Pruning time

 

 

Spring pruning time arrives at the Carlton pear orchard.

 

Tom is an excellent pruner, but this isn't some little weekend project for folks who also hold down full time jobs.

Fortunately, they found someone (above) experienced with the their orchard to help out, especially with the older, larger trees. Amanda said Fernando is a nice guy and a super hard worker. He showed up on Saturday morning before the sun was even up. 

 

But...it still leaves behind a massive clean up job. The clippings need to be gathered and burned at a safe time. 

Are we having fun yet?

 

Maya, with an old granddaddy of Russian Thistle, a noxious weed for the burn pile. No chemical herbicides and pesticides were used on this organic farm for decades. 

 

Over here in the tropics, we've been busy too. The recycle, trash and yard waste bins are all stuffed, so that tells you something. 

I worked in the garden, cleaned the inside windows and de-cluttered the house. Well, one closet to be exact, but it feels good to consolidate two boxes of life mementos and souvenirs down into one. That was a trip down memory lane. My goodness, the things we keep "forever." 

 

John also did the first mow of the season-- one of my favorite outdoor days because it suddenly looks so nice after winter, even though the "lawn" is mostly moss and weeds. 

Correction: John says $300,000 of car parked on the street, not a half million. Still a bunch of money.

Our new cars

 

Psyche! As Amanda used to say in middle school...

Some brave (hopefully well insured) guy has been parking his yellow Porche on our street for the last few weeks. 

It's hard to believe a person who owns a car like that doesn't have a garage, but car garages are few and far between in this neighborhood. Most are too small and/or crammed with other stuff. The new apartment buildings only have a few tiny parking spots for rent. This is to encourage people to "take transit." It doesn't work. Everyone around here has at least one car, so they get parked on the residential streets at night.

Anyway, if I was still young and cute, I'd ask him to take me for a ride. It makes a wonderful sound when he starts it up-- not so much noise, but power vibrations you feel in your bones. I admit it-- I like nice cars.

As for the Rivian, that guy lives nearby also. John figured about a half million dollars of vehicle sitting out there. I remember when you could buy every house on the street for that.

 

 

Young scientists

 

Maya participated in the Mid-Columbia Science Fair yesterday with a few others who were nominated from her 7th grade class. 

This is the oldest science fair in the state, held in Richland, Washington, about 8 hours round trip on the bus from Twisp. (Yes, everything is far from Twisp.) 

So quite a long day-- good for you, Maya. Her complex project relates to the effect of climate change on plants.

Happy first day of spring! The fire hose from the south Pacific is finally shutting off. I'm looking to cleaning up the front porch. It's finally time to kick the Jade plants outside for the summer. They're tired of the house, and I'm tired of looking at them. 

Have a good weekend. 

 

Photographs and memories

 

 

Digital has taken over so much of our lives, but I have two banker boxes stuffed with old papers, one work related, random stuff saved from my Microsoft career, the other full of letters and personal diaries written over 50 years ago.

There are many letters from our mother, on page after page of plain notebook paper. She was such a prolific and frequent writer, most are just "dated" with the day of the week, no month or year, which is a shame. She wrote dates on the back of every photo, but not her letters. 

Anyway, her kids are probably the only ones left who can decipher her distinctive cursive. It's hard to believe this is how families once shared news. Only the best and worst events merited an expensive long distance call. 

As for my diaries, these should be a place for deep, private reflection, but most entries are in the category of "what happened today" and make no sense now, even to me. I was very young! But they are stuffed with mementoes like ticket stubs, post cards and random funny things that give some idea of what I was doing at the time.

These are rainy day projects. There are also piles of photographs to go through, the redundant and bad ones thrown out. The goal is to get everything consolidated down to the few things that might have some meaning and context to others. 

Speaking of rain. Go away. I'd rather be working in the garden that shuffling through dusty closets. 

A sweet song...

 

 

 

Cosmic pie

 

The Cosmic Crisp apple landed in Seattle in December 2019, along with lots of marketing hoopla. They were about $4 a pound then, and never caught on as the growers hoped. Cosmic Crisp store well in the fridge, but for an eating apple, the skin is tough compared to Honey Crisp.

