Mucho trabajo

This week, on the hottest day in 118 years, Geraldo from Cricket Garden Service did a beautiful job trimming our laurel hedge. If you've been to our house, you know this evergreen monster. Laurel grows like crazy in spring and early summer, and makes a terrific privacy and noise blocking screen. But when they get huge, keeping them somewhat presentable is an enormous and expensive yearly project. No wonder folks rip them out and build fences! But we've often said we would hate our house in the summer without that wonderful hedge between the front yard and a busy street. And the birds love it too.

Geraldo worked from 8 am to 8 pm, and except for the wide top, he trimmed the entire thing with hand shears. No one has EVER done this, and it looked especially nice. He had one helper, a kid to pick up the clippings, but did all the cutting himself. They worked all day without complaining or asking for anything. I went out a few times and took them ice tea and lemonade, and tried to chat and say encouraging things with my pathetic Spanish vocabulary. And the phase I heard over and over was "mucho trabajo."

No kidding!

Grapes and tomatoes

This hot summer must feel like heaven for the grape. We've had this vine in the same place for 25 years or so, and if I don't hack it to the ground it has fruit every fall. The raccoons have great timing, and show up for a messy grape party at the perfect moment of ripeness. I don't feel too bad about it, except they throw the skins down on the deck as they pop them out into their mouths. I planted this vine so long ago I forget the name, but believe it is an old table grape called "white concord." It is the irritating type of grape with big seeds, but tasty when very ripe. At least the raccoons think so. I have never been ambitious enough to make jelly, and the thought of raccoon saliva is not that appealing!

Every year I toy with the idea of growing more useful food instead of mostly flowers. And I could cram some plants here and there in the beds. But to have a productive vegetable garden I'd have to rip out bulbs and perennials that were planted decades ago, and that is just too depressing. We always have tomatoes and herbs in pots, and they do well on the hot south side of the house, as long as I water constantly. I like cherry tomatoes especially, they are easy to grow and I usually eat them all right off the plant while I'm outside working. John always wants a Roma, but he will not be happy to see something is boring big holes in the green fruit on his plant. The same creature does this every year.

Air conditioning

Nope, we don't own one of these. And if you live in Seattle and want to buy an air conditioner this week, there won't be a big box store within 250 miles that has any on the shelf, ditto for electric fans. At our house we do have a big old roaring fan to drag out at night, and if things get really miserable, a downstairs bedroom that always stays pretty cool. I am welcome to go down there to thrash around, so John can get a little sleep.

"They" have been tracking temperature hi/lows in Seattle since 1891, and today is expected to be an all-time record of over 100 at SeaTac Airport. Most people here are miserable, even downright scared of hot weather and would prefer to walk around under grey, damp skies. And from the hysteria on the local news channels, you would think Armageddon had arrived. But a heat wave in Seattle is like 3 feet of snow in December-- it just doesn't happen that often, and doesn't last that long. The dawn is beautiful and tropical feeling, and this morning at 7 AM it was already 70, a "record high" for a "daily low" if you follow me.

Amanda and Tom live in Eastern Washington, where it gets and STAYS this hot most of the summer. Add to that all the joys of being 9 months pregnant. My brother Dave did an incredibly nice thing today, and drove this brand new air-conditioning unit over as an early wedding present. He sent this picture and said he wanted to keep it for himself, always the sign of a generous gift!

Hi little baby!

Our New Baby's 9 Month Ultrasound! (Dummy's Guide)
Originally uploaded by A Day In The Life...

Amanda had an ultrasound yesterday at the Brewster hospital, and they told her everything about the baby looks normal and wonderful! We laughed when she said that he/she appeared to have a "beetle brow," but it was probably just an optical illusion!

:-)

This particular photo is not Amanda's baby exactly, but an ultrasound of another full-term rascal ready to be born, so you get the idea. She is feeling well and strong, keep her in your thoughts and prayers for the coming weeks.

What's for dinner?

I think about food all the time and love to cook, so I don't really mind when my husband's first full sentence after work is "what's for dinner?"

(However, I have been known to seriously fly off the handle over a "what's for lunch?" question on Saturday morning.)

