If It Doesn't Move, Can It!

The garden is through for the year, mostly. Two weeks ago we experienced a freak freeze that killed much of the vulnerable plants. 25 degrees will do that if it lasts for just a few hours, and it did. We lost the zucchini, tomatoes, sweet peppers, green beans, butter beans, a couple of cucumber hills that weren't covered and the pumpkins and cantelope were punished. The corn crop was a week or two from being finished and it was killed outright. Such a waste. But there is a bright side...

Canning! We have put away more produce than ever before. Pickled beets, bread and butter pickles, sweet pickles, dill pickles, dilled green beans, cherry preserves, cherry jam, pickled jalapenos, zucchini pickles, pickled plums, plum preserves, plum chutney (YUM!), gosh I could go on and on. This stuff is yummy and we will be wading through it all winter.

So we have now entered the fall phase of recovering any produce that survives into the cool weather. Last 3 nights have dipped to 31 or so for a few hours but the plants go grudgingly into the great beyond. Here is what I picked today:

Amazing that I could still be picking jalapenos after the cold spells we've had. Under the corn are a few tomatoes that wouldn't give up and there is even a few cucumbers that have toughed it out. And the Corn! It continues to fill some of the kernels even though the plant is brown, blowing like paper in the wind!

Our onions, carrots and swiss chard continue to grow as if they are possessed. I expect these carrots to be about 12 inches long and an inch in diameter. The onions are bigger than the biggest ones at WalMart. Everyone here says to leave the onions in until the tops die. I need to check that out - but they sure are happy! We have about four decent sized pumpkins in the patch, one is larger than a basketball. The melons are diminutive, about softball size and hard as rocks. Will they ripen? I harvested the remaining beets today, they are beautiful. I love them pickled, plain not so much...

On another note, we have plunged back into kitchen renovation once again. My friend Pat Dillon (from Virginia) visited us last week and put 3 days worth of work into rewiring some of the electrical here at casa Streagle. Turns out (as I had suspected) our main 200 amp house breaker was worn out, so Pat pulled the meter and installed a new one. All I had to do was fork out over 300 bucks for it. A new panel was about the same price but lots more work. Besides, the old panel was actually heavier duty than what is currently available at the big box stores today.

We fished wires in the kitchen, installed a bedroom ceiling fan and light kit, restored power to our upstairs guest room, fixed a hall light circuit, and installed a generator plug and breaker for emergency power. While all this was taking place our other guest visitor, Betty Cochran cooked up some yummy treats for the evening meals. Betty also checked out Karren's new (to her) sewing machine and gave her a quick lesson on making it whirr.

This has been the season for mice. I haven't been able to mouse proof the basement yet, as it will have to wait until I do a complete demolition of the space. Well, they found us in a big way. I have fed them a steady diet of D-con and trapped a few. I have been through 3 boxes of poison and they ate it all. I have not seen much sign of them in the last few days. Maybe they are feeling the effects? Not much smell yet, hope they find their way outside first!

Since we had such a boost in morale from our visitors, K and I decided to tackle the kitchen cabinets. They have been a nasty shade of light avocado and lime for the last two years and it was time to say adios to the grossness. We began by disassembling the drawers and cabinet doors, then painting the carcasses white. Next came the drawer fronts and the drawer interiors. These drawers have had a raw (nasty) interior that had never seen paint. Here is a few of the completed drawers:

Now all we need to do is get some new countertops and we'll be able to live with it until we find a money tree. BTW, the doors are still being painted. What a pain to paint! I hate painting. What do you think of the flat dark red interiors? Cabinet interiors are still waiting for their treatment. One day at a time...

It seems like winter will be on us fairly soon and we have much left to do to get ready. The remainder of the wood must be split and stacked, the front porch stocked with firewood, the chimney cleaned, the garden tilled under, a new door installed to the barn, etc. We have a lot to do and not much time left.

Idaho is the wettest it has been in over twenty years. Our grass is green and needs mowing. There is dew every morning and frost frequently. It has been primarily rainy or cloudy for the past 3 weeks. I have seen rain, sleet, hail, and snow within a 2 hour time frame. This weather is crazy. The old timers here are shaking their heads and are at a loss as to what the winter will be like. I have a bad/good feeling about it. Bad - that there is likely to be a ton of snow, and good - that it will mean lots of plowing, i.e. overtime for work : )

I promise to punch out a few more of these blogs as things get colder. Keep checking back...

