thornbush report

It's a Blizzard!

2012-01-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011

Bjorn's family joined us for the Christmas weekend. It was a wild and fun time as holiday weekends are meant to be. Roger's dad Al and brother Eric as well as my sister Rosalie and her husband Tom joined us for Christmas dinner. Next year, we will be enjoying the company of our new grandson as well. He'll be nine months old and ready to tear into that wrapping paper.

The following weekend we hosted our long time friends from Seattle for a New Year's celebration. As usual, we had plenty of great food and conviviality.

Then, at the first Grange meeting of the new year, Roger was elected Master in what might be considered a landslide. He has been busy creating committees and taking stock of building maintenance needs ever since. Being elected Master means that many people believe in his leadership abilities. He is very committed to proving his constituents correct. 2012 is setting up to be a noteworthy year.

Every January I join my friend Liz, sister Jeannette and other friends for Spa Day at the Olympus Spa in Lynnwood. This is a tradition that goes back more than ten years.

tour of Olympus Spa

The following week, I spilled hot tea on my HP Laptop and ZAP! no more computer. A week and several hundreds of dollars later, you are now witnessing my first blog on my new Acer laptop. Thanks goodness for Rockisland support and their ability to save all my files, pictures, contacts. Let this be a lesson to all of us about backing up our files and not drinking tea around valuable electronic equipment.

This week it is all about the weather. After teasing us for several days with light little flurries, the weather gods gave us a bit of a blizzard this morning. Temperatures in the mid- twenties (stop smirking, Linda) I must have passed some sort of threshold nearing the fourth anniversary of my retirement from Metro, because I'm not even interested in following the news about how many artics are jack-knifed all around Seattle.

view from bathroom of 2008 snowfall

Yes, it has been four years since my retirement from Metro. Four years full of craft, home-improvement, socializing, communing with nature, doting on my dog. I'm living the life I've dreamed about for over thirty years. Wouldn't trade it for nothin'.

Summing Up 2011

2011-12-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Instead of a long Christmas letter this year, I've decided to sum up the year via the blog and then post the link on Facebook. I am still sending out paper Christmas (or Winter Holiday) cards. Coming up with a design for the card and then executing it are a big part of our holiday tradition. Here is an early prototype of this year's card. I had to show off the fact that I did a lot of exterior trim painting this summer:

To sum up the year, I first have to say that it wasn't as momentous as 2010 or 2009. There were no trips abroad, our surviving parents are still surviving. It was more of a hunkering down kind of year. I took up more weaving and basketry and yoga. Roger brought in more firewood and concentrated on the Grange and the Agricultural Resource Committee for the County. He believes fervently that the Grange is an optimum venue for community involvement, a place where people with diverse views can come together over common issues of survival in desperate times. It should be a place where a human secularist can feel at home. The jury is till out on that one.

Al and Roger relaxing in Al's new digs

Another major theme for 2011 is the settling of Alfred Ellison, Roger's father, in an Assisted Living Facility up here on the Island. Many of our friends can relate to this scenario. It involved countless trips to Auburn over the last ten months or so. It also involves the dismantling and disbursement of the family heirlooms and goods. And the selling of assets to pay for the new lifestyle. Does anyone want to buy a practically never driven 2010 Chevy HHR or a Kodiak RV? The home in Auburn is also up for sale. On the plus side, Al is spending a lot of quality time with two of his sons. He comes here for dinner at least once a week. Roger can accompany him to all of his doctor appointments. It has brought us a lot of peace of mind.

It should be noted that the weather this past year was weird. The Spring/early summer was horrible, cold and rainy. Many crops failed due to the poor, freezing bees not venturing out to pollinate at the proper time. But from August through late Fall, it has been pretty nice, and dry. Today, for instance, 32 degrees with sun and blue sky. There have been a couple wind storms, but the rain has not come, the pond still way below spillway levels. They say another La Nina this winter, we shall see.

So, to hit some of the highlights: Trip to Maui in March, Granddaughters getting pony rides for their fifth birthday:
And in July, the Tribal Canoes landed here first on their way to the their meeting at Swinomish:

And in August we spent a few days on Lake Roosevelt in Eastern Washington with some very close friends.

In September, I reconnected with the Class of '71 at my friend Mary's house in Maple Valley:

Me and Mike Schmitt

In October, Roger organized the first Harvest Parade for farmers and I went to the Barreca Thankstween celebration on the same weekend.,

And so there were lots of fun activities all year long, and plenty of visitors, too many to list. But I think, most of all, 2011 might become known as the year of the carport--or as we like to call it--Temple of the Subaru.

It is not quite done, but a heck of a lot further than we were last December. Feel free to wander back to past posts to see the progress we've made throughout this past year.

Maybe it wasn't the most exciting year that ever was for us, but it was a full and satisfying year.

Next year holds plenty of promise. Our first grandson is due in the Spring. A family reunion, centered around my Dad's 90th birthday will be here on San Juan Island in June. And a few interesting road trips are planned, as well. Stay tuned.

The Very Rich Hours of Anita Barreca

2011-10-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Roger was in charge of the Parade. First Annual FH Farm Parade Check out all the photos on the underlined link, including one of Eric driving a rototiller and towing a cart with two black labs inside.

On that same day, Barrecas were celebrating their personal Thanksgiving at Jeff's place in Seattle. Bina presented Nala to the family.

Nala was a big hit with Audrey and the step-grandmas.

Barreca jam session 2011

We also had the now infamous jam session sans Roger but with Matthew's friend Liza on violin.