How times have changed. QFC (Kroger) had Cosmic Crisp this week for 99 cents a pound, probably trying to move last season's surplus. They are good for pie, especially at that price, and cook down sweet and juicy after a long bake.

This one was in the oven for almost two hours. 

 

Yes I know, another yucky corned beef picture (if you don't like it.) 

But John said this was my best ever-- although if you've done something 50 times you should be good at it. After years of boiling, now I braise the meat (after rinsing off the salty brine) with onions and white wine, then add the vegetables later, so nothing gets too mushy. 

Top o' the morning to you

 

The best thing about St. Patrick's Day is the excuse to make corned beef, cabbage and potatoes once a year, even though this classic meal is more American than Irish. Yum, cured meat. 

 

 

 

 

Big yellow bus

 

 

John spotted a Methow Valley School District bus on his neighborhood walk yesterday, just a few blocks from our house. How could you miss it! 

He struck up a conversation with the driver, who was staying with a friend here while waiting out the two day flight delay from Washington DC. Back in the Valley, he drives the Carlton route, so this would be Maya's bus. What a wild coincidence, not to mention, a small world.

Anyway, Nova finally got home in the wee hours of the morning. I don't know what time exactly, but the flight got to Seattle at 8 pm, followed by a long, dark drive over the mountains. Cheers to the bus driver, getting a load of tired and cranky kids home safely. 

The snow is long gone. Now we're about to be drenched by a warm atmospheric river, the same vacation spoiler that just brought heavy rain to Hawaii. It looks like the sun returns about Friday, just in time for the first day of spring. 

 

None the worse

 

The spring flowers are none the worse for the blanket of snow yesterday. In fact, that kind of wet snow is so beneficial. It never got below freezing at ground level. 

However, no one predicted it would snow prettily all day, which it did, causing havoc at the airport, where a couple of snowflakes is enough to stop everything dead in its tracks. We're not prepared for that stuff here.

In other weekend news, Nova's group was scheduled to fly back to Seattle last night. They had a series of departure delays, and eventually the flight was cancelled due to a brief ground stop at the DC airports, just long enough to mess everything up royally. 

Long story short, they were re-booked on the same Delta flight in two days, Sunday night.

What an adventure. On the bight side, they aren't sleeping on the airport floor--they got rooms at the Arlington Hilton, where Nova says the food is "much better" than the tour hotel. Hopefully, travel insurance pays for some of this. Teenagers eat.

Still, everyone is pretty homesick and of course many of them have colds. Hats off to the saintly teachers keeping the kids occupied for another two days. 

The major mountain passes were closed for almost 24 hours, so a blessing in disguise they didn't get back late last night. 

  

 

 

 

 

One more snow picture

 

 

The battle of the seasons...

Irish music (and snow)

 

 

Of all the crazy songs the ukulele group plays (our leader is partial to classic rock!) that little instrument was made for Irish and Hawaiian music. 

I like the meeting right before St. Patrick's Day. Those traditional, corny Irish songs are pretty much about three things: love (as in chasing girls) drinking (whisky) and untimely death. 

That's Cecil at The Bridge yesterday. He just turned 102, and can still whip out a harmonica in the right key to harmonize on just about anything. We are always happy when he shows up, especially now that his granddaughter drives him across town. 

Anyway, it was a good time despite the cold wind blowing through the patio. I sit along the side and avoid the table tops with those gas burners. The fumes make me dizzy. 

The big news this morning is SNOW in Seattle, a strange event for March, and in fact the first lowland snow all winter. 

A soggy, wet and cold garden...

 

Have a good weekend. 
 

 

Believe in yourself

 

 

You know it's a slow day, when you get sucked down the funny cat hole on Instagram. 

The other Washington

 

 

Our granddaughter Nova is in Washington DC this week, on a educational tour with a group of kids from her school. It sounds like there are 11th graders from all over the country, this being a common trip for high school groups now, especially in the spring.

