SAME PLACE, DIFFERENT YEAR

1959

The ghosts are talking to me today. Back in the day – late ‘50s, early ‘60s – family and friends would gather here at the farm on the last Sunday in July (or the first Sunday in August) to celebrate Grandpa Charlie Portfors’ birthday. (We called him Papa.)

1961

Mother, Daddy, and I would come to the farmhouse a week or two early to clean. It wasn’t easy without electricity and access to running water, but Mother seemed cheerful enough. We dusted, swept, mopped, washed windows, and wiped windowsills. Mother took the curtains down, washed them in town, and brought them back later to re-hang. I do remember her saying, “If only we could use a vacuum cleaner, it would go so much faster.” So, eventually we bought a generator.

Mother and Papa, 1963

As I think about it, I’m sure that we were also preparing the house for harvest, which usually started here in mid-August.

Papa and great-grandchildren, 1964

The actual party was billed as a picnic. We set it up in the shade of the north side of the house – the kitchen porch and yard. We had fried chicken, garden vegetables, Psyche’s fruit salad, potato salad, and perhaps baked beans. We had rolls and potato chips. The beverages were lemonade and iced tea – no pop, no water in bottles. No effort was made to coordinate the food. It was a potluck.

Mother usually baked the birthday cake. Daddy made ice cream, which was a special treat.

Today, as I look out the kitchen window, I can almost see a party. Almost. KW

WARNING: EXCESSIVE HEAT

Valley temps have been in the triple digits all week, each day a degree or two hotter until the forecast for Saturday and Sunday is 111. Last night (Thursday, 7-28), it was still 93 at 9:00 p.m. It’s about 70 in the mornings, and the house doesn’t cool below 78.

The heat is getting Bess down. She’s an outdoor dog, but she can’t stand to stay out there. When she’s out, if she doesn’t come right back in, I call her. She doesn’t argue.

But the thing is, late in the afternoon, we take Bess to the Asotin Beach, and Mike lobs a ball into the river for her to retrieve. She loves that! She loves it so much that with each successive day she begs to go earlier. Today she was ready to go right after lunch. As we put our swimsuits on, her joy knows no bounds.

It’s a tough time for many. One family member has only a window air conditioner in the bedroom of his apartment. It’s not enough while temps are so high. One afternoon he shopped Walmart. The next he went to the library. Two sons work in industrial environments, where the heat is challenging. It has been hotter than normal in Seattle, too, where many households don’t have air conditioning. Nick installed a window unit last year when Hallie was pregnant, and I guess they’re glad to have it. KW 

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Dirty Work

I love “Christmas in July” – all the promotions for holiday-themed patterns and fabrics plus Hallmark movies galore. But – I was too busy to partake of the offerings, and besides, I have plenty of projects on hand. So, I missed the fun, but no matter – it’s not over. The beauty of Christmas in July is that it’s a beginning, not an end.

We love the hollyhocks

This time of year, the world takes on a different look. It’s hard to define. Is it the angle of the sun or the length of the shadows? Or the dry vegetation in the fields? Or that hint of coolness in the breeze despite the sun’s heat? Whatever – fall is on the way, and I’m thinking of harvest themes and Halloween.

Speaking of Christmas, I have begun to work earnestly on the Grinch quilt. I’m not a real quilter, so I hope it turns out okay. I’ll be fine with it if it’s just okay because it’s meant to be for fun.

And it’s hot. A heat advisory is in effect until Friday at 8:00 p.m., as if they need to tell us it’s hot! But it IS hot. Mike and I were just out to pull some star thistle, and we agreed that it’s hot. Bess, who loves to lie on the chaise on the front porch, has been staying on the kitchen porch instead. No one has to tell her to stay cool. The hummingbirds empty the feeders quickly.

Also on this hot day, the farmer is working the field to the north of us and kicking a ton of dust into the atmosphere.

I found a toad in the raised bed this morning. Eventually he squeezed through the fence and appeared to leave, and that was fine with me. However, I just went out to pour some tea onto the tomato plant, and there he was again! 

