JULY 1 AND BUSY BUSY BUSY

Here we are at our farm in the hills of north central Idaho and trying to make up for time lost to trips and cool weather. I checked out my collection of seeds and planted my raised bed in carrots, lettuce, beans and a couple of lemon cucumbers.

Speaking of cool weather, it's back again. The overnight low here was 48; the high today was 78. I wore a sweatshirt until late afternoon when I took Nellie for her walk. And I have yet to put away my winter pajamas. But, you know what they say about northern Idaho: you can't depend on summer until after the Fourth of July.



Mike did a lot of yard work and was otherwise industrious. Here he is fixing the closer on the back door. And below he's painting a window facing on the south of the house. He works under two mottos: "It's always something" and "Nothing is ever easy."










Three cherries on the little sour cherry tree look as though they might mature. I actually swathed the fencing in netting until I realized there's really no reason to try to protect three cherries from the birds.


The raspberry patch is more sincere than it has ever been -- loaded with potential berries and also producing canes. Life is good . . .




Farmer Kyle was here yesterday fertilizing with his huge equipment. Mike and I had to chuckle because a previous farmer did the same thing with a 4-wheeler. Sorry I don't have a picture of that for comparison.



The wheat looks so good right now. Rumor has it that an old-time farmer here says he has never seen it looking so good at this time of year.





Lastly -- take a look at this toadstool that I found under a pine tree in the grove. I think this is the spot to build my fairy village. KW

HALLIE WAS HERE!

Our girl Hallie was here last weekend, including Father's Day. One of the accounts she manages for her Seattle-based employer is a Lewiston business. She flew into Lewiston Thursday afternoon, attended an employee benefits fair at the Lewiston business Friday afternoon, and visited a friend from high school days Friday evening. Saturday we went to the farm for an overnight stay. She flew back to Seattle Sunday evening.

Hallie always brings treats to Nellie. Here Nellie waits patiently as Hallie unwraps a special organic dog treat.



Hallie weeds the raspberry patch on the farm as Nellie ponders something -- possibly a rodent.





Hallie suggested a wider fence for the cherry tree we planted this spring. The deer had munched it here and there -- not badly, but we certainly want to protect it. I grated some Irish Spring bar soap and we attached it to the fencing. Worth a try.


Hallie and Mike return from a walk with Nellie in the lead. A family backpacking trip is planned for the first week in August. Practice is in order.



Lovely yellow wild roses grace Curfman Road. We would like to transplant some to our yard, but they are very "stickery." I don't know if I could start from a slip or not, but I might be able to dig up a very young shoot. These are on the road right-of-way, and I know the county wouldn't care. These wild roses can be problematic.


Mike left yesterday morning (Wednesday, 6-24) for the coast to complete his motorcycle geocaching tour of Oregon, taking the camera with him. Mike and I have a "share and share alike" philosophy that works most of the time. You'll just have to imagine me sewing, gardening, and walking the dog. Summer seems to be here, so Nellie and I are taking our walk early in the day while the air is cool. Even so, she became overheated this morning and unapologetically plopped herself into a mud puddle. I had to wash her down. KW

COUNTRY REPORT

These are pictures I took during our recent stay at the farm. We're in town now, and Mike is packing for a four-day county-by-county geocaching tour of Oregon by motorcycle. I'm staying out of his way.

This cool, wet spring, if not appealing to humans, seems to be good for the young Montmorency sour cherry tree we planted. I believe I see new growth. We probably could have planted the evergreens after all. We were just afraid of drought conditions.




Several years ago, when neighbor Pete was tearing down the old Wright home, he said I could have any of the flora I wanted, and I transplanted some iris to our house. This year it rewarded me by blooming profusely.



But sadly, Grandma Ina's old spirea bush is dying. The rodents burrowed into the roots, killing it. I felt badly until I realized that the spirea grows abundantly there on the farm. If we choose to replace it, it will be a simple matter of transplanting a bush. Perhaps it's even time for renewal of this treasured bush.

We were grateful to see that the recent rains somewhat filled the pond, which means the old cistern also has more water. We use the cistern water to irrigate plantings around the house in the hot summertime.

Here's evidence of a bit of country politics. This new stop sign was installed a couple of months ago. Why? Is it because of increased traffic? No, it's because a couple of the neighborhood country roads were re-named -- adjusted somewhat -- supposedly to better configure them. The problem is that it's really one road, but the Curfmans don't want to live on Miller Road, and the Millers don't want to live on Curfman Road. Since the abrupt name change now occurs midway the road, a stop sign was placed to mark the end of one road and the beginning of the other. This is one stop sign we won't be heeding. No need to -- honest.