Other Colorful Events

The weather cooperated this month, perhaps sheepishly asking forgiveness for such a crappy summer. The Fall Foliage has been great. On the week following the Farm Parade I organized the SJC Textile Guild's General Meeting and our guest speaker Gail Harker, gave a speech entitled "Immersed in Color". And ever since the slide show I've appreciated the color combinations just that much more.

Speaking of color, a big event for Roger and me this month was the arrival of a colorful triptych painted for us by Peggy Sue McRae. She has named it "The Very Rich Hours of Anita Barreca" which is probably what I should rename this blog. An inspiration for this project was the medieval illuminated manuscript, called "Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry", where a blue arc divides the sky, suggesting the passage of time.

The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry

The Very Rich Hours of Anita Barreca

There were other influences in the work as well and we like it very much. I am working on a coiled basket which will repeat the colors and pattern.

I started volunteering two days a month at the Island's Food Coop. I painted the bathroom. We took Roger's Dad down to Auburn--first trip home in six months. We took my friend Karen to The Cask and Schooner, our latest favorite restaurant. We attended the Ag Guild's Harvest Dinner under the tents at the new Brickworks Farmers Market venue.

And today, Thornbush Farm hosted an orchard walk. So I thought I'd add a picture of what the orchard looked like today.

It actually stopped raining for most of the tour. But the wind came up and . . . you guessed it, Jay. . . took down more of that willow tree you bucked up last month. When are you coming up again?

Rolling into Fall

2011-09-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

Relaxing at Thornbush

Jay spent the first week of September with us and we worked him so hard he had to take naps any way he could. Thanks, Jay, for all the hard work bringing in the firewood. We will be appreciating it all winter long.

Cheryl, Cathy, Antoinette at HS Reunion

I took Jay home on the 9th and continued on to my friend Mary's house to help put on our 40th High School Reunion. The weather was fabulous, the food scrumptious, and a good time was had by all. Here are three of my best friends from high school catching up on the last decade or so.

I thought things would kind of quiet down after the reunion--but no, they've gotten busier instead. The weather has been great (trying to make up for July). So I've been re-staining all the window trim, doors, and the new carport posts whenever I have a minute between guests.

Also, all the clubs/organizations I belong to have reignited their activities now that Labor Day is over. I have many duties associated with the Textile Guild, the Soroptimists, even the Grange. I attended a day long symposium on prairie restoration that my cousin Rose helped put together last week. Rose flew in from Boise for the event and practiced her speech on stewardship in our cottage into the wee hours. It was a very informative symposium. American Camp Prairie Restoration

Miles explores Thornbush

Then a rare treat--a visit to Al from his great-grandsons--all three of them. Clare brought her three-month old Rafael, and Niki and James brought Miles and Austin. Miles just turned two and Austin is not yet a year. The last time niece and nephew saw Thornbush they were eight and ten (?) and James' wife Niki had never seen the place. The weather cooperated and the day was only marred by the yellow jackets who would not let us sit outside.

Austin, Miles, Great Grandpa Al, and little Rafa

Today it was back to work on the carport. We brought a big chunk of the tree we cut down last month to the mill and carved out the boards we will need for the rafters, plus a few extra 2x6's. We got caught in a downpour. The sign of things to come now that it is officially Fall.

Late Summer 2011

2011-09-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Canoers greeted by Lummi Nation in Friday Harbor Marina

Oh Wow, it is already September and I haven't updated since mid-July. Don't you love late Summer? The hot days, the cool nights, all the ripe fruit! It feels like I was racing from one event to another over these last six weeks. But now I can see a break just ahead as summer winds down.

Summer 2011 included the usual Shakespeare (Winters Tale) and live music (Abbie Road Live) and visits from friends. This year the Canoe Journey brought 12 tribal canoes from around the Salish Sea to our island before they joined scores of other canoes landing at Swinomish on the Skagit.

Karen Haas of Hudson Bay, Fort Nisqually

Hair and Clothing Styles of 1859 demonstrated

We squeezed in an afternoon at the Encampment at English Camp. I wandered around in 1850's garb and had my picture taken by Japanese tourists.

Bjorn's family visited in early August. Always a pleasure to have the grandchildren around. Audrey has to do everything her big sisters are doing.

Soil Fertility - Four Approaches

Lunnette resplendent in Drug Store packaging

Roger and I got very busy the following week getting ready for the fair. The garlic was picked and sorted, I had some textile projects to finish, Roger had to buy a brand new chainsaw to take down the tree we will need to mill for carport rafters. The tree is down and cut up but we still haven't dragged it to the mill yet.

And then the week of the Fair. Surprisingly, no guests this year, but we were still mighty busy with our various booth duties. The Trashion Fashion show was a highlight, as well as Roger's panel discussion on agricultural techniques for the Ag Resource Committee. Oh yes, we earned some red and blue ribbons as well. And ate more than our share of elephant ears.

Lynn kayaks with Don as an escort

We had to rush off-island on the early ferry Fair Saturday to our next adventure. Across the state on Highway 20 to Kettle Falls where we joined five good friends on a houseboat on Lake Roosevelt. Four days on the boat. We had a hot tub, ukuleles, good food, kayaks and floaties, waterfalls and a little trouble with the battery. Bookending the trip we got to stay with my brother Joe and his wife Cheryl, play more music and see the Colville Fair. Stayed overnight in Seattle area to help celebrate my brother Jeff's 60th birthday/10th anniversary in Woodland Park.

