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not time to miss my boy... yet

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:26 pm

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My son moved out yesterday for his Summer job at a campground. He's done this for the past couple of summers, this time was odd because he's lived elsewhere for the past month already. My Uncle, his great uncle, had major surgery and rehab time. My aunt has a rare degenerative neurological disorder that precludes and possibility of her living alone; they are both at a care facility for now. So DS moved to their place to house sit for a month, right up until he moved out to the campground.
I't's actually one of those look-back-in-old-age times, though of course he can't see it now. Have I written about the house here already? Don't recall. My uncles house is built on a piece of land homesteaded by my great-grandfather. It's on a hill, and great-grand logged it for his sawmill (the first steampowered sawmill in the county). But way up there at the top of the hill is a spectacular view skimming the tops of the Black Hills (the same range that runs by my place here). Unbelievable sunsets that go on forever. My uncle built a house, a cabin really, right at the edge of the hill. It's all sided in local cedar sawn in my great-grands still-usable sawmill. And has a positively enormous covered porch overlooking the hill view, an excellent spot for a young musician to practice his guitar. That's a little awe-inspiring for DS too, since my aunt's nephew (from her side of the family) was a Very famous musician, and actually did that very thing.
So DS was there for a month, now he's living at a camground, running meals to the far cabins in a reconstruction of a pioneer town called Harmony. Some of the "businesses" on main street are actually sleeping areas, other folks sleep in teepees or covered wagons. And there is a big open dining hall called the Black Bear Cafe- not really any cooking facilities in there, which is why DS will spend the summer driving a golf-cart sort of thing out to Harmony three times a day to set up, monitor, and clean up all the meals. I hope he writes a book about it all someday.
I'm just scrambling with end-of-school-year stuff for DD, having the plant sale committee out here tonight for a wrapup barbecue (and today's panicky housecleaning), and engineering an alteration to an adult tricycle to make it into a sort of pedicab so I can keep biking this summer, with DD safely riding along. Huge challenge, but if it turns out it should be fun. And yes, I will include pics if it works. I'm planning on painting it Very bright so cars can't miss us. Probably something along the lines of a gypsy caravan with lot's of Bavarian-type folkart flowers on it, just so we are sure to be visible, lol!
So why am I sitting here typing a blog? Good grief, I gotta get crackingI

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The Great Chipmunk Adventure

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:49 pm

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My head's still spinning from all the organizing details and such, but the plant-and-handcraft sale at my church was a big success. Even with quite a few plants left over, folks contributed far more than enough that we will be able to buy a really good chainsaw to cut firewood for those elderly folks I talked about earlier! We all got to know each other a bit better too. Several ladies brought homebaked goodies, our pastor made ice cream with his daughter, and we even have a fellow who custom roasts coffee to support his family (and a little villiage where the beans are grown) bring in several pots of coffee, so everyone stood around, choosing plants, and socializing... it was just wonderful.
But, being the animal nut that I am, even with all that, the high point came for me after the sale was over, when almost everything was packed up to leave. We discovered that a tiny baby chipmunk was hiding under the plant trailer. He was none too keen to leave, either. The gentleman, Ray, handling the trailer was very concerned about pulling his truck out; the little chipmunk was so scared that he kept darting under the tires. At one point, he wedged his tiny self right under the front tire of the truck, which was running and in gear, and Ray had to keep the brake jammed to the floor- meanwhile, a church Elder dropped to the ground and reached in to coax the little guy out. One slip of Ray's foot would have meant death to the chipmunk and a broken hand to the other man. But the coaxing worked, the little rodent scurried back under the trailer. As Ray sloooowly inched the truck & trailer out and away, the baby kept scurrying under and around the trailer. Finally, the trailer was moved away, leaving tire tracks in the grass and a befuddled baby exposed to a group of Very Large Humans. After a moment of panic, it made a mad dash between the feet of the very man who had risked is hand, and ran off into the azaleas. At last sight he was crouched by the trash receptical munching on some delightful thing that had been dropped there.
Here's a truly fun website to check out: http://www.oldgeezerbooks.com/
That's the fellow who was driving the truck. He turns scrap metal into the funniest and most amazing garden sculptures, maybe they will inspire one of you to create something for your garden!

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quick followup to these bike posts

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:52 am

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I listen to music while I ride, and tend to swerve my bike on the empty road in time to the music, swooping it so low I've fallen over a couple of times. O well- I just really like riding. And my bike and I have been through alot together so it's a tad beat up. This morning I rode in my sweats, orange safety vest, and apparently old-fashioned helmet. Whatever. But I passed the funniest thing. Two bikers standing next to a spotless pickup. In really fancy skin-tight cycling gear, cycling shoes, really dope helmets. And really jazzy bikes, of course. Standing by their bikes stretching their legs to get ready to ride up the trail I'd just come down. I just peddled by, dipped my bike 45 degrees to the ground in salute, and waved; they gave me a really odd look. I don't know why it struck me so funny, but it did. Guess I'm guilty of reverse snobbery, lol!

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Scenes from a bikeride

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 4:09 pm

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Wow, it's amazing to me how the site floods with posts when I'm away! Between DD and I battling a flu bug, whipping myself into cycling, trying to convince the veggies to grow, and organizing a plant sale fundraiser this weekend I barely have time to breathe!
I took a couple of reference photos the other day when i was riding in the forest. Folks from around here will just go, oh, that's a bunch of trees. But I thought those of you who live in more arid places might be interested in them; this forest isn't too far from the Hoh Rain Forest up on the peninsula, and even here you'll find trees dripping with moss.



And here's a deer that hung around while DD and I waited for the bus. He moseyed away by the time I got back with the camera...

This is the backside of the prairie perserve by my house. The building off in the distance is the studio of an artist/art teacher. I try to take a class every now and then, but she's a very Good teacher, and gets paid accordingly!

Looks like the weather has decided to not improve, so I'll just give up on it and head out on my bike anyway!

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