Our blueberries finally found a home for the winter. Deer netting in place. Mulch around the plants. Hopefully they last through their first winter in Eastern WA!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Blueberries Found a Home
Our blueberries finally found a home for the winter. Deer netting in place. Mulch around the plants. Hopefully they last through their first winter in Eastern WA!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Wild Turkeys!
We see wild turkeys often, but we've never seen an albino turkey before! What fun. A group of about four or five of them wandered through the yard yesterday.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Wilderness
Getting settled in to our new homestead requires a bit of redefining the word "walk." Usually I put on my 20-pound vest and go on my 30-40 minute walk. Well, last fall I learned that it's not safe to walk up to the Nat'l Forest any longer. A neighborly fellow walking his dogs gave me the true scoop about the strange people living up there. (I agree. Anybody who calls their place the "Poison Oak Ranch" sounds a bit odd to me.) So . . . that route is out, unless I decide to invest in some concealed weapon, which seems like a bit of overkill (no pun intended).
So I changed my route and decided to stay on the back roads in the woods. Lovely walk! Took the kids and the grandkids when they visited. However, last week when I was on my usual walk in the woods, I ran into the new neighbors (I use the term "neighbors" loosely, as they are probably at least 1/4 mile away) and we chatted. Their first question:
"Do you have bear spray?" (I wonder if it's anything like insect repellent).
"No. Why?"
"We've seen a lot of bear sign lately right around here."
I guess it is fall, and I confess I thought I saw some bear droppings the other day, but . . .
My new acquaintances were quite free with all kinds of local mountain cautions, like:
~ besides the bears roaming around, there is a pack of wild dogs to be on the lookout for. "It was even on the national news," they told me. I don't remember seeing it, but I began to listen even more intently.
~ rumors of a wolf in these parts (OK, I hear the coyotes occasionally, but really! A wolf?)
~ last winter they had a moose in their front yard.
By now I'm wondering if they are trying to pull the "newbie's" leg, but honestly, they seemed sincere and concerned for my safety. (I was waiting for a cougar sighting, but they didn't say). So we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and went our separate ways.
So now, my hiking is limited to our 14 acres. Back and forth, around and around I go. Not quite as adventurous as the other routes, but probably wiser.
One good thing . . . my cell phone works at the top of our homestead!
So I changed my route and decided to stay on the back roads in the woods. Lovely walk! Took the kids and the grandkids when they visited. However, last week when I was on my usual walk in the woods, I ran into the new neighbors (I use the term "neighbors" loosely, as they are probably at least 1/4 mile away) and we chatted. Their first question:
"Do you have bear spray?" (I wonder if it's anything like insect repellent).
"No. Why?"
"We've seen a lot of bear sign lately right around here."
I guess it is fall, and I confess I thought I saw some bear droppings the other day, but . . .
My new acquaintances were quite free with all kinds of local mountain cautions, like:
~ besides the bears roaming around, there is a pack of wild dogs to be on the lookout for. "It was even on the national news," they told me. I don't remember seeing it, but I began to listen even more intently.
~ rumors of a wolf in these parts (OK, I hear the coyotes occasionally, but really! A wolf?)
~ last winter they had a moose in their front yard.
By now I'm wondering if they are trying to pull the "newbie's" leg, but honestly, they seemed sincere and concerned for my safety. (I was waiting for a cougar sighting, but they didn't say). So we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and went our separate ways.
So now, my hiking is limited to our 14 acres. Back and forth, around and around I go. Not quite as adventurous as the other routes, but probably wiser.
One good thing . . . my cell phone works at the top of our homestead!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Pine Cone Wonders: Easy Fire Starters
It's summertime, and all those pine cones are dropping. It's time to collect them. Why? Read on . . .
Are you tired of saving all those newspapers for fire starters? Tired of scrounging up bundles and bundles of cedar kindling to get that early morning winter fire going? Well, here is a sure-fire way to get a roaring fire going in no time at all. It really is a wonder because it works every time!
Pine Cone Fire Starters!
First you need some nice, large pine cones (we use Ponderosa pine cones). We collect them when they are nice and dry. (Make SURE they are completely dry or this will not work.)
Then you need some parraffin and a large (large enough to dip the pine cone in) coffee can. Break up the paraffin and put it in the can.
You also need a heat source, something to melt the wax. (Caution: Do not heat the coffee can full of wax directly on top of the wood stove). Melt the wax in a coffee can set in a hot-water bath or another heat source out in the garage.
When the wax has melted, use a pair of tongs to dip the pine cones in the melted wax, lightly coating them. Then lay them aside to dry. Once dry, we keep them piled in a box next to the wood stove.
How to start a fire with pine cones:
1) Place a couple of pine cones on the bottom of the wood stove
2) Pile 2 or 3 logs on top of the pine cones.
3) Light the pine cones.
4) You’re done. Truly, in less than a minute, you’ve got yourself a fire! No newspaper, no kindling, no blowing your lungs out on a dying fire. This really works!
Note: Pine-cone starters work well to start outside, brush-burning fires also.
Are you tired of saving all those newspapers for fire starters? Tired of scrounging up bundles and bundles of cedar kindling to get that early morning winter fire going? Well, here is a sure-fire way to get a roaring fire going in no time at all. It really is a wonder because it works every time!
Pine Cone Fire Starters!
Then you need some parraffin and a large (large enough to dip the pine cone in) coffee can. Break up the paraffin and put it in the can.
You also need a heat source, something to melt the wax. (Caution: Do not heat the coffee can full of wax directly on top of the wood stove). Melt the wax in a coffee can set in a hot-water bath or another heat source out in the garage.
When the wax has melted, use a pair of tongs to dip the pine cones in the melted wax, lightly coating them. Then lay them aside to dry. Once dry, we keep them piled in a box next to the wood stove.
How to start a fire with pine cones:
1) Place a couple of pine cones on the bottom of the wood stove
2) Pile 2 or 3 logs on top of the pine cones.
3) Light the pine cones.
4) You’re done. Truly, in less than a minute, you’ve got yourself a fire! No newspaper, no kindling, no blowing your lungs out on a dying fire. This really works!
Note: Pine-cone starters work well to start outside, brush-burning fires also.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Available Now! Free Rent!
Actually, these are the brand-new, highly anticipated chipmunk condominiums. Yes, that's right folks! When the "neighbors" see these high-class condos, they'll move right in. The features can't be beat:
~ Multiple entrances and exits
~ Solid, leak-proof roofs
~ Plenty of ventilation
~ Basement storage area for a winter supply of pine
nuts
We anticipate four or five of these Chipmunk Heaven Condos to be completed over the course of the summer. By winter, every ground squirrel for miles around will move in. Unfortunately. Why unfortunately? Because ground squirrels are rodent pests and tunnel all over the place. They are NOT cute little Disney "Chip and Dales," I'm sorry to say.
Oh, wait! Here comes a future resident now:
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