I made a nice garden lettuce salad for supper last night. I added blueberries and walnuts and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. I would have preferred raspberry vinaigrette, but I didn’t have any.  My lettuce seed was Burpee’s “Heatwave Blend,” and I’ve been pleased with it. This morning I planted more beets. KW

GARDENING UPDATE

Yancey and Emmy left on Monday (July 18), and Mike and I went back to town – a quick trip for groceries and supplies, we said – but just as we were preparing to return to the farm, Mike received invitations – fishing with Ken on Thursday and a motorcycle excursion to Spokane with Sam on Friday. He’s worked so hard at the farm this year that I just couldn’t “say him no.”

BUT – I had not prepared the farm gardens for a long absence, and I didn’t want to lose what little produce we have to the heat. Mike volunteered to go and water – via motorcycle, of course – and he would have enjoyed the ride, but on the other hand, I suggested that I should be the one to go. To my surprise, he agreed.

So, early Thursday, I drove to the farm. I watered the raised beds, the fruit trees, and the rhubarb plants, and I picked a few greens (lots of lettuce) and a few strawberries. The hummingbird feeders were both empty, and the hummers were glad of a refill. I also baked a batch of Mike’s favorite oatmeal cookies.

Was Bess with me? No, I left her in town. Bess loves Mike, and we knew she would prefer being with him.

And now, the three of us are back at the farmhouse to stay a few days before the next scheduled activity. Lots of little chores have kept us busy, one of which was to install a new modem and connect all our devices. It rivals our town wi-fi. Yay!

My garden is the best I’ve had in years. The zucchini is blooming and I see I will have one to pick in a couple of days. My “Early Girl” tomato plant has three fruits and more blossoms. The spinach and beets are sparse, but I’ll try again. The lettuce, however, is prolific!

To what do I owe my gardening success? A little research on growing vegetables in drought, fertilizer, and good seed. This year I ordered from Burpee, and they have now talked me into trying for a fall garden. My rhubarb plants have struggled for years, but this year a friend advised me to give them a lot of water and Miracle Gro every week or two. Under this regimen, the plants have flourished.

But – it’s not a good year for the fruit trees. The blossoms were evidently caught in a cold snap. I saw just one cherry on the Lapins tree, and I let the birds have it. We have no pears, and I can live with that. Apples continue to develop on the Honey Crisp tree. 

A passing storm in the wee hours of the morning brought little rain and didn't cool us. KW

ON WARNOCK POND

Granddaughter Emmy and her dad Yancey visited us over the weekend. For 13 years, Emmy was our youngest grandchild, but that position was assumed by Silas in 2021.

It was just a quiet weekend at the farm – visiting, yard games, Scrabble, Dominoes, more talking, etc. Friday evening son Clint rode out to have hamburgers with us. Yancey and Emmy drove back to town Saturday morning for some sightseeing. Yancey showed Emmy our old house, the schools he attended, etc.

The aerator in the pond hasn’t been doing its job, so with Emmy’s assistance, Mike rowed out – that’s not far – pulled up the aerator, and gave it a good cleaning. Yancey and I stood on the bank, took pictures, and ran errands. The cleaning wasn't enough to solve the problem. Mike has now ordered a kit to make the repair.

Emmy and I discovered a common interest in Harry Potter. I’m listening to the series on Audible, and Emmy is a “Harry Potter nerd,” as her dad puts it. In talking with her about Harry and his story, I realized how much I have failed to grasp. No matter – we had some fun with it. I showed her the Department 56 “Harry Potter Village,” and  we selected “The Burrow” for her room.

Yancey and Emmy weren’t noisy, but now that they’ve left, it’s really quiet. KW

BEAUTY IN THE NIGHT SKY

Son Yancey and our granddaughter Emmy will arrive tomorrow (Thursday) to spend the weekend with us, so we went to town Monday morning for food and supplies. I shopped first thing to avoid the heat of the day. As usual, I’m nervous about the food. Will I have what people want to eat, and will I have enough?

It was hot in the Valley, with Tuesday being a triple-digit day. The weather service had issued a “heat alert.” This year is the first I’ve been aware of heat alerts. Maybe I just didn’t notice.