Summer was late coming, but we're managing to pack as much into it as one of any regular length. School started for island kids on August 31st and now it is Labor Day Weekend. I'm skipping a lot of details, about captured foxes and feral kittens. Crops that succeeded and crops that failed. Potlucks and visitors, books we've read and plays we've seen. And an admission--I didn't get one project started that wasn't already started before summer began. The mosaics didn't get made but the waterlilies did bloom. No sewing got started but I did organize the craft room. And the beach gate is finished but I haven't spent much time at the pond. I guess I've got a few more things to cram into the last three weeks of summer.

July 2011

2011-07-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

The out of town guests begin arriving:

Tom and Roger play croquette on July 4th

Dad and Rosalie at The Downrigger

My Dad, at age 89, took a bus to downtown Seattle, got off at the Convention Center, found his way to the BelAire Shuttle bus stop, rode the bus to Anacortes Ferry Terminal, waited for two hours for the ferry and walked on for me to pick him up in Friday Harbor to visit with my sister and myself for five days over the Fourth of July holiday. I was so proud of him!

The date has been set and the invitations have been sent for my Dad's 90th birthday party here on San Juan Island. June 9 & 10, 2012. This will be a Barreca family reunion as well. That means the countdown has begun. I have 11 months to get this place in shape. I started last Sunday by sending Roger up a ladder with a chainsaw. He limbed up or cut half a dozen trees. Amazing how much more light comes through!

preparing for Soroptimist entry in Fourth of July parade

I participated in the Fourth of July parade as a clown. The theme was: Life Is a Laugh in a Costume.

My brother Joe's blog always has something relevant in it. This time he talks about (among other things) the 50th reunion of his 8th grade class. This Fall we are celebrating the 40th reunion of my high school class and I have been helping my best friend from High School who has volunteered to host a barbecue in September. We have been trying to use Facebook and Classmates.com and other websites to find and invite our former classmates. Roger heard a news story about Facebook making reunions irrelevant--no need to meet in person when you can catch up with each other's lives in the cloud.

It is amazing the memories that one can resurrect just by leafing through the yearbook. We had a relatively small graduation class and add to that the fact that I was the editor of the yearbook . . . I'm feeling a lot more connected than I thought I would be to these OLD classmates. More on this subject after the reunion in September.

We hosted a potluck at our house last Friday. It's good to get the social obligations out of the way early in the summer. That way, the place is looking good (the lawn is mowed, the fire pit carved out from the overgrown brush) much earlier than it otherwise would have been. Along with weekly potlucks, July brings Shakespeare on the lawn, the arrival of 100 tribal canoes, an arts festival, the Lavender Festival, among other events. Summer is in Full Swing!

Happy Solstice!

2011-06-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Attended the Fremont Solstice parade with a bunch of my best buddies. This was one of those packed Seattle weekends which included a spa day (including facial and pedicure) for me and a plant-run for Roger. The evening finished up with a Greek meal in Wallingford and a concert by our friend Jay Hamilton at the Good Shepherd Center: Honor. We also visited Dad for Father's Day. And managed to squeeze in a trip to Costco, of course.

Progress on the Carport! See these three beautifully tapered columns? Notice the very attractive cement bases? Can you picture the size and shape of the carport to come? Setting these poles up was a big milestone. The next step, placing the rafters, will involve not just milling the lumber, we will actually have to go out and cut down two or more trees to harvest logs long enough to span the roof.

Before we do that, we are going to take out the lower branches from the nearby doug firs to get some more light coming through on the west side of our house. It is amazing how much vegetation is closing in on us and its time to hack it all back!

Here's a picture of Suzie teaching a five month old pup, Millie, how to drink out of the fountain. One of my many projects planned for this summer includes a mosaic bowl addition to the fountain. I've also got some waterlilies coming up. I've had to place a net around them to protect them from predator poodles.

Sorry for the flash at the bottom of the photo. This is my new art piece. I bought it from Mary McCulluch Art Walk Studio Tour. The colors match my kitchen cabinets perfectly.

approx 2 lbs of strawberries

And finally, strawberries! Here's a picture of one day's harvest. With about 50 plants in the main garden and another 25 or more in the kitchen garden we should have plenty of shortcake this summer.

May Daize

2011-05-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

So many events this month, I'll have to get my calendar out to remember them all. I guess the first would be another basket class--this time we used willow bark and wove with an obvious vertical twill so the baskets could be twisted into an interesting shape. My friend Monique joined me again and it was a very fun class.

Immediately following the class we went to Seattle to celebrate my friend Jay's 60th birthday at a restaurant in Madison Valley called Harvest Vine http://www.harvestvine.com/menus/default.php I believe the meal consisted of everything on the menu. It was a great celebration.

My birthday was the following week. Rosalie "snapped" this shot of us before we went downtown to celebrate. Although the month has been unseasonably cold and wet, Friday the 13th was warm and pleasant.

Roger's Dad, Al, was able to move from Auburn Regional Hospital to our local nursing home and on May 23rd, he moved into Village at the Harbour, an assisted living facility just six minutes away from our house. We are so pleased to have him so close by (where we can keep an eye on him). Here's a picture of his new room. Roger and I brought a truck load of his things back from Auburn to make him feel at home.

I must also mention that throughout the month we have met good friends for lunches and dinners. And we are celebrating the arrival of two new family members, our nieces Clare and Bina have new babies born in the last week (in California). Welcome to the world, Rafael and Nala!

Then my cousins, Chris from Oregon and his sister Jan from Hawaii, took a road trip to see the Washington cousins. Rosalie and I took them sightseeing and prepared a nice dinner with our local fare including venison meatballs and our own homegrown veggies.