Their agenda was packed with activities and visits to the various monuments and museums. She took this picture at the Supreme Court this morning, and they were getting ready to meet our Senator, Maria Cantwell. 

 

You know me, always obsessed with the weather. Washington DC has been crazy. In the mid-80's all week, but tomorrow the temp drops below freezing with snow in the afternoon. Shorts to parkas. 

The kids fly back to Seattle on Friday, followed by a long school bus ride over the mountains, with luck arriving in the Valley about 1 am. What an experience. 

Trying hard

 

 

 

Spring is trying hard, although we have to get through this cold spell first. Here in the lowlands, we're about to turn the corner. Up in the mountains, a different story, with blizzard warnings and feet of snow piling up this week.

Who doesn't long for spring? The older neighborhoods in Seattle are so beautiful because decades ago, homeowners planted ornamental flowering trees and old fashioned shrubs like forsythia, lilac and viburnum. The new builds are usually low-maintenance landscaping and most don't have space for even a tiny yard. 

We had a mini-spring stretch of weather in February, but I haven't been outside to work since then and it shows. John starts mowing after daylight savings time (his tradition) but that's not going to happen this wet week.  

 

Over in Carlton, a busy weekend. Friends and neighbors helped to move the backyard playhouse from the old house to the farm. Quite a project. Little did Tom know, when he built it for the girls, that it would someday be repurposed as a chicken house. 

In sad news, the game warden killed the Carlton cougar. It is a shame but cougars are rarely relocated. They suffer and struggle to survive in a new territory, or find their way back to their home range. You can't change feline nature. 

Remember that old folk song?  

 

Lofty seats

 

We went to the  Seattle Symphony yesterday afternoon to hear a piano recital. Subscribers have the benefit of exchanging their tickets for better seats, once per season, of course depending on what is available. 

This recital was sparsely attended, so we dropped by the box office and scored seats in the Founders Tier, where we plopped ourselves down in the front row center. (This is the section where you make a hefty donation just to have the privilege of purchasing tickets.) 

 

So quite a treat-- I felt like a King and Queen of something. Our regular seats are fine in the fourth row, but we can't look down on the entire beautiful hall. The sound is supposedly better on the upper tiers, although my tin ear doesn't really notice.

The piano soloist, Conrad Tao, performed a program called "Poetry and Fairy Tales: Brahms, Ravel and More." He is very talented and the small audience was enthusiastic. 

Well, I'm glad to be back in Seattle this week, because March is coming in like a lion with stormy weather and feet of snow piling up in the mountains. The flowers are shivering with spring just around the corner. 

This switch to Daylight Savings Time is discombobulating. Not to mention, unhealthy. But we feel oh-so-lucky being retired-- this was once the worst day of the year. 

Head em' up

 

A herd of panicked deer came stampeding around the yard yesterday afternoon. Maybe a dog scared them? Hopefully not a big feline. I went out on the deck and they stared at me like I could help. Our town deer are semi-domesticated.

Speaking of the Carlton Cougar, the game wardens have set a trap to capture it. I don't know what the plans is, or if it can even be relocated to the wilderness. In the meantime, an unnerving situation in that little farming community.

Well, I'm packing up this morning for the long cattle drive back to Seattle. No worries about snow on the passes, but the second half of the drive will be wet. 

 

Country delight

 

 

A pretty view of the farmhouse last night when I left after dinner. They've already transformed it into a such a warm and charming family home. 

The winding drive back to Twisp, at least this time of year, is pitch black, but with no cars on the road I just poke along watching out for critters. The other night in the rear view mirror, it looked like someone was tailgating, but it was just the full moon. 

 

Speaking of critters, their neighbor took this picture of a bold-as-brass cougar walking along the road, just a mile from the farmhouse. Usually secretive animals, it's unnerving to see a cougar in broad daylight. They did notify the local game warden that he's hanging around the neighborhood. Yikes. He certainly looks well fed.   

 

 

Anyway, what a wild and beautiful place, right up against the western wilderness. Yesterday I took Nica outside with me (she could spot a cat a mile away) and listened to birdsong-- in a few seconds, the Merlin app lit up with seven different species. And it isn't even spring yet!  It will look like paradise in a few months when those hundreds of fruit trees bloom. 

