. It was a 10,000-step day.

The strawberries appreciated the pruning, fertilizer, and water I gave them last week. The plants are blooming profusely. I rewarded them with more water and even filled the plant nannies.

I didn’t plant any veggies. I’m afraid it’s too late for the spinach.

I pulled rhubarb and put three cups in the freezer.

Small lilac bushes; pear tree

The serviceberry bushes and the apple trees are in bloom. The Lapins cherry tree has finished blooming and I’m anxious to see what fruit will develop. Interestingly, the little “Honey Crisp” tree has some blooms. I’ve never seen it bloom before, but perhaps I just didn’t notice. It won’t develop fruit unless we plant another apple variety closer to it. (Why did I let that nurseryman talk me into this tree?)

Lilac in bloom

The lilacs, now past in the Valley, are beginning to bloom on the farm. The struggling little bushes on the hillside are doing their best. The big bushes in the compound have fewer blooms than in the past. Perhaps it was too cold at the wrong time.

New toilet ready for installation

After lunch, we dashed back to town. To complicate our house project, Mike decided – and rightly so – that NOW is the time to replace the toilet in the master bath. Naturally, he will do this himself with son Clint’s help. So, once we were back in town, we went to Home Depot and bought the toilet of choice, and then he pulled the old toilet out so that he could earn the right to ride his motorcycle to Elk City on Friday.

Today? More carrying stuff out of the house – AND toilet installation. KW