The month culminated in a visit by my twin granddaughters. We had promised them pony rides in honor of their fifth birthday last month. Fortunately, the day was fair and mild. Lenora started out on Cowboy, and Iliana got Allie. They learned to lead, turn, and rein in their mounts.

Oh yes, we also went home with twelve new chicks:

12 out of 100 went home with us

And last but not least, we finally put the rebuilt scow into the pond. The girls took a ride on its maiden voyage.

Bluebirds and Books

2011-04-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today I spent five hours hauling fir branches and digging out thistles with my hori-hori. But this time the work was not on my own property. I was with a bunch of Soroptimists doing community service for the Land Bank on Cady Mountain. The project is a restoration of Garry Oaks which is where the bluebirds come in. I must admit, part of the reason I signed up for this activity was that I had never been up Cady Mountain before and I was curious. So I was delighted to see all the wildflowers in bloom: avalance lily, fritallarias, camas, shooting star all over the place. And a fabulous view across San Juan Valley to the Salish Sea.

Another plus was a guest lecturer who came to describe the ongoing bluebird project here on the island. A few hundred feet away from our worksite sat an aviary with a nesting pair of bluebirds due to be released tonight. It turns out that bluebirds LOVE Garry Oaks. But as many of you know, the oak population has been overshadowed (literally) by Douglas Fir. Bluebirds like wide open spaces and hollow trees to nest in. They like places that are burned frequently. That used to be the situation here before white men came and the Indians stopped burning the camas fields. But even as late as 1960's, bluebirds were much more prevalent on the island. So--restore the Garry Oak, restore the bluebird as well.blue bird project

Speaking of fires, and especially, wilderness fires, I read a great book a while ago by Timothy Egan called The Big Burn. It is about a huge forest fire in 1910 that burned Northern Idaho and parts of Washington and Montana. But it is also about Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and the beginnings of the National Forest Service. It could be considered the beginning of conservancy movement here in the United States. I recommend it.

Another good book I am reading currently is Winter Brothers A Season at the Edge of America by Ivan Doig. It was written 30 years ago about a pioneer by the name of James Gilchrist Swan who settle with the Makaw Indians for a few years in the 1850's and later moved to Port Townsend. But it is so much more than that. It is history/anthropology/philosopy all rolled into one. People familiar with the area around Cape Flattery and Lake Ozette will be fascinated.

And coincidentally, the book I read just prior to the Doig book was a memoir written by a friend and neighbor who starts his story off with a misadventure canoeing down the Ozette River. This would have been in the early 70's just about the time my brothers and I rafted down the Ozette. I'm feeling all wrapped up in this Pacific Northwest History, from Missoula to Neah Bay. My friend Jim Lawrence's book is called Callous Hands, Hungry Heart. He was raised on Mercer Island and came to San Juan Island as a back to the lander. But he had so many adventures and problems to overcome, I'd use up all the space in this blog just listing them.

The last book I'd like to review here was set in Upper Wisconsin, not the Northwest. It is the The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: a novel by David Wroblewski. It is a fabulous retelling of Hamlet, only the hero is a 14 year old mute dog trainer and Ophelia is his companion dog Almandine. Oh, it makes me weepy, just thinking of poor Almandine. video discussing Almandine This was a very good read.

So now you know what I've been doing this wet, cold April, although much of this reading was done in late March on planes coming and going from Hawaii. It is just me and my companion dog, Suzie, here at Thornbush for the next few days as Roger is at a "Food Forest Workshop" at Wild Thyme Farm near Olympia. Tomorrow is MayDay and I plan on celebrating at the bonfire/potluck of friends down the road aways. I made a pie using the first of this season's rhubarb yesterday. Goodbye to April, the cruelest month and on to the merry month of May!

Feb, March and April Foolishness

2011-04-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

I went to Hawaii, specifically Kihei on Maui, with my friend Lynn for a week. It was very nice. It was 83 degrees every day. I got to snorkel and see humpback whales. I ate a half of a papaya everyday for breakfast. Lynn and her parents were excellent hosts.

Anita and Lynn on a Dinner Cruise near Lahaina

Then I came home and it was still cold here. But there were a few more daffodils and all of the grape hyacinths are in bloom. Roger hung the bamboo gate and he repaired the pond boat (scow?) while I was gone.

Lenora showing off the Plumeria hairclip she got from Hawaii

The twins turned five on April 1st. Roger, his dad, and I met up with the family at a Red Robin in Everett to celebrate. We bid on and won pony rides for the twins at the Soroptimists' St Pat's Day Fundraising Dinner. We anticipate a vist in May when they will be able to redeem their prize.

Audrey has two little plumeria clips in her hair.

Four days after my last blog entry in which I was pointing out all the evidence of Spring, it snowed four inches. HaHa on me. It seemed like nature was held in suspended animation after that. There are signs of Spring, the peepers are peeping. But it just feels way behind schedule.

On a rare unrainy day, I took a walk and watched the eagles. Our own nesting pair had one fledgling this year. I think I witnessed its maiden flight one afternoon when it took several slow circles around our pond, supervised by its very vocal mother

One nice adventure between snowfall and Maui was a trip to Orcas to celebrate Peggy Sue's birthday. Four of us visited the spa at Rosario Resort, lunched in Olga, and went sightseeing at Moran State Park. We tried to drive up to Mt. Constitution, but the road was still closed due to snow.

I usually organize chronologically, but this month's entry is a melange of events. One last event to note is that Roger's father Al came to stay with us this past week. Although the visit was planned, two days prior he had fallen from his bed and was not able to get himself up for many hours. Therefore, we were very concerned and have had him under close observation these past few days. For the time being, we will be subscribing to an emergency response system with a medical alert necklace. But more hard decisions will be forthcoming.