Anyway, Seattle is sweltering hot right now, so the last thing you want to do is fire up a Viking gas oven in a house without AC. I always make extra dinner so John has leftovers for work the next day, so planning meals in the summer is more of a challenge. I like green salad for dinner, but who wants to take a soggy bowl of lettuce to work? And the grill is great, but it probably isn't that healthy to eat charred food 6 nights a week.

Trader Joe's to the rescue! I've made Asian noodle salad and pot stickers twice this week, and while not fancy, it was tasty enough for company on Sunday when our friends Terri and George came over. Last night I used cold rice stick noodles, savoy cabbage, peppers, onions, water chestnuts and celery topped with chopped peanuts and some roast chicken I had in the freezer. I was lazy, and used a mixture of Trader Joe's dressings: Spicy Thai peanut and Sesame Soy. No recipe required, just throw whatever you have a bowl and add dressing. Follow the directions on the pot sticker bag and dinner is served.

Roger

Before the baby steals the limelight, here are a couple pictures of Amanda and Tom's nice little dog "Roger." He is a really handsome Miniature Australian Shepard. Everyone is familiar with the Australian Shepard, but I didn't realize there was a popular scaled-down version too:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/miniatureaustralianshepherd.htm

He is a gentle and intelligent little fellow, and he loves doing anything with Amanda and Tom. I think he is looking down the river for a BOY or GIRL of his own to play ball with, but will have to wait a few more years!

HOT in Seattle

Everyone is getting pretty excited about the heatwave next week, with temperatures expected over 20 degrees warmer than normal. Whatever "normal" is anymore, in these crazy weather days! Sizzle got a nice cool shower yesterday after her walk in the park, which she loves in hot weather. (If you touch this horse with a cold water hose at any other time of year, you would think you were killing her!)

Folks in Seattle are "heat-wimps," so when it hits 90 you may hear the chorus of whining and groaning all the way across the country.

What a mess

OK, a pretty mess but still a big old daisy mess. They're flopping in an artistic way this week, but soon I'll have to crawl in there and hack these big plants down to the ground. And hope for no bumble bee nests.

(Not exactly November yet, but a little reminder we're turning the corner and the perennial orgy is winding down.) In August, there is something nice about seeing a bit of space here and there.

Great Gunnera

The gunnera is a very cool plant, like something out of a "Jurassic Park" movie set, with leaves almost 4 feet across. It looks like rhubarb on steroids, which people often mistake it for. But the leaves are covered with small spines, and it doesn't bloom except for a prehistoric, pine cone looking appendage that pops up late in summer. It survives temperate Seattle winters, but may not be hardy in other parts of the country like rhubarb, which I think grows just about everywhere. Rhubarb is also useful, but gunnera isn't except to marvel at-- although the big leaves are prized by the artists who make the concrete leaf basins. It LOVES water so isn't a good choice for my garden's sandy soil, but I've had one for years and it is a real conversation piece.

For more gunnera information:
http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/foliage-plants/gunnera.html

You are my sunshine!

Here's our Mom-to-be in the sunflower garden patch. Less than an month left now, and she is doing fine with just the typical minor complaints, despite the summer heat wave in eastern Washington.

This weekend, a group of Amanda and Tom's good friends hosted the Methow Valley version of a baby shower-- they all gathered at the riverbank park in Carlton for a party with food, symbolic gifts and lots of love. I wish I could have been there, but enjoyed hearing all about it. The women even created a "phone tree" so they can send positive thoughts and prayers to Amanda during labor.

Keep Amanda and Tom in your thoughts, the big day will be here soon.

The Meaning of Life

Bacon & Eggs
Originally uploaded by NicnBill

"I can't help it... if I'm lucky..."

Just a favorite line from an old Bob Dylan song called Idiot Wind.
So, I have lived almost 6 decades without facing an accident or serious illness, going through life eating delicious food, working, traveling, reading, learning and having the astonishing good fortune to have been born in a rich country where women can go to college and leave the house without a male escort!

Along these lines, I wanted to share this little NYT article John spotted called "The Meaning of Life." (I'd rather be the glossy happy monkey.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/opinion/16iht-edcohen.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=meaning%20of%20life&st=cse

Day lilies

Daylilies are supposedly a "foolproof" plant that any fool can grow, but I don't have much luck with them. Often mine have no flowers at all, just a big clump of healthy looking green foliage that collapses in late summer. Too much water? Too little sun?

