December 10, 2011

Cold, cold, cold is what is defining this December. Last year this time we had snow, this year frost and cold. The yard and deck have not thawed and I think you could walk across the pond. It is interesting because we decided to put in one more outbuilding. Craig, the carpenter from Maine, has started the project. He has the 4 cement filled sonatubes in that provide the foundation for the new shed. It will be a cute shed. Don rolls his eyes whenever I say something like that, but if you are going to have a shed, it should be cute, correct? The purpose of the shed will be to house the lawn furniture, bikes and other summer paraphernalia. The stuff that is clogging up the garage and barage. The shed will be located behind my garden, so that in the summer it can double as a reading room. I am kind of excited about it.

Today the heat mats and lights had to go on in the potting shed. I may have lost a few things to the freeze, but most of the plants looked like they were handling their hibernation pretty well. I can hardly believe that in a few weeks I am going to need to inventory seed and start planning for next summers garden.

We are looking forward to Don's cancer being gone by this summer-which will make A Way Back party central once again. We will need to work on the trails and forest, because this fall we just did not have time to re-do them. So, there will be plenty of projects and plenty of extra gloves if you need to take some time away and want to work. There is nothing quite like chipping or.... the 70 million things you can do out here in the big house next to the creek, in the middle of the forest,by the river.

Autumn is just about finished and snow is on the mountains

This Sunday we turn back the clocks. Hard to believe that summer and autumn are just about over. We have been busy at A Way Back putting gardens to bed, burning forest debris, mulching, blowing out watering systems, and getting ready for winter. The stoves are roaring, but that is not surprising since our nights have dipped into the 20's but most consistently are in the 30's now. But, A Way Back will be pretty again in the spring and summer and we will look forward to your visiting us and sharing the peace that exist in this place by the creek, in the middle of the forest, next to the river. We are sure you will find peace here.

August pictures

The bliss of summer-August at A Way Back

August is always a full and fun month. July rolls right into August. We had the Harts and Chaplain Katie with her husband and friend here. What fun that was for us-they are a delightful group, even the rain could not discourage this hearty group. Then we have birthdays at the end of the month and at the beginning of August. We celebrated the 3 D's (Dee, Deb, and Don) birthday on the deck. This year we honored Dee who turned 80. It was definitely fun. Then, son-in-law Gary came out to help Don with painting the outside of the house-a big job. It was great having him here for a few days. We look forward to his next visit. There is always work, but vacationing is good too. Whichever he chooses, we look forward to his return. On a bittersweet note, just shy of her 101 birthday, Don's mother changed residence and went to her eternal father's mansion. Don flew back for the funeral. Even though she lived a long and full life, saying goodbye is difficult. Don flew back to Oregon on the same day that dear friends from San Diego flew in to spend a few days at A Way Back. It was delightful to have Rob and Becky here. Rob had been in Afghanistan this year and had just been home for a month. It was time for him to take the pack off and rest, before returning to his new duty as regional chaplain. And what better way to rest than working on trees, cleaning the creek, and creating stakes for my garden. Becky helped with the creek project and helped me with the gardens. Now it is time to harvest and put up beans and peas, while we wait for tomatoes and squash to ripen. The summer flowers are magical and very aromatic. Our backyard has the delicious smells oriental lilies in full bloom. It is hard to imagine that summer is coming to an end, but you can see it in the leaves, and the shorter days. But, we are not letting go of summer just yet, and we look forward to September and October sharing some of those spectacular days with more friends and couples who need time at A Way Back.

Oh My!!

Well we have been busy and just forgot about updating you on the project. It is finished and delightful. Part of the delay is we were busy with the project. Then it was suddenly summer and the vegetable starts had to go into the ground. So, Memorial Day weekend we worked on the garden. Don dug nine beds for me and I planted and planted and planted some more. Then Don set up the soaker hoses and my watering system for the squash. Everyday since at least two hours have been spent on those beds. But I think the experiment with vegetables gardening is working.

Don has been to Michigan for the RCA's chaplain's conference. After that it was back here to finish landscaping around the backyard project. All is all things are looking good.