And if you're familiar with this corner, maybe you notice another change. The old Richardson homeplace was torn down this spring. It's sad to see the old places go away but really no sadder than seeing them deteriorate beyond practical repair. I believe the house had been uninhabited since the late 1950s. I'd love to have this old gate, and look at that profusion of iris. Maybe I'll ask the owner if I can lift a few for my iris bed. KW

TRIP TO TOWN

Mike had to go to Orofino this morning. (Orofino is my hometown -- 10 miles down the steep and winding, narrow Gilbert Grade from the old Dobson home place which we call the farm.) On the way into town we stopped in the park so that I could take pictures of the Clearwater River -- high and swift as the result of spring rains. Fortunately a levee system now keeps the river from flowing into the park and the low spots in the center of town.

These stairs ordinarily provide access to the river bank from the levee walkway between the park and the river. Now the water covers the bottom steps.




Turn left at the end of the bridge to go to Missoula (150 miles) or right to Lewiston (42 miles).




This picture was taken from the bridge looking back to the tree in the first photo.





One of the lawnmower tires wouldn't hold air, so we dropped it off at Les Schwab. We were there when I took this picture. Can you see the bare brown spot on the hill in the center of the photo? That spot is on the Gilbert Grade.



Then we went on to Napa Auto Parts where Mike was successful in finding a part he needed for the old lawnmower. Again, from that parking lot I took a picture of "the hills of home." You can see the same bare spot -- look hard.


It seemed warmer in Orofino than at the farm. Mike took his sweater off. The sun was shining in that interval of time, but as we returned to the farm, dark clouds to the west rolled in and it commenced to pour. I took a few pictures anyway. Here fog drifts across the north field.




Darkness came over the yard. And that's the way it's been for the past week. We just think it's going to clear up, and another storm rolls through. KW

TAGGING ALONG TOGETHER

"Maybe we should just make a quick run to the farm," I said yesterday (Wednesday morning). "Maybe so," rejoined Mike. Our schedule for the next week will keep us in town, but Mike had left his prescription glasses on the dining room table last week and he also wanted his logging cables. "We can check on the cherry tree and water it," I said. "And go to the cemetery," Mike added.

By midmorning we were ready and the three of us (don't forget Nellie) set off in the Dakota. We stopped by the Dollar Tree where I bought a few bouquets for the cemetery at Gilbert.

We were at the farm by 11:00 or so. I headed to the vintage sewing room where I quickly reviewed my patterns while Mike removed the blade from the riding mower for sharpening in town and gathered the things he wanted.

I watered the cherry tree which continues to look good in this cool growing season, counting 13 cherries this time -- still not enough for a pie. Trouble is, if it should suddenly turn warmer without moisture, the little tree could be stressed and we want to prevent that if we can. So I gave it several gallons of water.

Next I cut purple iris and made one live bouquet for the cemetery. "For my dad," I remarked to Mike. "He'd do it for me." I just don't have enough real flowers to make more than one live bouquet, but I would if I could. I remember fondly the days when lilacs bloomed abundantly in this place. It didn't bother me to cut the purple iris. They have reached their peak and are slowly going away. Grandma Ina loved the wild roses. I saw plenty of them as we drove up the Clearwater but they aren't in bloom yet at higher elevations.

On our way back to town we made our planned stop at the Gilbert Cemetery where fifteen ancestors / family members have markers. I didn't have enough bouquets to remember all of them and Mike teased me a bit about that. No one else had been to the old cemetery to show their remembrance -- and the cemetery is old enough that not many come by any more -- but then, it's early yet for Memorial Day. We just won't be back this way over the weekend. Mike has tickets to the NAIA baseball tournament at Lewis-Clark State College, which will begin Friday and last – well, however long.

Arriving back in Lewiston, Mike stopped for gas and I took these pictures from a vantage point above Thain. You can see the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers in the left photo. The one below shows the Clearwater and the confluence. And, of course, it's a good shot of a commercial area, which I usually avoid, but such pictures do have value as time passes. I learned that through my work at the museum.

Mike's plans to get wood with Ken today were cancelled due to the downpour of rain. Hallie said it was raining hard in Seattle yesterday afternoon, and sometimes that means rain will follow in the inland areas. Sure enough!

So what have I been doing? Practicing machine embroidery and planning a few posts, though Mike gets the next one. And – I finally got up the courage to register on eBay and am learning the ins and outs of bidding. Hallie volunteered to help me with my bidding interests, but I decided to step up to it myself. My theory is that you have to keep living life as independently as you can. If you become too dependent on your children, they'll show up one day to take you to the home. So what am I bidding on – dolls, of course, but that's a work in progress and a post for another day. KW

DAFFODILS AT THE DEAR OLD PLACE

The three of us (Mike, Nellie, and I) made a day-trip to the farm yesterday. We took four baby fir trees that we planted in town last year in hopes of giving them a head start, and Mike planted them behind the woodshed near the upside-down outhouse. If the summer is long, hot, and dry, we will be able to water them and provide extra care.



