Christmas Goodies

Beautiful snowfall

Quality time spent at home

A Lovely Christmas!

I Should Count to Ten...

...before writing this. One, two, three, four, screw it.

Of the many, many reasons we love living in rural Montana, an ironic sense of the quaint ranks high. For example, we have high-speed DSL access and it's less expensive than we paid for regular DSL in Seattle, but there isn't a whole lot of local info to access.

We want to attend a Christmas Eve service. Not in the online version of the Daily Interlake newspaper (oh, bastion of reasonable editorial!), not in the Flathead Beacon, not in the Bigfork Eagle is there a calendar listing service times. So, okay, I went to the website of the church we visited last year.

Here's their monthly calendar.














Surprisingly, frustratingly, agnostic-inducingly empty, doncha think?







And they're not alone in having nothing scheduled for Christmas Eve or Christmas. I don't care if they're not up to snuff with flash and animated GIF's and weekly messages from pastor/priest and staff; some content would be helpful. As much as I loved Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean," I don't think a church should take the Isla de Muerta approach, where a service can only be found by those who already know when it is.

Yes, yes, I'll call around tomorrow and find out whose service is when....

In other news, it's gorgeous here, I'm having tremendous fun reading the "What Global Warming?" articles on the web, and feeling quite meteorologically lucky, compared with Spokane, Seattle, the Midwest, the East, etc.

This photo shows two of our five outside trees with lights. There's been no wind here, so the very powdery snow is still in the branches.

I hope to post again tomorrow and Christmas, but if I don't, peace and joy, Merry Christmas, safe travel, and blessings to you and yours. --Bob

A Winter Wonderland

Monique and I are back from Helena and a visit with my cousin Lynn and her family, and Hall with a visit to Monique's parents. A busy, fun weekend.

Along the way we stopped twice for eats, and in the spirit of Christmas, I'll be generous with the first review.

1. Safeway Deli, Polson. Oh my dear good god this was bad. You know the taste when you nibble a piece of synthetic leather utterly devoid of moisture? Warm it up and you got their fried chicken.

2. No Sweat Cafe, Helena. A Hippie hangout, with anti-social tendencies like a no cell phone rule, fair-trade coffee, and other weird stuff. Great food, the service is, shall we say, "casual", and lingering is encouraged. Buncha non fast-food hippies....

3. Muralt's Cafe, I-90 and Exit 96, Missoula. Outstanding. Good food, excellent fries (and I'm not a big fries guy), and friendly service.

Okay, enough with the silliness. Visiting the Bubbs was a blast, and seeing their spastic black lab Scout made it that much more fun. Very much in the "It's a Small World" vein, as we were just about to leave, the couple that occasionally helps clean Lynn & Shawn's house came over, and voila, it was Monique's music director from Flathead High. My dad and his Two Degrees of Separation theory would've loved it.

Hall was wonderful, and the food there is always good :). Not really having gotten into Montana college football too much (either for the Griz or the 'Cats), I was still interested in watching the National Championship game between Montana and Richmond. We all watched, and just like all those actors who don't win the award, "it's an honor just to be nominated." Well, the Griz should be proud they made it to the championship game... literally. Finding the stadium and getting their uniforms on was the high point of the evening. Richmond quickly, decisively, and inarguably destroyed them. It was over way before halftime, and Montana had no idea what was going on.

Unlike Seattle and Spokane, we've gotten moderate snow this weekend. On the left is a shot of steam coming off Flathead Lake, and on the right, our backyard with 7" of snow perched everywhere.

A Season of Plenty

Thanksgiving was, as is usual for the Blazek clan, plentiful. Carla had a dozen people for dinner, and everything was delicious. It was a good trip, and Spokane provided lots of snow!

Monique and I hadn't intended to do much Black Friday shopping, but maybe because we didn't feel pressure to be there right when stores opened, that's why we were out as long as we were. Yes it was nuts, but so am I, so it's a wash.