Thornbush in Winter

2011-02-19T13:03:00.000-08:00

It's busy. No lie. Whoever said this was the slow time of year had no idea. It's not just sitting around watching American Idol and Glee on tv in the evening. First there's the regular, the mundane that still must go on: finding firewood and building fires, feeding the chickens, grooming the dog. Add to that the on-going projects: working on the carport (forever), building a new gate for the nut grove, and getting ready for another year in the garden.

Greenhouse veggie starts

bamboo and willow gate

where gate will go (after deer trashed the last one)

There are the regular meetings at the Ag Resource Committee for Roger, yoga for me, plus the burgeoning community and volunteer involvement: helping to move the co-op into the larger building, rejoining the Grange (I'm now the "Grace" Pomona), Winter Farmers Market, Soroptimist Fundraisers, and on and on. Now that I'm the SJ Island rep for the Textile Guild I have board meetings on the ferry, monthly meetings at the library, and quarterly meetings on the different islands-last month on Shaw- to attend.

Then there are the classes. Right now, Roger is attending a two day class called Holistic Management for Farming. holistic management link Last weekend I took a two day willow class from Katherine Lewis of Dunbar Gardens of Skagit County.Dunbar Garden Website My friend Monique from Seattle joined us and did a great job with her very first basket.

That's Monique in front row on the far right

And I attended an amazing class on double weave in January from an expert from Santa Fe, Jennifer Moore. Here is her website: http://www.doubleweaver.com/workshops.html This class involved going to Shaw to borrow a loom, going to Orcas to warp the loom, then three days of ferry riding to attend the class on Orcas, then returning the loom to Shaw.

And then there is the ever present looking for signs that winter will end soon and Spring will begin. It is 34 degrees outside and sunny. A walk around the place finds that the daffodils are about six inches high, the hellebores and heather are blooming, the Indian Plum is leafing out, and I am "forcing" two vases of red flowering currants to bloom in the house. Four more weeks until the Spring Equinox.

December 2010 in Pictures

2011-01-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

ready, set, open!

Nikki and Austin

moon over Baker

Shann turns 60!

Red Dawn over Thornbush

Moving rail for new carport

Craig on uke, Roger on guitar

Parties and a Flood

2010-12-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

Roger's Dad Al stayed with us through the celebration of Roger's 55th birthday at the end of the month. It feels a little quieter now that he is back in Auburn. But we will be seeing him soon enough as we go down to celebrate Christmas with the Ellisons in a week.

The Christmas Season began in earnest for us with a couple of parties on Dec 4th. The first was our annual National Park dance at English Camp.

I dressed up in my 1850's garb but had no time to change before the next shindig, and open house at the new Brickworks Farmers' Market. Roger had gone directly from the market to the open house.

The next day the Soroptimists had their annual Holiday Party at the Community Theater. I made devilled eggs. Three days after that, I drove one of the cars in a caravan of Textile Guild members to the Burke Museum for a show on fabric from countries throughout the Pacific Rim. A nice weaver named Erica gave us a talk on the similarities and differences in weaving techniques. It's a good show. See the link Burke Museum And on Saturday, we attended a lovely Caroling Party at Heritage Farm.

Our new floating dock

our road?!

Meanwhile, back at our farm, the waters were beginning to rise. And rise. And rise. What happened was--Alaska Place overflowed its culvert which overflowed the ditch to Eric's place which jeopardized his shop so he diverted the water into the Ellison Lane ditch which couldn't keep up. So our road became a mini-stream. And the pond filled and filled and filled and the stream became a river, and then a lake. The paper said it rained 2.66 inches that day on top of the 2+ inches in the five previous days. Oh, and our shop flooded, too. I, myself, vacuumed 35 gallons out and Roger matched that amount.

our stream?!

Don't worry, the waters have already receded. Although they do say we are in for more rain through December.

Oh and Tuesday, the Textile Guild Holiday Party was a big success. They seemed to like the tree ornaments I made by pressing Queen Anne's Lace into snowflakes. More parties planned for this coming weekend. Stay tuned.

October flies by

2010-11-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

I didn't mean to skip the whole month of October without an entry. Lots of things happened of interest. Getting back in the swing of things after the Sicilian trip took awhile. I hosted a couple dinner parties with a Sicilian theme--complete with cannoli which you can actually buy here on the island. I also got busy with both the Textile Guild and the Soroptimist becoming the San Juan Island Rep for the former and the Mentor Program administrator for the latter. I painted the kitchen. We picked all the apples. And we hosted several visitors.

But the big events in October had to do with family. I got to babysit the four year old twins Iliana and Lenora for a few days while their parents and baby Audrey were on a business trip. We went on field trips to the beach and worked on crafts and watched a lot of movies. When their parents returned three days later, they stayed on for a few days to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with the Barreca Family. Sometimes referred to as "Thankstween" and rotated through the family, this year it was my turn to host with help from my nearby sister Rosalie. Twenty-five people for dinner, two turkeys, five desserts and lots of jamming from the musicians in the family. Barreca Family Jam Session

We went to a Halloween Party. I was an owl. Roger had a hatchet in his head/hat. We joined a team for Trivia Night on Thursday nights at a local restaurant, and our team won first prize one week. The questions can be very hard. But Roger's expertise in musical history came through with Peter Townsend as an answer. No one else knew who coined the phrase "power pop".

The first of November, Roger drove down to Auburn to help his dad through cataract surgery. Al is staying with us for the month so we can help put drops in his eyes twice a day. He seems to be settling in nicely. In fact, he's putting a satellite dish on his r.v. this very evening so he can watch his shows.