Who knows?

If you are serious about growing them, here are some daylily FAQ's from the American Hermerocallis Association.

I think the old-fashioned varieties are tough as nails and good for naturalizing. In fact we've had a patch under the fig tree for over 30 years. They don't always bloom, but make a nice carpet of green mulch around the tree that no weed can invade.

For some reason, this year all our day lilies are really beautiful-- maybe they liked the cold winter and wet spring? I planted this dark red one under the plum tree many years ago, and pretty much forgot about it. I should move it to a better location, but then it will probably be another 10 years till it blooms again!

West Seattle parade

We walked to California Ave. yesterday and watched some of the West Seattle Hi-Yu parade.

It is pretty much the same from year to year, and this is the fun of it. There are new young Chinese girls, but their beautiful costumes haven't changed in the 25 years we've been watching the parade. Sea-Fair begins next week in Seattle and there is a much bigger and very popular torchlight parade downtown. I've never seen it, due to the hassle of getting there and back with thousands of other people. There is something nice and lazy about dragging your lawn chair out, then sitting back and enjoying a familiar old parade. We always reminisce about little Amanda hiding behind the
mailbox when the Sea-Fair pirates showed up!

Western vs English riding

I admire all styles of good riding and horsemanship. If someone jumps on a horse and makes it look beautiful and easy you can bet there are hundreds (make that thousands) of hours of hard, patient work behind it. Horses can live for decades and become our dearest companions, so our relationship with them is long and complex. Such powerful animals, yet fragile and dependent on humans. If you are not used to them, the size can be intimidating-- but most horses are trusting and good-natured if they have been trained and treated kindly.

I'm not ashamed to admit my Sizzle is a bit of a "jack-of-all-trades." In her youth, she competed in rodeo speed events, but she was also a kid's lesson horse and then was shown in hunt seat and western pleasure classes. After I bought her, her life turned to clover! :-) Although I ride almost everyday, I tend to be pretty easy-going.

Even at her age, she could probably do more in the arena, but her real gift is on the trail, where her silky western gaits makes riding a real pleasure. She is also strong, smart and surefooted. At 25 she still has enough spark that I have to pay attention, so I'm never bored riding her. Would I like a younger horse? Yes! But I decided she is mine until that day comes when neither of us are having fun anymore.

I have a Tucker western saddle that is one of my prized possessions because it is so light and comfortable on the trail. A few years ago, I bought a used English saddle-- nothing fancy but something to fool around with on rainy days in the arena. But fooling around is about all it's good for, so if and when I get more serious about dressage I'll need a different style English saddle.

We have a beautiful arena to ride in, including full mirrors which are essential for schooling and training, and admiring yourself (or NOT!) Here I am, goofing off with my camera instead of working my horse!

Urban cowgirls

I rode to Westcrest Park for the first time yesterday with my pal Adina from the stable. Sizzle and I had such a good time we went back again today! The park is 3 blocks from our barn, and the street behind me has a great view of downtown Seattle. When you enter the little gate to the 81 acre park, you enter another world of woodland paths that wind through large stands of native trees. Sizzle and I have covered hundreds of miles in the mountains, but this was my first "urban" trail ride. I could almost pretend I was in Central Park! Well, not quite, but probably as close as I'll get to that particular daydream. She was on great behavior, even when we were surrounded by some boisterous off-lease dogs that probably never saw a horse before. Nice job, Sizzle! I think she enjoyed getting out on a summer day and doing what she loves, and does best.

I know I did.

A bowl of cherries

I hear this has been one of the best seasons ever for Washington cherries and berries. At Safeway yesterday, yellow Ranier and red Bing cherries were piled up at each check stand-- and for the same price $1.99 a pound. (Usually, we don't see the more perishable Raniers for under $5 a pound.) Never mind the carbon footprint, hopefully you're enjoying this bumper crop in Ohio, Colorado and Montana. After I took this picture, I sat down and ate (almost) the whole bowl!

Have a wonderful Thursday, we're having a perfect stretch of summer weather here in Seattle.