The lovely family pictured is enjoying a deer block from our local ranch supply store. After putting a couple treats right in front of the house, we decided to move them into the trees so the deer can feel more protected. They have nothing to fear from us (unless they go for buried bulbs and whatnot), but it's a bit disconcerting at night hearing animals pawing and chewing just outside the bedroom window. And since raccoons found and destroyed one of our bird feeders, it's just better to be a little more conscious of our outdoor food supplies.

Decorations are going up, the wood stove is running nearly every day, and this weekend we'll go tree hunting. I'm very nearly done shopping, so it's just down to cards and/or the Christmas/Epiphany/President's Day letter.

Given how little I've blogged about stuff this year, it should be a doozy.

Here's to warmth, love, security, deep sighs of contentment, and the settling in for winter. Peace!

Yesterday

One of the things that amazed me most about the election yesterday was how little we heard about Barack Obama being black. In some circles I'm sure that was the main subject, but not from where I sat. For me, I was impressed how this was about new vs. old, change vs. status quo, anybody vs. President Bush.

Just for grits and shiggles I went to Fox News this morning, and saw two of the comment areas: Why Did John McCain Lose? and Why Did Barack Obama Win?

I went into both, and unfortunately read some incredibly ignorant, frightened, and racist comments. Hopefully Fox has either taken them down, or handed them over to the Secret Service.

A friend on Facebook wrote she was wondering where we go from here. My answer was, I dunno, but a lot of people would have to work VERY hard to do more damage to the country and the world than has been done in the past eight years.

I'm not much of a figurative Kool-Aid drinker (literally, however, I love the stuff), so my expectations for President Obama are realistic. Part of me wants him to use the executive signing statement as much as President Bush has, except to use it within the law and for good purposes. But really, instead of tit for tat, I think America needs a steady hand, an articulate voice, and a less petulant personality in our leader.

As usual, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert provided brilliant insight and analysis, while CNN premiered their holographic analyst. That's a head-shaker, that one.

Winter is approaching quickly, the wood pile needs a little more attention, and there are many rocks left to skip before the snow covers them. Now is not the time to just sit back and coast. The bloviators are catching their breath and regrouping, and the Republicans are still stunned. Gotta keep working, people.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Election Day in the U.S.

I can't comprehend how the presidential candidates sustain their schedules. Recently I was in San Jose for five intense days of meetings, and I was exhausted for two days when I got home. The pace, the demands, the energy required to do what they've done is remarkable.

In 2000, I voted for Nader. Governor Bush's primary campaign against Senator McCain -- really, a foretaste of his presidency -- was nasty, deceitful, and brutally effective. I didn't believe Al Gore best represented my interests, and I thought George Bush was a political aberration.

Senator McCain employs many who got George Bush elected in the anti-Clinton wave, but McCain's caught in a torrent of anti-Bush sentiment. He's been grabbed by a thresher, with blades named Bush, Cheney, Rice, Wolfowitz, Bremer, Perle, Rumsfeld, Rove, Miers, Gonzales, Feith, Ridge, Brown, Chertoff, Ashcroft... (and that's without using The Google!). Even Governor Palin, undoubtedly picked for her uncanny resemblance to President Bush in mentality, philosophy, experience and vocabulary, hasn't seemed to help the McCain campaign much.

Should Barack Obama win, he will not (cannot) save the nation. The debt, the wars, the economy, the culutre of corruption, the propaganda, the unitary executive, the mistrust, the bold and bald admitted lies; these are why George Bush's approval ratings are in the low 20's, and no one can easily or quickly confront (much less overcome) obstacles that large.

But tomorrow morning I'll gladly, proudly vote at the Swan River Elementary School (Go Warriors!). I hope you all do the same, whomever your candidates are.

Oh. Except, don't all show up at Swan River Elementary (Go Warriors!). That wouldn't work.

Ridiculous

Over a month since I last updated this blog? Insanely ridiculous, that. So much going on, such wonderful weather, so much to blab about. Let's start with the super good.