Roger and I are milling some logs into tapered posts for our carport. This takes a lot of measuring. I'm hoping my carport will be ready sometime in 2011 or 2012 (at the rate we're going).

And this past weekend, I got to go to Camp Orkila, which is a big YMCA camp on Orcas Island, for a San Juan County Textile Guild Retreat. Three days of hanging out with knitters, weavers, felters, spinners, and basketweavers. We had several workshops, I spent days ahead of time sorting out buttons from my mother and mother-in-law's collections so I could braid a button bracelet. But I also reserved time to hike all around the camp. It reminded me of my old CYO summer camp days.

Gosh, looking back on it all, we did get a few things done.

Late Summer into Autumn

2010-09-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile and I feel like I've been around the world since last I wrote. Wait! I have!

But let me start where I left off. The San Juan County Fair. Great, as usual. Roger won several ribbons for his garlic, chard, apples, and runner beans. I won some lesser ribbons for a couple baskets. Our friends came up and the band Clumsy Lovers from Canada were really hot.

The week after the Fair,We attended my brother Marc's investiture as a Federal Bankruptcy Judge. Most of the family came for the ceremony and the party afterwards. Highlights were Dad placing the judicial robe on Marc and Emily's tribute to her dad.

We left for Twisp in the Methow Valley directly from Seattle. Here we visited with friends of our friend Liz who promised us that we had much in common. She was right. The trip over North Cascades Pass was beautiful in both directions. Cascadian Farms had great blueberries and raspberry ice cream. We hiked near Sun Mountain, attended the farmers market, windowshopped in Twisp and Winthrop. Meanwhile, Suzie got to play with their dog Frida. Fun was had by all.

Meanwhile, Roger's brother Eric brought Al back up to stay with us for another week. I spent the time packing and preparing for my trip back to Sicily, this time with my dad, brother Joe, and his wife Cheryl. We took Al back to Auburn on Monday, and I left for Italy on Tuesday.

We stayed the whole time in Castelbuono, the ancestral town of my grandparents. We were met by relatives I had come to know a year ago when I was there visiting with my sister Jeannette. They wined and dined us, and showed us the villa and orchards where my grandfather worked before he shipped out to America at the start of the last century. We also visited Mt. Etna and saw the sights along the Tyrrhenian Coast.

For more, click this link: Pictures from trip to Sicily 2010

The trip back was long and arduous. (hint, don't believe Travelocity and never travel through Chicago if you can help it) We had a great time and I'm very glad to be home. Time to settle in for a cozy Autumn.

Mandala

2010-08-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Looking back over the last five weeks since my last post, it feels impossible to bring my readers up to date on all that has gone on. Perhaps if I just make a chronological list.

July 10- Roger leaves to take his parents to Montana. He drives their r.v. for them 12 hours from Auburn to Anaconda, Mt. stays three days and drives back 12 hours on Thursday, July 15. Meanwhile, I take care of the plants, the chickens, and Suzie.

July 16- Roger meets me in Seattle for a dinner with friends from work to celebrate the life of our co-worker who died (see last month's entry). We stay in Seattle until Sunday to attend the baptism of our third granddaughter Audrey. This is one of those end of life/beginning of life mandala weekends.

July 20- Two days after our return, Roger's mother dies suddenly of a heart attack. He is shocked but grateful that he was able to spend her last week with her. Family focus turns to Roger's dad Al and his ability to adjust. An open house is scheduled for Sunday, July 25th, which happens to be Al & Rose's 62nd wedding anniversary.

Meanwhile, my friends Larry and Nancy come up to the island and our friend Mark starts work on kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

July 26- Al comes back to the island to stay with his two sons, Roger and Eric, while arrangements are made back in Auburn for some in-home care. He stays with us for two weeks until Roger brings him back home on Aug 8th. I begin dog sitting "Friday" the 12 year old lab for a week while her owners vacation at Mt. Hood. Dog sitting involves feeding three times a day, administering love and medicine, and a little walk while negotiating the asphalt-laying taking place on their road that week.

July 30- My friend Mary arrives and agrees to follow me around to all my errands. The highlight of her visit is attending a performance of "Henry V" in the outdoor theater at Roche Harbor.

Aug 5- Jay brings his two Turkish Visitors, Semih and Gulat. These kind people have hosted our friend twice while he has visited their country. They are academics in horticulture and fruit production. We bring them to gardens, farms, the Lavender Farm. We even saw some whales!

Meanwhile, we enjoy visits from our Seattle friend Nan and her daughter, my cousin Rose and her whole family who haven't been here since Benjamin was a baby and I'm not sure if Mariah was ever here and now she's practically grown. Also, Nieces April and Bina and Bina's baby Ovid stay with my sister and me for two nights. Ovid is 16 months old and he and Suzie form a strong bond.

During all this period Roger and I are still trying to do our "usual" things. Like keeping up the landscaping business, the garden, the mowing, you get the idea. And fun things, like another hike on Henry Island, walks on the beach at low, low tide, and evenings with good friends. This weekend we regroup and get ready for the San Juan County Fair, more visitors, and whatever else life can throw at us. Right now, I think I can talk Roger into taking a break from the garden for a dunk in the pond. Later.

Hay! It's July!

2010-07-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest basket, it is made of cedar, ash, and copper wire. I took a class from world-renowned basket maker Polly Sutton http://pollyclasses.blogspot.com/ And yes, it is supposed to be asymmetric.