Trumpet lilies

The Lily

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat'ning horn:
While Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.

William Blake
Songs of Experience, 1794

Our big trumpet lilies are just coming into their peak, and they always come back year after year like old friends. My very favorite is one the color of ripe cantaloupe, and it will bloom in a few days behind these white ones. The lily is a Christian symbol in connection with the Sermon on the Mount and the passage "lilies of the field." There are so many beautiful varieties of lily, but I think the trumpets are about as carefree and lovely as a flower can be. Truly "lilies of the field."

http://plantlilies.com/growlilies/9-lilyprimer.html

Gazebo

We had a big weather change in Seattle this weekend-- 85 on Saturday, then thunderstorms in the evening (rare for us) and a gloomy, cool Sunday and Monday with just a little bit of rain. Not enough for a decent garden watering, but it wet down the dust.

Here is an early spring picture of our front garden. One spring day long ago in 1984, my parents helped us build this little gazebo. Amanda was sick most of that winter with a virus that kept her home from 3rd grade and me away from my depressing job at a flower shop. I know-- a flower shop job should not be "depressing" but you have no idea how quickly roses become nothing but produce with thorns!

Anyway, money was tight and I was trying to get up courage to apply to graduate school for my MLS. So we all sat at the table that morning and drew up a gazebo "plan" using some magazine pictures. My Dad's friend gave him a pile of cedar shakes for the roof, and we must have purchased a bit of lumber. But we were so frugal we even ripped old boards on the table saw to make the lattice. It was a beautiful sunny day, Amanda was healthy again and running around and by afternoon the gazebo was finished and painted.

Twenty-five years later, I can still stand in it and not get wet in pouring rain-- a quality job! It is starting to sag a bit with time, but this is not fault of the fine carpenter who built it. I think I spent the rest of the summer of '84 in that gazebo with my "How to Prepare for the GRE" book, and was accepted at the UW the next winter. So the gazebo brought good luck too!

Now I have the (somewhat trashy) annual vine Clematis vitalba planted on the sidewalk side, so in the summer I can hide behind the screen and have a cup of coffee or glass of wine. And if the eucalyptus trees next door don't fall on it, I think it's good for another 25 years.

"What the Pho?"

On Saturday morning we walked the West Seattle street fair to see if anything was different from last year (not really) then decided to have a bowl of Pho for lunch.



Here's a funny story: Amanda and I were at the Southcenter mall a few weeks ago and drove by the "What the Pho?" restaurant. I'm not making this up, it was interesting to see Pho go mainstream next to McDonald's and Sizzler. You might not be familiar with this Vietnamese noodle soup (pronounced "fuh") but it may be coming to a mall near you. In Seattle there are dozens of small Asian places that specialize in just Pho soup. Our favorite is the "Pho Than Brothers," and they have a branch nearby at the West Seattle junction. They are unique in the world of Pho because they serve a cream puff with each order-- made from a family recipe, no doubt picked up from the French occupiers long ago. I believe the French also left the Vietnamese with an appreciation for good baguettes, which wouldn't be bad with Pho, either.



http://www.thanbrothers.com/

The soup is served in different size bowls, the largest big enough to wash a baby. The Pho assembler puts rice noodles and vegetables in the bottom, followed by thinly sliced raw meat, cooked chicken or tofu, then covers everything with boiling broth. Pho is always served with a plate of toppings: fresh basil, bean sprouts and lime. And at Than, a cream puff appetizer! It's especially good on winter days, but also restorative after trudging down the length of the WestFest street fair.

Bees

A few weeks ago I wrote about how much bees like the allium flowers. It turns out they like the plant bottoms too. Yesterday I was doing a little weeding with my hand cultivator under the "Mt. Everest" alliums, and scratched the top off a bumblebee nest. Their home was right under the surface and looked like a bright yellow honeycomb. Since these are the pretty bees we love to see in the garden I was sorry I messed up their hive. These are also the bees that get angry and confused (not angry and aggressive) so I stood and watched them for a bit. The chaos was so complete I thought they might move out, but by late afternoon when we took this picture they had their act together and had rebuilt the nest. So now I know to avoid it.