This nasty-looking beast is Scout, the newest member of my cousin Lynn's family. Scout is a black lab, famous for their energy, but she has two boys, Jake and Nicholas, to run her ragged and teach her the ways of the world. The first time I met her, she ran right up and put a couple little puppy piranha teeth into my hand. But dangit she's cute, so it didn't really hurt.

Whenever we next see her, be it next month or next spring, she'll be huge (and, no doubt, just as menacing a cur as she is in this photo).

Now for some sad news. These are a couple lovely apples from one of the trees on the property. It was was right on the river, between my grandma's and aunt and uncle's places. I say "was" because a few weeks ago a beaver got it. I'm bugged threefold: 1) the beavers have been active all year, so I should have seen this coming and could have easily prevented it; 2) of all the apple trees here, this by far produced the biggest and sweetest fruit; 3) I have no desire whatsover to either kill the beavers or see them gone, but when Monique and I found the tree down, I was not pleased with the thoughts of revenge / vengeance that entered my little mind.

All the other apple trees are protected, as are some of the shrubs, which the beaver have started taking en masse. But there are too many to protect, so it's got to be selective. One willow stump I protected this spring has 6' shoots; that one will stay protected.

In the living room, we have a 4'x5' window about 12' off the floor; from the outside, it's about 20' off the ground. It was cracked and had moisture between the panes, so we wanted it replaced. When "The Guy" came over to do it, I helped as I could, but much of it was left to his strength, balance, and confidence of hauling a broken window down a 24' ladder and pushing the replacement up the same ladder. Long story short, it's in, but it was almost a tragedy as Jeremy was very nearly knocked off the ladder as he moved the new window into the frame. I was on a ladder inside the house, watching as the window started backward -- there was nothing I could do. I still shudder at that image. Luckily (and unbelievably) he recovered his balance and somehow kept the window from falling.

Lastly, autumn is fully here. No snow in the Swans yet, but we're hopeful, maybe for the weekend. The turkeys have come back, we have a deer lick out and more hearty bird food in the feeder than just the black oil sunflower seeds.

Peace, and for our American friends who aren't (convicted) felons, please remember to vote next Tuesday.

Really, It's That Time Again?

Yep, really. The first dusting of autumn snow fell on the Swan Range while we were in Arizona, there are piles of bear poo around, the turkeys are back, and we... are... home.

Home from a long, hot weekend in El Mirage, AZ, where theater simple worked their interpersonal magic and interviewed dozens of residents about what they like about their current community, and what they look forward to in the future.

Thanks to everyone's kindness and hospitality, and huge thanks to Maria, Racquel, Mike, and Jan.

Oh, and Monique is home, which is a grand thing. The latest installment of Myth Understandings went well, and Gerda's Journey was a hit. I'm confident this fall's run without Monique will be good, too, 'cause ya can't have her back right away!

We brought Christine, who plays the main character in Gerda's Journey, back to The "Cabin" with us. She was a superb houseguest and had no trouble embracing The Way of The "Cabin" almost immediately.

The first apples were picked and pied, the last of my huckleberries were eaten, and the inaugural game of Apples to Apples was played. We had a blast, and hopefully she'll be back to take more naps here.

It is quiet, it is dark, it is cool, and it is home. Four fundamentally good things. Peace!

Of Sleep and Sugar Water

Clockwise from top: Dad, Silas, Lucy, Carla

I'm done apologizing for not posting as often as I could/would/should. There is something funny about this place, this "cabin," that makes one sleepy. I took this picture on the first day -- the first day! -- of our family reunion last weekend. Note the supreme gravity draw on the two dobies and my pop. Carla's only just hanging on.

I cannot be expected to blog in whatever bizarre hyper-relaxatory field is produced here. [note to work: just kidding]

The reunion was a blast, but I won't show pics 'cause I mostly took photos of the kidlings. Carla and I floated the river, my dad and I put new gate posts in at the road, and it was a good turnout in great weather. Grandma was in terrific form, saucier and funnier than I've seen her in a couple years. She's our matriarch, no doubt.