Smoked Up in Sequioa

The long anticipated break from work has come and gone. Back to the Salt Mines for us! However, let me tell the story of our epic journey to land of fruits and nuts and back again...

Karren and I left home late that hot July day after performing an act of community service for a friend in need. We didn't leave until 3 PM so my goal was simply to get out of Dodge asap. The first night we opted for accommodations in St. George, Utah, at the local Super 8 Motel. It proved a wise choice, as the temperatures had risen dramatically with every foot lost in elevation as we descended out of the Colorado Plateau. By the time we reached Las Vegas, NV it was 106 degrees in the shade. People actually live there! The city is a weird oasis of concrete and electricity in a desolate void of sand and mesquite. We didn't stop and couldn't wait until we reached our first destination: The house of Sarah and Kevin Hopkins in Manhattan Beach, CA. Driving across Los Angeles was like a bad dream - just when you think you have reached the Pacific Ocean, there is yet another freeway to navigate. I have never seen so much development across a flat landscape. It is really odd to see such a large metropolis lacking vertical buildings.

Anyway, we arrived there to find the Hopkins' house was sandwiched in between other monstrosities, lost in a maze of development and sprawl. They are situated not quite three blocks from the beach, and the area actually has a slight resort feel to it, even though it is like living in the middle of a file cabinet. The salt air and humidity brings the beach into the home with its mild climate. Temps never got above 80 degrees, yet inland just 5 miles it was brutal. Here's a view of their period beach cabana, which has a period flavor. I would like to have seen it back in the day...

It is amazing that real estate there is priced by the square inch, not foot! Their place is deceptive in that it fills the entire lot from front to rear, road to alley, and features a wonderful courtyard. Their house brings me back to memories of beach houses on the Outer Bank of NC, until I walk out the front door and see the other stucco high rises that predominate the hillside. Here's a view from their front porch down to the water:

And watch where you step! The density of people is only rivaled by the density of dogs. Why do people have so many pets in such close quarters? I'll never understand the need for urban dog or (insert favorite pet here) worship, especially when there is no place for the critters to roam, bark, defecate, or otherwise antagonize others in high density living. I love dogs, but giant ones in the city? Really?! End of irresponsible pet owners rant.

After three glorious days of visiting Kevin and Sarah, we steered ourselves onto the drought ridden highways of California toward Sequioa National Park, the first stop in our NP tour. Sequoia is lovely and the roads are sometimes impossibly narrow, but they do not quite rival Mesa Verde in terror factor. The trees are magnificent.

It was there that we first began to notice the haze that was settling over the high Sierras. SMOKE!

Evidently there was a complex of fires burning in several places. I inquired as to where these fires were at the Sequoia NP visitors center. Yosemite!?! Why that's on our itinerary! Great... how bad can it be? Resolved to the situation being what it would be regardless, we continued our trek.

The trees of the sequoias are massive. The human brain does not register the immensity until hours have gone by. Then it really has an impact; these things are as big as ships! The trunks easily block half of your vista and have a feeling of ancientness and antiquity reflecting their age. After a while one begins to pick out the younger members of the species apart from "regular" pines and cedars.

Yosemite was mostly shrouded in smoke. Needless to say the views were not what we had anticipated, however we managed to find some clear camping above 8000 ft. This is the domain of the bears. These critters have their way with anyone foolish enough not to heed the warnings, which are pervasive throughout the parks. One night I woke to the sounds of an entire section of the campground being pillaged by ursa major and minor. The morning light revealed the signs of the struggle between creature and man. Total destruction of coolers and everything else that smelled of food that was not locked up in the bear boxes (provided). City dwellers - MEH!

Our time in Yosemite was tempered by the incredible press of crowds and vehicles. I will not attempt to enter the valley again in this lifetime, but will probably revisit the Tioga Pass area. Lake Tenaya is pristine and spellbinding. The entire eastern area of the pass is spectacular. So there we are, driving along in barely 60 degree temps and Karren says, "Stop the truck!" Within minutes she is daring me to take the plunge. You know a glacier feeds that pond don't you? A whole new meaning to the word "cold."

We left the high country to descend into Mono Lake and Nevada. That state is a jewel. I think most probably see Nevada as a barren wasteland but I see the solitude as a gift. Mountains that no one is climbing, high lakes that see few visitors and roads that beg for traffic.