Years ago, I had a bad encounter with a nest of ground hornets in about the same area. When I dug into their nest, they knew exactly what they wanted to do: kill me. I was stung several times and don't remember this, but must have been chased hysterically all over the yard because later I went out and saw my clothes strewn hither and thither! Sicilian revenge followed.

Hummingbirds and crocosima

We have a bumper crop of hummingbirds this summer in Seattle. I don't keep a sugar feeder up, so they have to forage in our yard for hummingbird health food-- their favorite being the big red crocosima that is just starting to bloom. They like crocosima so much they don't bother with the hover/sip method, but sit right on the flower and DRINK like sailors at a bar. I wish I had a photo to show you, but I don't have the time or patience to lay in the flower bed all afternoon. (Some Saturday when John is underfoot, I might ask him to do this with his fancy new camera. :-)

I like Davesgarden.com but he says beautiful crocosima can become a noxious weed. Really?? That's kind of like saying hummingbirds are an invasive species.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/82/

This is hard to imagine too, but there's been serious war between the hummingbirds and our free-loader crows. We hear the brave (or mean?) little things clicking and dive bombing the crows on the wires and even in flight. They must really despise the crows to expend all that sugar energy tormenting them-- and the feeling is mutual, I'm sure.

Sonoma

We had a nice trip to Sonoma and Calistoga this past April. We flew to Oakland, rented a car and went back to some of our favorite places. The weather was bright and sunny and nothing was crowded in off-season. We always have a good time there, maybe because in wine county we tend to drink wine at unusual times of day. Ok, make that ALL day! But just little sips, right?

The vacation scenario goes like this-- we pull into the champagne "winery" parking lot at 11 am, and enter a structure that looks like a chateau dropped down from France. For example, the Domaine Carneros in Sonoma:

http://www.domainecarneros.com//index.cfm

Ten minutes later my husband has gladly opened his wallet and purchased $25 tasting tour tickets from the ravishing young woman at the front desk. My first response is: "I cannot possibly drink wine before noon, you have WASTED this expensive ticket on me." 15 minutes later, I am happily sipping Taittinger from my personal "complimentary" champagne flute, and touring the "chateau" with a group of equally happy, sipping people.

After the tour in the elegant ladies room, I saw this picture and wrote down the name: "Youth" by Arthur F. Matthews, a California artist. I love the Internet! When we got home I ordered a print online and it looks great in our old house.

http://www.2blowhards.com/archives/2007/03/arthur_mathews_1.html

So it goes, and we have visited Napa and Sonoma many times over the years, and taken tours in lots of places. All winery tours are basically the same (after all, the process hasn't changed in 6,000 years) but every winery is different in the history, art and ambiance.

I like the far-flung areas of the Sonoma County, like Asti in the Alexander Valley. We had the Cellar # 8 winery to ourselves, and John enjoys their wine when he can buy it for $7.99 at Safeway. This property (known forever as the Asti Winery) was closed to visitors until recently and we always wanted to see it. It was once the site of Italian Swiss Colony, a Disneyland of wine and one of the biggest tourist attractions in California in the 70's. I remember stopping there for a free sip in my hippie days hitchhiking up Highway 101. Some things never change. Only the price of a sip, I guess!

http://www.sonomauncorked.com/wine-country/wineries/cellar-no-8-at-asti-winery/

Daisies and hollyhocks

I was thinking this morning that maybe the best flowers are the simple ones we remember from childhood. Perennials like lilacs, daffodils and hollyhocks grew around our "yard," but in those farming days a "garden" was a place for growing economical food that was eaten in season or canned or frozen. Nothing we grew was wasted, and garden space wasn't wasted either. What came from this hard work was always considered special at the dinner table. It is hard to believe there was once a time when the first lettuce or spring onion was an event to plan a meal around.

There was usually a nickle spent for a packet of zinnias or marigold seeds to make the garden rows pretty, and have some cut flowers. But with a family to feed, the effort was directed at producing a crop of beans, lettuce, onions, tomatoes. That 5 cent packet of flower seeds could also produce a row of beans. This is what gardens were about and somehow it made the flowers even more special. I used to think a handful of zinnias in a canning jar on the kitchen table was magical. Now I have big vases of lilies, roses and dahlias in the house all summer, and can eat gourmet baby lettuce in January. (ho-hum)


I've never liked that expression "a woman of a certain age" but I am of an age where I remember making daisy chains and hollyhock lady dolls with my sister, and playing with them all afternoon long. "He loves me, he loves me not..."

http://celticanamcara.blogspot.com/2007/08/hollyhock-dolls.html

Thank you, John for the hollyhock glamour shot! This really is the Marlena Dietrich of flowers.