Monique was missed and asked about. Because I have a big ol' head cold, I say this for her sake... I'm glad she's not here right now. My sinuses have a grand capacity, and my head is very thick these past few days. If she were here she'd be taking care of me, and I'd be more focused on plowing through this. As it is, I'm doing well taking care of myself (made a big pot of homemade chicken soup the other day), and sort of "being" with my fogginess.

The birds are keeping me alert, going through two cups of bird seed every couple days, and a cup of hummingbird food every four. The day lily is about to bloom, as are the coneflowers, and yesterday I made it outside long enough to pluck and chomp our first ever raspberry. How cool is that!

In the good ol' summertime

Monique took this photo of a little buck eating dogbane on July 7. Summer is a good thing.

I was in San Jose last week for a productive but long business trip and an excellent reminder of how good it is working from home.

The best parts of the week were:

#4: Mild weather. The week before it'd been over 100 every day; the week I was there, it was mid-80's.

#3: Using the light rail instead of a rental car. Inexpensive, convenient, safe, and very handy. Can't wait until Seattle's opens in 2009.

#2: Seeing giant redwoods for the first time. They're freakishly big trees that grow like weeds. The Big Basin Redwood State Park has some biggies, and this page has a lot of good photos of trees we saw.

#1: Alaska Airlines customer service + my inveterate earliness = a nice long dinner with Monique in Seattle!

I was booked on the 5p flight from San Jose to Seattle, but got to the airport early enough to see the 3p beginning to board. I asked if there were seats available, and not only got on the flight, but got an aisle seat in an exit row... hello LEGROOM! It was a wonderful flight up, Monique picked me up at the airport, and we drove to Spiros in Kent, my favorite Greek restaurant in all of Seattle.

After a great meal, we went for a little walk. It was a totally un-hectic, good couple of hours together.

It's good to be home.

My Early 42's

Last Monday was my birthday, and Tuesday was Monique's. For mine we hiked into the Jewel Basin, a "neighborhood" hiking area with many alpine lakes. This shot is on the way to Black Lake, one of the easier destinations. You can see a little strip of Flathead Lake on the right.

I've hiked into the Jewel several times on my birthday... one year the glacier lilies were in full bloom, the next year there was snow everywhere. This year was in-between, with some snow around and wildflowers blooming on the hillsides.

In the afternoon we went for a float, got pizza, and relaxed, which we're quite good at. Turning 42 means nothing. I'm healthier and happier than when I was 32, and my life is better and fuller. Wisdom -- if I have any -- has come slowly, but then, I've always tried to pace myself.

For Monique's birthday we borrowed a sit-on kayak from my cousin Tom and, with our sit-in kayak, paddled from The "Cabin" to the bridge outside Bigfork. In a little over two hours we saw a huge amount of the river that was new to both of us. There are surprisingly, wonderfully, stunningly large undeveloped areas, so now it's easier to understand from where all the moose might come.

I eventually woulda explored the river, but Monique's wanted to do it pretty much since she first saw it. I appreciate her adventurousness and curiosity, AND the fact that it's responsible adventurousness.

For dinner we went to a nice restaurant in Bigfork and had salmon and garlic mashed potatoes. Garlic + Mashed Potatoes = lovely.

General note to floaters on the river: if you bring refreshments on your float, please think ahead and have a place for the empties. The river and riverbank are really thoughtless, stupid. On a completely unrelated topic that probably deserves its own paragraph but I've already started typing so why bother, I'm thinking of getting a pellet gun. You know, the kind with enough power to puncture... ooh, say, inflatable objects.

The Farm

About 20 miles outside Big Sandy, MT, is my great-grandparents' farm.