Also since my last posting we've had several visitors including my in-laws for a week and then my father for ten days. While my dad was here we visited Lopez Island to see "Native Plants, Textiles, Baskets: Inspired by Traditions of the Salish Sea" at Chimera Gallery. Here is a photo of a cedar bark doll made from a Tulalip weaver. You will see my father talking with George Simpson in the background.

Of course, my dad was up visiting to help celebrate Independence Day. The highlight of that day was the parade, this year the theme was all about local farmers--like this one. My sister Rosalie and her husband also marched. Here is Rosalie celebrating the 150th birthday of her church along with fellow Presbyterians.

But now my father is back home and Roger is in Montana at a family reunion in Anaconda. He drove his parents' r.v. for them and should be gone about a week. So that leaves me and Suzie to hold down the farm. This includes mowing, feed and care of chickens, watering plants in greenhouse and garden.

As I was mowing the nut orchard today, I had time to contemplate the large amount of work it takes to maintain 15 acres. And even though we reduced our mowing to the areas around the driveway, garden, orchard, courtyard, and paths connecting all these areas, that still comes down to a lot of mowing. And I'm using gasoline power for this chore. What about my carbon footprint?

One thing I've realized from this exercise is that after a long afternoon of mowing, nothing feels as good as a long shower and a cold beer.

Hitting my Stride

2010-06-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

The week of my birthday a couple friends from my basketry group came over and wove willow baskets with me. I returned the favor by attending a class by one of them in concrete leaf construction. This has gotten me all psyched to finish the fountain in the courtyard. That and the fact that Roger was able to fix the drainage problem it was having. I will be making a concrete bowl decorated with colorful stones and beach glass that the water will splash into before it reaches the pool. I also painted a tile in Chinmayo's studio, http://www.etsy.com/listing/45391446/tile-top-box?ref=sr_gallery_26&ga_search_query=jewelry&ga_search_type=&ga_page=&includes%5B0%5D=tags

(This link will show you a tile like mine that Chinmayo made.) So I feel I'm flexing my creative parts lately.

On the outdoorsy (?)front, I was approached to be a land steward for the Land Bank's King Sister Trail that goes near our property. This involves visiting the trail at least once a week and paying attention to the camas in bloom or an invasive shrub, that sort of thing. What is it that NPR says? "Being a member makes you listen differently". I would say that being a steward makes you see differently.

http://www.sjclandbank.org/images_sanjuan/king.html

Our friends B&K visited us from Raymond over Memorial Day. We had a lovely visit despite the rainy and miserable weather. But we did venture out one afternoon to visit the Sculpture Garden at Roche Harbor. This included a nature trail that wound down near to Wescott Bay.

Unfortunately, our friends missed seeing Roger and his brother Eric marching with the National Park 1860 color guard as their ferry was leaving just before the Memorial Day Parade.

Of course, the weekend after our friends left, the sun came out and all was beautiful, but I needed to finish the trim in the mudroom and the bathroom I just finished painting. (This was a project I planned on starting in the Spring of '08 and finally started a month ago.) I did sneak out on Saturday for a couple hours to check out two places on the annual Artists' Studio Tour. I was caught between wanting to stay in their gardens all afternoon, and wanting to run back and start fixing up my own place.

This week I finally feel like I am living the life I'd envisioned for my retired self. I savor it all the more as I was reminded of just how precious these years are by the unexpected death of a dear friend and colleague last week. He'd only been retired five years. And here I am in the middle of my third already. It would be nice to think there are thirty more ahead of me to enjoy. But one never knows.

Birthdays, Anniversaries, and other things

2010-05-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

On the Sunday of our anniversary weekend, we took the boat to Orcas Island. Close in miles but neither of us have been there in years. We visited the Bullock Brothers farm, where we took our first permaculture classes maybe sixteen years ago. They have a standing Sunday potluck lunch invitation to the whole island which we crashed and got a tour of the place to boot. Came home with a truckload full of plants from their nursery. http://www.permacultureportal.com/

After that we cruised the island and drove up Mt Constitution for the view.The very next week I went to Orcas again, this time with members of the San Juan Textile Guild for our quarterly meeting. Orcas was having a Sustainable Living Fair that weekend as well. Orcas has it going on!

Suzie and I have been walking quite a bit. One trip up Mt. Young, we came upon a fox who was very surprised to see us. What's that in its mouth?We went up Mt. Young to look for wildflowers and saw lots of avalanche lilies and shooting stars and some camas.My birthday week was great. I met friends Lynn and Diane in Anacortes for lunch one day, my friend Linda (from Montana) visited another day, and then I got to go to Henry and Pearl Island with my friend Kathy on her monthly rounds to check the meters. Here is a picture of the lovely meter reader near a teepee on Henry Island.

I walked to my sister Rosalie's place on my birthday. The weather was perfect. And that night Roger took me to dinner and "My Fair Lady" at San Juan Community Theatre. The next day, two basketry friends came over and learned to make willow baskets with me. I showed them my living bench which is coming along nicely near the r.v.

All and all, it has been a pleasant and eventful Spring. Tomorrow, we are opening our place up for a tour of our chicken coop operation. It is part of a "Islands Farm and Feast" weekend. http://www.sjcarc.org/ Good excuse to get the place shipshape!

Think Spring!

2010-04-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

When I last posted, I was on my way to a Basketry Retreat in Port Orchard. Here is a picture of one of the baskets I wove. It is made of reed and I've filled it with Easter knickknacks; it is supposed to be a market basket. It's a little different from the willow with which I usually work.