Caramelized onions

When we take the I-90 drive home from the Methow Valley, we like to stop off in Wenachee at the produce stands. Eastern Washington has a fabulous cherry crop in this year, and I bought Raniers and the regular red kind. They are enormous and good! John also bought a 10 pound bag of fresh Walla Walla onions. I'm sure you know the reason these are so sweet is the high moisture content, which also means they are very perishable and only keep a few days. What to do with 10 pounds of onions?

I had plenty of laundry to keep me busy at home, so thought I'd cook up a batch of caramelized onions. I started with olive oil and a blob of butter, and slowly, slowly cooked them down-- it took over an hour for all the moisture to cook out (does the house ever smell good) and when they were finally starting to brown I added a bit of Marsala wine, brown sugar and black pepper.

That huge pot of raw onions cooked down to a highly condensed cup or so, and so delicious I could have eaten the whole thing! Although consuming 8 onions before 9 am is probably not a good idea! So I'll show some self-control, and divide them up into baggies for the freezer. I'm thinking of all the things it would be good for: a caramelized onion tart, onion bruschetta, grilled steak, mashed potatoes.

A sweet thing gone bad

If you scratch around year after year in the same old plot, you know those changing of the guard times in your garden: spring bulbs and iris do their thing, and then look ratty as they give way to peonies and roses. The peonies last about a heartbeat, and the roses keep trying through the summer, but never again as glorious as June. So you get into a summer routine of deadheading, staking, weeding, watering and anticipating what comes next. I wouldn't say gardening becomes relaxing, but chores are not as rigorous as spring or fall. I have tomatoes and herbs in pots, and if I grew more vegetables I guess I'd be starting to harvest. But around here we end with the big fragrant lilies. I'm also getting into fancy dahlias, and their flowers take you right into fall. I've been in a "black" plant stage for a while, and have a dahlia called "Baghdad Nights" or something like that. I remember this because I bought it MANY years ago when the Iraq war started and it sounded so subversive I had to have it.

It feels good to be home, and the temperature in Seattle is about 30 degrees cooler than yesterday. We have lovely next-door neighbors who come by to water, bring in mail, check on things when we're gone. I guess the 4th of July (illegal) fireworks in our neighborhood were especially horrible, and there were many fires around Seattle. Thank you Diane!! In the Methow Valley we did not see or hear one firework-- people must have some common sense over there.

Leaving town for a long weekend should not make much difference, until you come back and see the all the small changes in your garden. You also realize your method of gardening is dinking around-- doing little things everyday, as opposed to the major intervention style of gardening.

Oh yes, about this picture-- it is charming, but it happened while my back was turned. The innocent sounding plant "Baby Tears" turns out to an incredibly invasive ground cover. (Remember the Hummingbird Vine?) A few years ago I thought "Baby Tears" would look pretty between the stepping stones in the big flower bed. It immediately spread to choke out everything in its path. As I scraped it off with my Japanese hoe, I must have flung the clumps along the fence border where it now grows under everything, thick and green as an Irish carpet. The other day I noticed it was also growing in the grass around the base of the compost bin, where bits must have fallen off when I threw it out. It thrives without water and a hard freeze turns it to black mush, but the root mat comes right back in the spring. Did I actually spend good money for this plant? Beware Tim and Sam.
Here's an article that says it all:

http://www.gardenershelp.com/How-To-Kill-Babys-Tears.php

Hard to say goodbye

We love you!
Thanks for the wonderful weekend, see you soon!

Nice work, Tom

Just wanted to point out the beautiful work Tom has been doing in finishing the upstairs bedrooms and bath. He did all the dry wall and painting on this high, high scary ceiling, also the pretty tile job in the bathroom. Almost finished, and this will be a nice sanctuary for the new family in a few weeks.

Oh yes, Tom also plays the piano and treated us to a concert before dinner last night!