Last weekend Monique and I joined my aunt and uncle and a cousin and his wife out there. It was my first time being at "The Farm" in spring -- mine were always autumn hunting trips -- and our first time there since my dad's uncle Ed passed away in February 2006.

I won't type much here, except to say we had a terrific time, it was beautiful, and I can't wait to get there again. The 5.5 hour road trip is SO much nicer now than when we lived in Seattle!

14 Hours and Counting

June 10. Not March 10, or even April 10, but JUNE 10. This morning, around 8a, it started snowing here. Mostly rain with a little snow, but then it went the other way.

This was taken just before noon, when it had been snowing for almost four hours.

It's now after 10p, and it has snowed all day.

All -- stinkin' -- day.

Heavy, wet snow requiring tree shaking to unburden the leaves (and in the case of the giant lilacs, the flowers) of the slushy stuff. I don't remember too many days this winter when it snowed fourteen hours straight. If it freezes tonight, we'll have some tree damage, and the cherry orchards in the valley could get wiped out.

The other big news for the day is my sister and her two dobies are visiting.Lucy (on the couch) and Silas (on the floor) and Carla (not pictured... see her blog here) arrived this afternoon, we had pizza, we played in the snow, and in keeping with the rather odd weather happenings, we listened to Christmas music and watched the Peanuts Christmas Special after dinner.

All in all a terrific day. And given the incredible bizarre dangerous weather happening elsewhere in the country, I'll take a misplaced snow day anytime.

Here's hoping you all find the true meaning of Christmas this summer. Peace!

Lush

The crabapple tree's flowers are mostly gone now, but it was a beautiful bloom. We've been weeding, and scattering seeds, and basically walking around saying "green!" to each other. (Yes, this picture focuses on pink, but you get my drift).

It's a rainy June so far, which is fine. More snow in the mountains, lots of free watering for the trees and garden, and when it does get sunny and warm up, it'll be all the sweeter.

We've lived here nine months now, and how time flies. Although the last snow melted from the field just over a month ago, it seems ages. The deer -- daily visitors throughout the winter -- are just now appearing again, having switched from their more reserved gray coat to the "traditional" tan spring/summer look.

We've taken the kayak out a few times, Monique having gone the furthest so far. It's a good little boat, and once I feel more confident in my balance, and once the river's dropped a little, I'll try it from upriver a ways. The water's still high, and the sound it over flowing by is one of my strongest childhood memories from the old cabin. Spring runoff is not done, but there's almost no "stuff" floating by -- the logs, branches, stumps, twigs, posts, and planks that were sitting low throughout winter have moved on.

Monique, me, and my uncle Bill cleaned out the swimming hole -- armed with rakes, we worked about 90 minutes to get the majority of stuff in our beloved swimmin' hole back into the current. I'm not a huge fan of making all that someone else's problem, but in this case, I guess I was.

Still haven't gone to Glacier Park, or the Jewel Basin, or Bond Creek. Maybe next weekend. Being around here is so fun and so energizing, I can only imagine what some of our favorite hiking places look like.

Spring

Three hundred and nine shades of green, and at least that for sweet smells attracting all manner of bugs and birds. Our little river rising, scouring the banks, sending more than a smidge of offal on its way.

Rain, sun, hail, snow (not too far up the hillsides), more rain, oh, and wind.

It's spring!!!!

Haven't seen any new fawns yet, but my cousin and his mom saw a big -- big -- black bear by their house. They're situated in the woods, and it's far easier for animals to stealthily get near their place than our "cabin". I saw the pictures, and it's pretty hard to imagine that critter has been sleeping most of the last seven months. It was huge and healthy looking.

I love the little zzzwzzwzzwzzwzzw of the hummingbirds. After we put the feeder up, we had two and three visiting within an hour. They'd come before to check out the windchime, but how do they sense there's food that quickly?