 

 

 

 

Pigmy Nuthatch

 

 

It hasn't been all play here. Those are Potentilla shrubs, planted by the previous owner along the front of the house. Good choice and thank you. 

They bloom very prettily with yellow flowers all summer long, on just a measly drip line of moisture. Tough as nails but in the winter look ugly and dead. I pruned back half today, and will do the rest tomorrow. 

In other oddities, the riverbank has been mostly bird silent (too early) but I got outside just in time with my Merlin sound app to catch a few chips of the Pigmy Nuthatch. A first.

OK. The turkeys have outworn their welcome in the Methow Valley, especially in the tourist town of Winthrop. Here in Twisp, huge flocks still roam around, like this 50 or so in front of the house today. I can't help but like such a successful creature, dinosaurs actually. 

Karen came over and we ate soup for lunch, then I took a long solo walk around town.  Of course it's sad to walk past Amanda and Tom's house up the street, now a rental, but I'm so glad they have a beautiful new home in Carlton.

They are not missing anything. This is a time of change and construction in downtown Twisp. Check this out-- a new monstrosity climbing gym wall on main street, of all things, dwarfing buildings around it, Who would have thought?  Looks like west Seattle.  

 

This summer, downtown Twisp has a major downtown renovation project coming on Glover Street. 

Progress marches on. 

Above and beyond

 

By lucky accident, I'm enjoying the best weather in weeks. It's been a dry (as in no snow) and gloomy (as in overcast) winter in the Valley which is not what the folks here expect. 

Now spring seems to be arriving early and everyone is happy to finally see blue sky. Icky mud season will be short, since there is so little snow on the ground.

It was a spectacular morning and Karen and I hiked up Mill Hill. For the athletic locals, this steep trail above town is just a little routine exercise jaunt. I'm always pleased with myself to make it (slowly) to the top, or almost the top. Most locals don't go up to the giant Twisp cross that dominates the mountain top. 

 

 

Karen and I really enjoy our easy companionship, what a gift. It's a special bonus how wherever we go, I'm being introduced to locals. She has been in the Valley for decades, and everyone knows and understandably loves her. 

 

Other than that, I've doing some spring cleaning, even though nothing is especially dirty. I don't know why, but housework here is less drudgery than our old, old house in Seattle that seems to manufacture dust. And it helps to have a bright and pretty view while I'm puttering around.

 

 

The riverbank talks

 

"An the river bank talks of the waters of March, it's the promise of life, it's the joy in your heart." Antonio Carlos Jobim

 

Welcome, March. It feels like we missed the Methow Valley winter altogether, which might not be a bad way to go. 

It seems more like April right now with the warm sun and dry ground. A strange February indeed-- no melting berms along the roads or dirty piles of snow all over town. 

On Saturday I even got my beach chair out of the garage ate a sandwich by the river, watched over by some chubby townies, begging for a crust. 

We had a great weekend. Dinner was nice on Friday, fancy salads (the weird looking one was my apple and prosciutto) then shared a wood fired pizza which hit the spot.

I made a big curry dinner for the gang last night and we had a good time. Karen and I are going out to the farm today for a walk with Amanda. It is another spectacular morning without a cloud in the sky. John is on his way home and should have an easy drive back to Seattle.

 

Anniversary

 

"Men aren't usually thinking about anything that would remotely interest women. And vice versa."

I don't know the source of that quote, but it's probably true, except for a few universal thoughts, like food. 

Well, despite our wildly different brains, the world is full of happy couples muddling along through all the ups and downs of a long marriage. 

On February 27, 1993, our dear parents in that picture were about the same age we are now. And if that doesn't give a person pause for thought, nothing will. 

Nice weather today for driving over to Twisp and we'll celebrate 33 years at new restaurant in town called Lupo Brio. 

Then on Saturday night, hopefully gather the busy family at the house for dinner. John heads back to Seattle on Sunday, a short visit for him, but I'm looking forward to staying into next week to do some spring housecleaning and catch up with my neighbor Karen.