Farmer's Market

On Saturdays in Twisp during the summer months, there is a nice little market at the community center just across the street from Tom and Amanda's house. It isn't a big market, but a classy place to buy organic produce, baked goods, crafts and local art. Amanda and I sat for a minute and listened to this jazz trio and drank a "lavender" lemonade. Sorry it tasted a bit like hand lotion but the market ambiance and morning sun was great!

The Methow Valley has a thriving arts community with music, theater and all types of visual arts. There are also some interesting galleries: http://www.confluencegallery.com/

4th of July parade

Here's a picture of Tom putting the final touches on the anniversary cake float. We came to town to watch the parade, and at least a dozen of Amanda's and Tom's friends showed up. It was great fun for everyone, and a super parade too with some horses and lots of kids.

Relaxing day in the Methow Valley

Last night there were only a few cars in the motel parking lot, but tonight and tomorrow will be a full house. We're glad we beat the rush to town yesterday over the mountains, as now I'm listening to a steady stream of cars, RV's and motorcycles out on the highway. We had dinner last night at the Pub on the patio overlooking the River. Tom had a job this morning, so Amanda came over to the cabin for breakfast and we did some grocery shopping for tonight and tomorrow (also to beat the rush at Hank's Supermarket.)

It is very hot, and we are feeling lazy, so John assembled the new changing table for the baby's room at the house while Mandy and I sat on the front porch and watched the world go by. Almost everyone who walked by knew her, in fact wherever we go folks greet each other with such kindness and affection. I've lived in the same Seattle neighborhood for almost 30 years, and when I'm out and about it's a rare occasion to meet anyone I know. Oh well! There is a certain anonymity to living in a big city, and Amanda tells me there have been a few occasions of dashing down the frozen food aisle at the grocery store to "hide" from certain friends!

Tonight I'm cooking at the cabin-- barbecue chicken and pasta salad. Just the thing to eat on the porch on a hot evening. Tomorrow is a big parade day, and Tom will drive? or be in? the centennial cake float.

And how can I forget? Amanda made a delicious apple pie for dessert!

Motel happy reunion

We're here in the Methow Valley, and d a beautiful and quiet drive over the mountains.

Stopped at the top of Washington Pass and it was so warm but still snow on the ground but melting fast!

Here's a couple pictures in front of our cabin. Doesn't Amanda look beautiful!!

New shoes today

The Farrier
Originally uploaded by petegailey

Every 4-8 weeks, a horse's hoofs need attention from a farrier. This may be as simple as a "trim" (lucky owner) or as involved as a full set of shoes with a custom fitting based on the horse's special physical needs (and that would be horse owner ME)

Among farriers and horse owners, there is controversy and passionate opinion as to whether horses need shoes at all, and many horses do not. But for other horses like Sizzle, shoes are a necessary evil and they help keep her sound and comfortable so I can ride often. Farriers tend to be opinionated, and their opinions vary a lot! So finding and keeping a good one is a big deal. My farrier Ken drove to Seattle this morning to shoe Sizzle. Her new stall is right inside this door, it is a cozy friendly barn and she is always happiest being close to the herd.

In human years, Sizzle is about 75. She looks terrific, but what living creature at that age doesn't have a few issues? Over the past few years I've learned she has arthritis (common) and a condition called "navicular" (also common in Quarterhorses) deep in her front hooves. Ken nails thick plastic pads under the front shoes to cushion her soles and prevent bruising of the sensitive areas. She also has calcified muscle on her back leg from an old injury, which gives her a shorter stride on one side. I've been told it is not painful and there is no cure, and the best therapy is regular exercise. This may be more information than you're interested in, but gives an idea of how much vets and farriers can tell us about our horses these days.

People often ask me how long horses live, and just like humans it varies greatly. When I was growing up, 15 or 20 was old for a horse, but now with good care many of them live useful lives into their 30's. To their doting owners they just become more dear with age. Sizzle has had an active life but not excessively hard, except for a short stint as a barrel racer. (Her previous owner told me she has a lifetime earning of about $78 for her barrel racing career!)
She exercises several times a week, does not abuse drugs, and eats really well too. This seems to be a good recipe for a long life!