The river hasn't risen today, and I can say with solid confidence about every willow twig we planted last year and earlier this year: unless it's on the slope of the riverbank, it's gone. The river's up about 3.5 feet, maybe 4, from last fall. I'd completely forgotten the force of it against the bank when it's up like this... I had to tie down the willow stumps to keep them from floating away, and I know the skinny shrubs around which I tied the rope won't be happy if the current tries again. Serves 'em right for having 1" thorns (spikes, really) every couple inches.

This shot shows my Grandma's dock (steel cable from it around the apple tree). The foreground dock is usually ten feet from the water, but the slope's gentle here, and a little rise means a lot of encroaching.

I drove into town today for gas (yay Costco!), and the Flathead river near Kalispell is amazing. Its legendary green color is more a sickly brown-green, and it is high. Oh, and I'd forgotten my Costco card, so that was a worthwhile lunch hour! My lameness sometimes surpasses my own expectations.

The Wild Mile kayak competition on the Swan this weekend should be a blast. I've not been before, and this is supposedly one of the better short runs in the country when the water's up.

I've never understood how irises work. It's a long, flat leaf, there's really no stem, and from the long flat leaf flowers emerge. Amazing.

And you know what else is amazing? In the midst of stupid gas prices, a Long, Flat, Seemingly Endless Bataan Death March to the White House, and no permanent cure for simple allergies, trees and wildflowers and bugs are sticking to their schedule.

Monique's in California for the week, which means my diet has quickly devolved into cold Ravioli straight from the can, Sweet Tarts, and Rosauer's fried chicken. She's at a director's conference in Pasadena, and theater simple is performing there as well. It's weird not having her here, and this weekend for Memorial Day, it's gonna be weird not having any of my family here. Despite the holiday, I'm gonna try to go for a hike.

There's a log -- maybe 20 feet long and 10" diameter -- stuck against the big rock in front of the "cabin". It floated down sometime yesterday, and it's balanced perfectly. That takes some doing! The top is smaller and lighter than the bottom, so if it hit the rock in the middle, it would bounce off and float downriver. The rock face is definitely not flat, and the amount and force of water hitting the log is constantly changing.

This is a shot I took the other evening. Normally I like to hide buildings, power lines, etc., but I kinda liked the look of this, so I kept it in.

Spring... rebirth, regeneration, reawakening, hatching, cleaning, nurturing spring.

Ibuprofin and Tim Tams

Green's bustin' out all over. It snowed yesterday, hailed today, but dangit, it's spring. The raspberry canes we got through FreeCycle are in the ground, and so are the perennials from Swan River Nursery. We even scattered wildflower seeds today. Lots of work in this rocky, clay-dominant ground, and we got rained and hailed on, but it's good being outside.

Digging, raking, planting, planning, puttering. Our 4'x4' garden bed has plants in it. Beans, peas, and various other veggies are in.

That's the "ibuprofin" part... as for Tim Tams, they're just about the best dang cookie (or "biscuit") ever. Here's a previous entry of mine about them... http://freetimeproductions.com/ozalbum/feb04.html. Llysa brought them back from Australia, and Monique brought them back from Seattle.

I have one more pine to transplant this spring, a lovely little tree I promised the power company I'd move so they wouldn't tear it out. That'll probably be it until autumn.

And the other monster news here: the garage is in! The garage is in!!Tuesday was the big day, when the 24'x30' building arrived by truck, courtesy of Kinninburgh Construction. The first pic shows them coming on the property, apparently about to take out a few trees. In reality, I didn't have to remove any, and they didn't even run any over. The middle picture shows them moving it into place over the slab, and a Montana Highway Patrol car... seems when the guys were moving it over the Flathead River during a rainstorm, some yahoo decided to ignore the flashing lights, the "Oversize Load" sign, and the guy holding a stop sign on the road, flew by, and crashed into the cars that had actually decided to obey the law. The moving guys did everything they were supposed to do; morons will be morons.

The final pic shows the garage bathed in evening light and the end of its first day at its new home. I waited until Monique got home Thursday before putting either vehicle in there.