We ended up staying the next night on top of a mountain near the north end of Nevada at Angel Lake, a nat'l forest campground. The weather was windy and wet, and the mosquitos were fierce, so we ducked into the tent quickly for the sanctuary. This CG was above 9000 feet and the road up is not for the faint of heart either. I had to take a five minute break on the way up to get my breathing squared away because it rose so rapidly from the desert floor below.

The next day saw us taking in the sights at the Golden Spike National Monument in Promontory, Utah. A wonderful exhibit and two actually working steam locomotives made the visit memorable. Then home. Trying to get the blog moving so on to the next post!

Mesas and Buttes and Hoodoos, Oh My!

So a brief note about my vacations this summer for those of you who might have absolutely nothing else to do other than surf meaningless blog rants.

A whirlwind tour of the canyon country was made by Myself and daughter Lauren in early July. Taking two weeks off from her work and busy schedule Lauren made her second visit to Idaho. Her first was when she assisted in the mammoth move from Virginia back over two years ago. After picking her up at the airport (Dad, that cowboy hat looks ridiculous!), we spent two days adjusting to altitude here at Streagle Ranch (4800 ft.). After that it was off to our first stop, Canyonlands National Park. A favorite of Karren's and mine from our 2007 world tour, we made the trip in about 6 hours to Moab, Utah in the hopes of finding an empty campsite at the park (there are only 12). I could only chuckle as we headed for the dry desert when Lauren kept taking pictures of various canyons, mountains and rock formations - what she would soon see would blow away anything she had encountered yet.

What luck! With only four or five sites taken we had the luxury of choice! I especially appreciated the upgraded sites a la the pole shelters added since my previous visit. Having a way to get out of the sun is an essential tool to surviving the high desert in the summer. I love to visit these places that are higher than 7000 feet during the hot months because they keep high temperatures moderate (80's to low 90's). Even the slight drop into the valleys and desert floor results in temps averaging 100 or better. Sleep is much more comfy when in the 50's or 60's as well.

Canyonlands continues to remain my favorite Nat'l Park. If you want to know why I just have to say, "Go there and find out!" The views are superior to virtually anywhere else in the lower 48. Here is a shot of Lauren and me at Mesa Arch, a rather picturesque photo op. It's nice having other tourists around for those times when you want to capture the whole group:

Hard to tell but those mts. in the background still have some snow! We ended our tour of the Moab area after a couple of days that included Arches N.P. and Zack's Pizza (and Laundry) by setting our sights on Mesa Verde, a four hour jaunt into southwest Colorado. We arrived and had absolutely no problems getting a site at the campground. It has over 450 sites and was less than half full.

Mesa Verde is a wonderful place. Lots of history, ruins, terrifying mountain roads, and a relaxed pace that most parks don't come close to matching. We toured all four available (ticketed) ruins over a two day period and managed to avoid the bear that happened to be cruising the campground during mealtimes. We did see him, but he was on the mountain road doing his business - I really mean doing his business (obscure scatological reference).

I have more pics of us in the ruins but here is one that I took of some guy hamming it up in Cliff Palace:

I think those early Americans must have had an issue with completion? Anyway, it is a spectacular place that we spent two days visiting. Here is Lauren pointing out yet another hidden ruin to her rather clueless father:

That's quite a happy expression for a woman that has had one shower in the past week! Water is at a premium in canyon country, but MV has the best shower complex of any N.P. I have visited. Be sure to take advantage of it - we did!

From MV to Grand Canyon is another four hour trip across 3 states, so we left early. Along the way we encountered the highest temps of the trip at Navajo bridge (101 deg.) but immediately began climbing up to the high mesa for the North Rim. Temps there were 30 degrees cooler by the time we found our campsite! A quick camp set-up and we were off to the canyon rim for our visit.

Having seen GC before my comments were, "It's a big ditch with bright colors." You can see most of the North Rim in about two hours. Lauren actually had a similar reaction and we were finished ogling over the views before dinner. Here is an obligatory GC pic:

A beautiful place for sure, but we were off to other places, namely Bryce Canyon. Bryce is another good place to be when the summer heat is upon you, as it is up there at 9000 feet. That's cool weather altitude! We were able to find a campsite there as well although the place was PACKED! Once off onto the trails down in the canyons the crowd thins out and things get more private. I had a heck of a time hauling my large posterior out of said canyons and we ended up staying two nights there, taking one day just to relax in camp. Ruby's Inn certainly makes it more civilized with their lunch buffet and store. I attempted a cobbler from scratch and we stuffed ourselves - at that point I believe anything sweet would have hit the spot.