The first thing I did was to check out the daffodils in the grove. Here you see that the first ones are just beginning to bloom. The process will take three weeks or a month as the various plants come into bloom. The more shaded patches will bloom last. These daffodils may have been planted in the beginning but are growing wild now.



Nellie ambled up as I was taking this picture of my Crown Imperial Frittalaria. A relatively expensive bulb, it emits an odor that is supposed to repel rodents. I planted four and transplanted a number from a neighboring homestead that was being dismantled. However, I can't tell that the rodents are repelled. In fact, I think they were able to hold their noses long enough to chew up my bulbs!


Until a few years ago, Mike cherished fond hopes of a beautiful, lush lawn, seeking advice as to how to go about seeding and caring for it. I finally suggested he leave well enough alone. You can work so hard in this environment and it all comes to naught in a trice. If the deer don't get it, the rodents will. The farmyard amounts to about an acre of ground, so keeping it manageable is important. I'd love to have flowers and vegetables, but my thumb isn't too green and we think of our backs when it comes to back-breaking work. (Or, maybe I should say, we think of Mike's back.) Still, we keep trying and it makes for experience. The soil is clay here, and yesterday we reminded ourselves that there's only a short window of opportunity in the spring when the ground is soft enough to be worked.

So, after we finished our chores – Mike sprayed the lane with ground sterilant and I cleaned out a flower bed and poisoned rodent holes – we took a 4-wheeler ride over the property, Nellie running along with us, before driving back to the valley. Today Nellie is tired and sleeping on her pillow in front of the fire. KW

A PERFECT DAY

Mike and I closed the farmhouse on Monday, December 28. Taking the tree down and storing it before New Year's Day is just wrong in my opinion, but we really had no choice. The artificial tree sits in a window with southern exposure, meaning lots of winter sun, and it does fade the ornaments. I also emptied the refrigerator. I had never thought of it before this "country living" experience, but the refrigerator quits running in a cold environment. It's best to turn it off. Even though we didn't have a lot of left-over food, there were still staples and freezer items to be packed up and assimilated into the refrigerator and freezer in town. And – I also checked the pantry cupboard and packed up cereal and crackers that might become stale over the next months as well as oils which don't freeze well. I like to think of the house as well-stocked, just in case of an emergency, but on the other hand, it's good to rotate food. So, we have plenty of food in our town larder right now. Once we were packed, Mike turned off the water and drained the pipes, flushed and winterized the commodes, turned off the refrigerator – and now we can't use the house until spring, even if we should want to. It's really a nuisance to have to winterize, but it just has to be done. (And yes, we did learn that the hard way.)

But, when we left the farm on the 28th, we had to leave the 4-wheeler behind because it wouldn't start, necessitating a return trip to pick it up. We planned the trip for today – cold but sunny. I was really glad to go. I had a laundry basket full of laundry and such to return, and I had a list of things to pick up – vintage recipe pamphlets, my copy of Laura Ingles Wilder, Farm Journalist; my copy of Eleanor Burns' Egg Money Quilts; a soft-sculpture doll in progress – and Mike had some things on the list, too (dull, uninteresting, useful stuff).

We left about 9:00 and traveled by our favorite route – Hwy 12 to Orofino, then up the Gilbert Grade. Now, the Gilbert Grade is a steep, narrow, gravel road that winds 10 miles from Orofino on the Clearwater River up the mountain to the flat region on top known as Gilbert where our farm home is located. I can think of two individuals who have had anxiety attacks on the grade. And I can think of at least one person who has refused to travel the grade. We seldom hear of accidents, but we did read of one this week. A woman descending the grade had somehow managed to go over at a point near the top. Our Gilbert neighbor and former farmer who is now chief deputy with the sheriff's office saw the tracks, investigated, and brought help in a timely manner. Apparently the woman's injuries were minor. We watched for the exact spot but really couldn't see anything.

"This will be so much easier today if the 4-wheeler will start," commented Mike as we approached the farm. Well, he got his wish. We were relieved that he was able to drive the 4-wheeler onto the trailer. I anticipated as much and didn't dally in unpacking my basket and gathering the things I wanted. The weather station said the outside temp was 26.5 while inside it was 37. We were there about half an hour.

Pulling the trailer, Mike decided to return to the valley via our alternate route which takes us to Hwy 95. Ironically, we saw the most winter of the whole trip on the Winchester Grade – broken snow floor and snowy trees. We had no problems and were home about 1:00. KW