Thanks and thanks and thanks again to Bill and Yvonne for the garage!

It's ALL about timing

When I was a kid riding in our car, I used to wonder how the world would look if we'd left the house a minute earlier, if that stop light had stayed green another ten seconds. If that car that just passed us from Kansas had changed any one of a thousand points in its journey, I'd have never seen them.

I was reflecting on that idea this weekend, which I often do when I'm back in Spokane. Silas and Lucy, my sister's dobies, were in fine form Thursday and Friday, and this is a moderately rare photo... I actually got them to hold still close to each other. Silas (sitting) looks like he's winking, but it's either a half-blink or (more likely) Lucy spat in his eye to gain an advantage. Lucy's the alpha dog. She's also cute, sweet, demure, and a documented, unapologetic dirty fighter.

I also helped my folks prepare their new garden. It's a huge area, and a completely blank slate. We're still getting frosts here, so our starters are not ready for the great outdoors. They're ready, and we're ready, but the weather is not quite ready. Our little 4'x4' garden bed will be chock full o' green bits, when we can actually get stuff into it.

The world-famous Bloomsday race was Sunday, and it was a glorious morning. I wasn't able to get my usual perch, and had I arrived two minutes earlier, my second-favorite spot would've been open. I took a few pics of wheelchair racers warming up, and the start of the race for the elite women and men, and the wheelchairs.

Micah Kogo won in record time; in the photo below, he's number 103 (on the right). I've never been a runner. I could run fairly fast for a short period, but running -- jogging or sprinting -- has always been a painful, unnatural, un-fun activity.

I appreciate what good runners can do, and it's always fun watching someone who's genuinely gifted at their craft.



And finally, on the way home, I saw this lovely family. I won't say where I came across them, but as soon as she saw me, mama headed back up the hill and the triplets clambered dutifully behind.

Had I left Spokane five minutes earlier or later, I would have missed them. Had I not stopped at St. Regis (and I didn't need to), I would've missed them. Had I driven just a couple miles an hour slower or faster, ... ... ...

Timing.

Da Boyds

Yesterday at dusk I saw a bird's silhouette fly across the field. No biggie; there are lots of crows, ravens, and eagles around. But as soon as I saw it land at the top of a pine tree, I knew it was an owl. As it turned its head, I saw its Great Horns. Couldn't see color or any detail, but who cares?!? I've never seen an owl here at the "Cabin" before. How extraordinarily cool.

And this afternoon, amid huge snowfall and downpour, sun and wind, two good-sized toms came a-wanderin' by. We thought they'd be interested in the new black oil sunflower seed we added to the bird feeder (fondly remembering the pre-logging days of winter when several turkeys would hang out under or on the deck, waiting for bird seed). They passed on the food, but as they walked by the downstairs bedroom windows, the bigger of the two stopped, puffed out, gobbled, and challenged this usurper, this upstart, this... reflection. Needless to say, the brave bird was not in the least bit intimidated by his bad self.As he puffed and posed, he gave the window a few solid whacks with his beak. Then he and his turkey toady sauntered into the field, quite pleased with the big un's show of force and claim staking.

They're lovely birds, and super tasty, but not so smart. Not avian intellectual elites, shall we say.

Lots of robins about, Monique saw a dozen bluejays today, and yesterday I saw a golden eagle get chased up- and downriver by a raven that looked positively puny in comparison.

Birds are so cool!!

sweetmercifulheaven

The fellow currently spending part of his days occupying the Oval Office in the White House, whether you like him or not, is having a rough go.

I SWEAR I'M NOT GOING POLITICAL ON THIS BLOG.

One of the president's tasks is presenting the face of America to the world. Many people thought his "Awesome speech" comment to the Pope was folksy, down-to-earth, and sincere. I don't know, nor do I know what I'd say if I got to meet a pope or comment on his comments. Anyway, yesterday on NBC's prime-time gameshow "Deal or No Deal," Mr. Bush made a cameo via satellite.