We were cold until a week ago. Route 242 is STILL closed due to snow, but all of the falls are spectacular due to the amount of water rushing over them. If you have not been to A Way Back in awhile, you should schedule a trip. It is definitely looking different from your last visit, and we still promise you a relaxing time in the middle of the woods, next to the creek, near the river. And if it you want a little more action, you can always hop on the ATV, or go for a hike, or work on some tractor work or even pull weeds in gardens. Hope you are having a good summer.

Project Moves Forward and Flourishes.

The project continues. Yesterday Don, Craig, (the carpenter from Maine) David, ( a day helper who knows plants) and Bill (the neighbor) were all busy working back there. Don and Craig worked on the deck and Bill and David worked on the future rock garden. The deck is amazing-what a difference it makes. I bet we will be outdoors now more than indoors. Bill leveled a portion of the yard so that we can see the creek from the deck and we will be able to continue to see the creek even when the rock garden is in place. It really is starting to look very nice.

I worked in the front garden weeding and barely made a dent after hours of weed removal. The bulbs are up and glorious, producing beautiful and fragrant bouquets. It was a great day.

The shed has flats of starts. Smells yummy. Don is going to hang some netting from the roof to discourage birds from breaking their necks trying to fly through the shed on sunny days. We have had more than one die on sunny days. So, hopefully that will work. Speaking of birds the hummingbirds are back, as are the chickadees and ducks to name a few.

The elk have still been on the property as has one very big doe. The elk are skittish, but the doe is not afraid of me. I keep warning her that if she eats from my garden she will be in deep trouble. The albino deer is a yearling and still roams with a sibling and its mother. It is still a celebrity around here. I think if a coyote or cougar tried to make dinner of it that the locals would form a lynch mob.

All in all, there is quite a bit to see up here in the wilderness.

Pictures of project

What is happening at A Way Back?

Projects, projects and more projects. Rain, rain and more rain. But both will make for a great spring and summer!

Don just returned from a 12 day trip to various posts east of Oregon. He had a whirlwind trip, but was very happy to visit the chaplains. He came back just in time to get good and muddy as we work on the deconstruction of the back yard. We will then reconstruct the back to be a little easier to maintain. Right now it is just a big puddle of mud, but it has potential. I will add pictures of the deconstruction and then the reconstruction.

Don took some fabulous photos of his trip east. I will put those on after we return from Coronado's Salute to the Military. It will be mid April.

We hope and pray that your Lenten season has been blessed. We look forward to seeing you soon at A Way Back.

Spring is in the air

Yikes, How did it possibly get to be Fat Tuesday? Yes, we’ve been busy with winter and snow and projects, but I think this goes down as oops, just forgot to get back to the blog.

We had a great time this winter (between storms) visiting friends in Hawaii. Just loving sitting on Lee and Richard’s boat soaking up the island breezes. Then off to MA for a beautiful winter wedding, over to MD and to VA where Don attended a conference and I read books and played tourist. It has been a good winter.

It is not officially spring, but there are some signs that it is knocking on the door despite today’s snow. The mallards are back, the crocus are poking up through the snow, and the frogs are singing away. They are my least favorite of the signs. I never knew frogs could be so noisy. You think they would get tired and need to rest their throats, but know they are just singing away. All signs of spring.

Don has to repair the barrage. A tree branch made a significant hole in the roof, but other than that we sustained very little damage due to storms.

The potting shed will be in full operation starting next week. Winter operations are about to come to a halt. It was fun having herbs and flowers to tend to during the winter, but now it is time for heat mats to hold seed flats. Such fun. So, I need to finish my last knitting project this week, finish my book on George Washington. And start getting the spring wardrobe ready. (that just means, umbrellas, raincoats, and wellies and rubber boots rather than woolens.)

I think May will be a beautiful bulb month, but that is just a guess.

I will add pictures of the shed and barrage during the operation phase, for now you have seen enough of my snow pictures. So, we will go pictureless on this LONG OVERDUE entry.