COOL DAYS

Mid-July -- and the weather is still unsettled

It’s just not as warm here as we expect July to be. At 3000 feet above the Clearwater River, lows are around 60 while highs are less than 75. I’m wearing jeans and a sweater. Keeping the house cool has not been a problem. In fact, Mike closed the dining room window as we ate supper last night. As I write, I’m watching dark clouds build. We might get a shower but probably not. Some other place will likely get this shower.

My raised bed gardens seem to be doing well. The beets and lettuce look happy. However, I will say that the beautiful summer squash plants are slow to set on as is the cherry tomato. Perhaps the on-again / off-again heat has confused them. Seems like it no sooner gets warm than another system moves through.

Mike and I spent last weekend in town. On Saturday, Mike cycled 65 miles with a group from Moscow through Deary and back. On Sunday, he and son Clint rode motorcycles to Orofino on Hwy 12 and back through Cavendish. He’s gradually cutting and stacking wood, too, and relaxes by watching the Tour de France.

We returned to the farmhouse on Tuesday (7-16). I had promised the contractor that we would clear our clutter off the sun porch in preparation for the new flooring, thereby saving him a trip. Mike and I accomplished that just as the workmen arrived. In addition to removing the old flooring and placing new underlayment, they performed various finishes around the house, including hanging new blinds in the dining room and master bathroom.

While daughter Hallie was here last week, we swathed the cherry tree with more netting, and I managed to pick a couple of dozen cherries this week. That’s that for this year. It’s tough to keep the birds from feasting on the fruit. Now I’ll remove the netting, and Mike and I will adjust the fencing for the growing tree.

Bess ----------- Kathy --------- Mike

We have seen seven rattlesnakes this summer. They like it hot, you know, so they seem rather lethargic. Bess located one under the boat at the pond yesterday, which Mike caught and removed to another locale. It pays to take care, but we suffer more from the wasps than the snakes. Mike got stung twice at his shed, and he has been miserable!

We had enough strawberries for several shortcakes. I considered that wonderful since the plants received no attention at all last summer, not even picking. My plants are ever-bearing, so we may have berries again before summer’s end.

We suspect a little more rodent activity in the yard. I must check that out. And we think the elk came through over the weekend, leaving calling cards that don’t quite look like deer. KW

OFFICIAL OPENING OF RATTLER SEASON, 2019

As we were walking down the lane this afternoon – on that first steep pitch – Bess took interest in something in the grass. The rattlesnakes like to hang out in that vicinity, so Mike called her back, and yes, we did indeed discover a rattlesnake at the edge of the road. It was coiled and it rattled a bit – rather pathetically, I thought.

We continued our walk, and as we were returning up the pitch with Bess in the lead, she was once again wary at the snake spot. We thought she was just checking because ordinarily the snakes waste no time in moving on after confrontation, but I suggested Mike hurry ahead – just in case. Sure enough, the snake was still there. Oddly, it did not rattle, nor was it really coiled. However, we didn’t pester it.

I came on to the house, got the camera, and found the rattler in the same spot. Now, don’t lecture me because I wasn’t nearly as close to the snake as the photo makes it look.

This last photo indicates the location of the snake – in that clump of grass. And I’ll tell you what else is disturbing – as I was looking around at that spot, I noticed fresh-looking badger holes. And of course, the whole yard is Rodent City, complete with an awesome infrastructure of crisscrossing boulevards and avenues. We also caught the scent of skunk this morning. KW 

BESS SOUNDS THE ALARM

House and grounds from south this morning (Aug. 10). Smoke is worse each day.

Mike left early Wednesday morning (Aug. 9) to motocache along the Lochsa, so the dogs and I had a quiet day. Our morning walk was “out west” – behind the house to the canyon rim. As the morning was slow to warm up, I baked cookies. About 10:45, I closed the house, picked up my picker’s pail, and invited Bess to join me in picking hawthorn berries at the draw. Initially she seemed interested, but uncertainty set in and she decided not to chance it. (She is Butchie’s granddaughter, remember.)

Haws -- August 2

So, down the lane I went to pick berries by myself. I found some lovely reachable branches loaded with berries. Apparently the “haws” are a favorite of the birds because they are disappearing rapidly. As I picked, a little bird sat on a branch within the tree and scolded me.  

Neighbor's place before harvest

I picked about an hour and came back with plenty – about three quarts. Subsequently I poured them into a stockpot, covered them with plenty of water, and simmered them for 20 minutes. The haws are pithy, seedy, and bland, but the homesteader in me just can’t pass up available berries. The first cooking didn’t yield much juice, so I added more water to the berry pulp and cooked again, then strained the juice through cheesecloth. I now have a quart of “hawberry” juice.

Having finished my work, I settled down to quiet activity in the afternoon. While Nellie snoozed on her pillow, I crocheted. Bess was outside.

Taken from the kitchen porch

“Bark. Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark.” Bess’ tone was urgent, but I figured someone was coming in. Tossing my crocheting aside, I ran to the door, and the moment I opened the door, I heard the telltale rattling buzz of a rattlesnake. I called Bess, and she obediently came immediately. Then the three of us – Bess, Nellie, and I – stood in the dining room and watched the snake through the window. Mike doesn’t like to kill the rattlers, but when he isn’t here to carry them away, I have to protect the dogs. Long story short, that’s what happened.

Bess in June's field, looking north

Well, you might think that was the end of the story. Certainly it was enough excitement for one day. Mike came home, and Bess tried to tell him all about it. I filled in the gaps where language failed her.

Grain harvest concludes on neighboring farm to the north

Then, in the evening – about 8:30 – Bess warned again, this time from the other side of the house where the raised beds are. I heard the rattle from the open living room window. Mike called Bess into the house and grabbed a light. Cautiously the three of us followed the sound, which I located as coming from under the tire with the strawberries. We could do nothing about that, so we left it alone.

My dad believed that rattlesnakes came in pairs. He would search for the second one and sometimes find it. KW