Then the all important question arises; It's been a week and a half of constant traveling. Are you ready to go to Zion or do you want to head back to Idaho? The consensus was taken and to Idaho we went. I will remember the shower I took when we arrived for a long while. Thus ended the visit of Lauren for this epoch. I will miss her greatly and look forward to the next time I get to spend some quality time together. You can't replace it and you don't like saying good bye either. (sniff...)

In the next installment you'll hear of the epic journey attempted by Karren and Tim on their very rare opportunity for a real vacation. What is work anyway but a bridge between hours of enjoyment?

Another World or Desperately Soaking Idaho

Have I been transported to another planet? This August here in Southeast Idaho has been a weird episode of frequent and powerful thunderstorms, totally unheard of in the high desert. For semi-arid this place is soaked! I haven't watered the garden in weeks and it could actually use a few days of dry weather to avoid any rot problems.

GAAACK!

A Year Later in an Idaho Garden

Yes, the blog took a leave of absence. That's what happens when life gets in the way of pleasure. Suffice it to say that a lot has happened since October of 2013 and we need to get on with the postings of random Idaho musings.

This one concerns our garden. Karren and I decided we were not happy with a small plot anymore so we tripled the size. Our neighbor Hal came over and tilled the square with his tractor (what a gift!) and we commenced to plant our crop. All was going well at first but we learned our shortcomings quickly. In a nutshell - WATER! Crops need lots of water to flourish and we had to divert much of our well use to the garden. Nothing was left for the lawns or trees.

Here is the state of the plot right before we left for vacation at the middle of July. We had watered enough to keep things alive but not enough to generate consistent growth. This is also after the great weed genocide. The weeds had struck our last nerve so we took the plunge and invested (that's what married couples call it when they buy something they both covet) in a rear-tine tiller. Notice the footprints in that dark Idaho alluvial goodness. Tilled soil is the bomb! Gringing weeds is soooo gratifying.

Next is the garden after we got back from vacation. Our friends the Mylers watered for us and showed us what can happen if things get the moisture they need:

That's progress! The zucchini could now hide a family of Cambodians with no problem:

That's my corn in the back, still struggling with enough water. But behold, a cloud arises in the background! For the last several weeks it has rained almost daily. Cool, drenching, sometimes all night rains. Gardens like that stuff. The corn got blown over, but I learned another lesson. Leave it alone! It will right itself and come back even stronger.

This has brought us to the next phase of the food cycle: Storage! We began canning some pickles of one kind or another and have now graduated into the full-blown pressure canner storage kitchen. Here is Karren trying her hand at Pickled beets for the first time:

After working with those red balls it looks like we killed somebody in the sink! Here's a rundown of what we've been canning so far:

Pickled Beets
Green Beans
Bread and Butter Cuc Pickles
B&B Zucchini Pickles (strangely tasty)
Dilly Beans
Sweet Pickles
Cherry Jam
Cherry Preserves
Cherry Pie Filling (the cherries were from the Dean's tree in Poky)

The above Dilled green beans were done using fresh dill from Hal's garden. He's a great guy and recommended the dilly beans. Check out the dill seed heads! A clove a garlic too.

The pickles below are my favorite - Bread and butter pickles. We are averaging about four to six cuc's a day out of the garden, so the pickles are just getting started. We are going to eat so many pickles this winter we will die of vinegar poisoning! Death, where is thy sting?

I can't resist a parting shot of me in my work clothes, outstanding in my field. Notice the height of the corn now. This is Silver Queen and boy is it going to be good!

We have also got:

Cilantro
Pumpkins
Summer Squash
Butter Beans (kind of a bust this year and last - must be an Idaho thing)
Peas (the deer's favorite)
Carrots
Turnips the size of volleyballs - we eat the greens
Swiss Chard
Cantelope
Green Peppers
Jalapenos
Several different tomato varieties
Raspberries (previous owner's patch)
Strawberries
Radishes
Spinach
Golden Bantam Corn

So, what's in your garden? We are already making plans to go bigger again next year. I want to plant tomatillos for salsa, and more peas to distract the deer.

Check back soon for another installment: The Streagle's go to the driest place on the planet at the moment - California! Smoked out and stoked by the Sierras.

Ciao!