The contestant, a soldier back from his third tour in Iraq, was cheered on by the president, and then the president joked about his low approval ratings. Considering why his approval is low, it strikes me as sorta callous to joke about it with a soldier.

Anyway, there's a keen picture on the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ The site is constantly updated, so if you go there and don't see the link, I'm sure you can use The Google to locate it.

It snowed today, though not the storm we were expecting over the weekend. Just snow, and wind, and sunshine. Our concrete slab is complete, and now the process of moving the garage can begin.

Our beans and sunflowers quickly grew beyond their initial peat pellet homes, so this weekend we transferred them to 5" peat pots. I do not understand the back of seed packets stating "plant indoors 6-8 weeks before final frost." The bean plants grew three inches over the weekend!!! Six to eight more weeks indoors and they'll be climbing the stairs!

We Got Slab!

Okay, ya know what? Actually posting something should be optional with a clever title like that.

It's true, we're the proud owners of a 24'x32' monoslab! Many thanks to the incredibly efficient, professional, and good guys at Gembala Concrete! (FYI, the little blue box in the lower part of the photo is a 4'x4' garden box under a tarp).

The first cement mixer arrived at 9:00 this morning, they began pouring at 9:15, and were done at 10:00. Luckily it was much nicer than the snow flurries and cold wind we've had the last couple days, and it helps the concrete cure more quickly.

Rod, John, and Shane work well together, and they most definitely know what the heck they're doing. I watched for a while, in between phone calls for work and rewriting an invoice posting routine I've fiddled with on and off for months.

Tomorrow the form boards get removed, and in a couple weeks the slab will be set thoroughly, and the garage can be moved into place! There's also rough plumbing pipe in place so eventually we can have a sink / toilet / shower out there, and we have a line on a couple different wood stoves for heating the building.

I'm learning a lot living here... not so much about how to do things like pour concrete or rough-plumb, but more about how these things are not rocket science. I totally and unreservedly appreciate professionals doing their job, and I accept without hesitation that I could not do what they do with anywhere near the speed accuracy, confidence, or skill. However, PVC pipe is just PVC pipe, and digging a trench only takes skill in avoiding other buried gotchas like the power line and making sure it's graded properly.

Rambling, rambling. My point is, I'm gaining confidence (mostly theoritical) that I, one of the least mechanically-inclined people EVER, can maybe do some stuff around the property. That's exciting.

Plus with the economy tanking and Obama and Clinton having their time wasted by Stephanapoulos Gibson last night on ABC -- most of those questions were not worthy of a candidate in their first pre-primary run for school board -- Maverick McCain might just have a chance this fall. But sorry, I don't talk politics in this blog :)

We're in for a cold, cold, snowy weekend, but that last couple evenings have been beautiful.

Ground Breaking

Today, even during a nice cold blustery Spring snow storm, we had the forms put in and our area prepped to have our slab poured for the garage! Already I find myself dreaming of the landscape after this addition will be welcomed. Where the garden plot goes, where the wood pile can stack...it feels like Christmas in a way! (well ok the snow helped that image along!)

Tomorrow the plumber comes out to do a basic rough in of pipe so that when/if we ever decide to have running water in our new car/toy and workspace sanctuary, we'll be able to do it without concrete being drilled.



(did I also mention that I have now fallen in love with Bobcats?) I'll have to put it on my birthday list :)

It is always enjoyable to watch people do what they do well. Today was no exception. I watched from almost every window of the house as they changed the landscape into a prepped and ready to go surface. Now if the weather will only cooperate! (we have a couple nights that look like they are going to dip below freezing again soon)....not the best for letting a newly poured slab form up properly. And as much as I've been enjoying watching this process....I don't want to have to see it twice because the first one didn't take!

Oh, and in other news....remember that tray that we planted just the other day? Seeds are bounding up all over. I can only imagine just how good the oxygen is in our home lately....we are becoming a beautiful greenhouse!




More to come.