We thought about coming back to the farm early on Tuesday, but I wanted to stay until my Echo Show 8 was delivered. Now that we have improved internet at the farmhouse, I wanted an Echo Show just like the one in town. So yes, the mailman delivered it in the late morning, and we loaded up and returned to the farm.

The farmhouse was pleasantly cool when we arrived, but it was one of those summer evenings that didn’t cool down – still 88 at 7-8:00 p.m., still 82 at 9:30.

One recent night, I awoke after midnight to see beautiful light play to the north. Lightning? Northern lights? Or something else? My dad’s family – the homesteaders here – were well-acquainted with the night sky, and they used to sit out on the kitchen porch late into the summer’s night, and apparently they could see the northern lights. Last night about 1:00 a.m., I saw them again, and this time I awakened Mike. We saw them first to the northwest, and they gradually played eastward along the horizon – beautiful yellow-orange flashes. We watched for about half an hour. The photos here are the best Mike was able to capture with his phone. Perhaps it's a lost cause to post them.

The early morning hours were pleasant. Mike mowed the lawn as a storm skirted around us. Just as I was getting ready to bake cookies, we noticed that it was suddenly warmer, so I postponed my baking and cleaned the kitchen instead. I’m feeling quite virtuous today. 

In the process of trimming the yard, Mike found yet another baby rattler near the front steps. 

Last week, Mike washed the farmhouse windows inside and out. I mentioned at the time that it's difficult to take cleaning seriously here because the next time the farmer comes in with machinery, the house will again be coated with dust. Sure enough! Here he came this afternoon to work the fields, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. KW

And this was just his first pass

 

MUSINGS ON STICKER SHOCK AND SHORTAGES

My grandmother, Ina Dobson, endured hard times in this house.

Well, let’s talk of hard times some more. There comes to me in times like these a sort of spirit of battle. I feel it as a challenge to me to outwit circumstances . . .– Ina Dobson, 1932

Mike and I decided years ago to buy quality food at the grocery store and avoid expensive restaurants. “Everybody eats well at home,” we agreed. Even so, I do the best I can to shop conservatively and not be wasteful, but these days, my sense of “value for money” kicks in. The other day, a quart of egg subs was almost $5.00, and that was at Winco! I balked at that, but when Mike makes his “no cook” ice cream, I insist he use pasteurized egg product. So many grocery items approach and/or surpass the $5.00 mark now, and that’s just daunting. I’m so glad I’m not feeding a family.

Remember when a 3-oz. package of Jell-o was ten cents? It was a dessert staple in many homes. Now it costs so much that I buy only what I need for a few favorite recipes. In the ‘60s, baby food was ten cents a jar, and it seems like the jar was twice the size it is today. And the jars themselves were coveted for their handy size and screw-on lids, which meant the jars were often re-purposed. Daughter Hallie purees Silas’ solid food herself, and we are grateful she doesn’t need formula.

As my dad was canning peaches in the ‘70s, sister Nina confided that when she could buy a can of peaches for 39 cents, why would she take the trouble to can them? I wonder what she would think today. Canned fruit is so expensive but so is produce!

And how about the shortages? Store aisles just aren’t as full and well-fronted as they used to be. Sometimes I’m startled by the lack of product. We’ve all heard about baby formula, but more items are added to the list – like mustard and peanut butter, etc. Some items seem to disappear without fanfare – pie crust mixes, for instance. And the other day I went to buy Mike’s favorite hard candies – butterscotch and cinnamon discs – and couldn’t find them at three stores. (Today, I found hard candy, pie crust mixes, AND Farman’s pickles at Barney’s in Orofino.)

And it’s not just food items in short supply either. I’ve been searching for a size G afghan (Tunisian) crochet hook. I couldn’t find it locally or from my favorite online craft retailers, and Hallie even looked at JoAnn’s in Seattle.  But of course, Amazon came to my rescue with an inexpensive set made in China. (Sorry – but I bought them.)

I’ve also flirted with store brands since prices began to soar. Some things don’t matter, but for the most part, I’m not impressed. It comes back to buying quality food and eating well at home, but I admit that it crossed my mind as I shopped the soup aisle ($2.00 for a can of cream soup!) that we just have to learn to eat differently.

Have you made changes in order to cope with inflation? KW