Now it is April and everything is green, green, green. We went down to Seattle one weekend and brought back a pick-up truck load of plants for Roger's clients. But I got some of the leftovers (privilege of being a landscaper's wife). So besides weeding, I've planted ajuga, daylilies, cala lily, asters, etc, etc. Roger is planting seeds in the greenhouses, but we've yet to plant vegetables outside--even the potatoes beds are prepped but not planted. I got to try out the riding mower Roger bought from our neighbor Ron. So the pasture be the pond is newly mown.

We went to see a friend's concert in Seattle--the real reason for our trip. http://waywardmusic.blogspot.com/2010/04/jay-hamilton-fred.html

And since we were there we were able to help celebrate some friends' April birthdays. Suzie loved riding in the pick-up truck, like a grownup dog.

This past weekend, Bjorn and his family came to visit. April is a very big month in their family as the First was the twins' Fourth birthday!

And Ethel's birthday was the 12th, and Bjorn's is the 30th. Little Audrey will be 3 months old tomorrow! http://www.flickr.com/photos/8374500@N06/4536476464/ The weather was great and we got to play on the beach at Eagle Cove, the girls visited Uncle Eric's ducks and bunnies. And the grandparents babysat one night so Bjorn and Ethel could go out for the evening!

This Friday is our 22nd wedding anniversary. I'd like to go to Orcas for the day. More on that in my next post.

The Silk Road, Road Trip, and other things

2010-03-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

So much to catch up on. The Textile Guild met for our quarterly on Shaw one month ago on February 20th. We saw some beautiful tapestries and textiles from a trip member Joan Christoferson made to China, Tashkent, Samurkan etc on a Silk Road Tour.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road

The following week, my father had an operation to remove part of his colon. My brother Jeff and I stayed with him during his hospital stay. And when he got out of the hospital my sister Rosalie brought him up to the island to recuperate. Here's a picture of him haggling with a local farmer at the Saturday Farmers Market. He stayed in our little cottage for ten days and then we took him back to West Seattle on our way South on the road trip we have been planning for quite some time to see Roger's brother Guy's new home near Sacramento. Before dropping Dad off, we stopped by Bjorn's so Dad could see little Audrey for the first time.

After leaving Dad, we drove to Raymond to see our friends' new home. (I know, not the most direct way to Sac but we don't get off the rock very often.) Brent and Kathy bought an old dairy farm right on the Willapa River. The house is over 100 years old and needs a lot of work, but its got good bones. And everyone needs a project, right?

Pouring down rain from Raymond to Sacramento--only it was snow when we were near Mt Shasta. But once we got to Brenda and Guy's, everything was good. We took in the California State Train Museum. http://www.csrmf.org/ which may have been the real reason for the trip. Then Guy and Brenda showed us the town of Folsom, closest town to their home in El Dorado Hills.

After a great visit with Guy and Brenda, we drove west toward Alameda, where my niece Bina and her family reside. But first we stopped at Village Homes, an ecovillage prototype near U of C at Davis. 70 acres of permaculture! http://villagehomesdavis.org/

We got to Alameda and the historic home that Bina, Joe, and Ovid call home. Spent the next couple days walking everywhere (Alameda is VERY FLAT). It was good to spend time with Bina and Ovid and see where Joe is working in a factory that is working with kites that propel boats up to 30 mph!

I had planned all the trip down to Alameda, but none of the trip back. It was all ad hoc and turned out to be fabulous. First we stopped in Petaluma, to see college buddy Nancy's new venture, a pizzeria start-up with her son-in-law, Raphael. Hence, Rafy's!http://www.yelp.com/biz/rafys-pizzeria-petaluma

We found ourselves in Sonoma County and went to a winery that Brenda and Guy recommended based on "biodynamics". The winery was in Glen Ellen and is called Benziger.http://www.benziger.com/winegrowing/overview

But the real find was that Benziger winery was surrounded by 180 acres once owned by Jack London and turned into a state historical park. We visited the "Wolf House", a huge rock mansion ruin in the woods that burned down before London ever moved in. And the farm where he experimented with radical farming techniques that seem very organic today. http://www.parks.sonoma.net/JLPark.html

By this time we were running so late we decided to add an extra day on to our trip. We stayed the night in Ukiah, Ca then drove through the "Avenue of Giants" redwood forest and got to drive through a Redwood tree, just like my family did back in the 60's on my last road trip to California.

We also stopped in Arcata in Humboldt County
http://www3.humboldt.edu/engineering/sites/www3.humboldt.edu.engineering/marsh/index.htm
where an old lumber mill was turned into a wastewater treatment marsh and wildlife sanctuary.

At this point we were undecided as to which way to head up North. We could head back to Yrika from Eureka and attempt the Siskiyous sans snow this time (we hoped) But that highway was closed due to slides. We could go through the Redwoods from Crescent City to Grants Pass like we did 18 months ago and then head to Crater Lake and Bend. But then we decided to skip the whole mountain pass thing and hit the beach at Brookings, Oregon.

The next day we drove up through Myrtle Point and stopped in Remote at a covered bridge to eat lunch. Then we drove on to connect with I-5 at Roseburg. Five grueling hours later, we were at my sister Jeannette's in Olympia. She was good enough to put us up for the night AND cook dinner for us. We easily made the 2 pm ferry the next day and arrived home safe and sound.

No time to do anything but regroup and repack. I'm on to a Basket Weaving Retreat in Port Orchard in three days. http://www.nwbasketweavers.org/retreat2010/index.html

A Good Day

2010-02-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

It starts off with Roger bringing me a couple mugs (sequentially) of yerbe mate. I sip it, listen to NPR, and contemplate the day ahead. I'm usually out of bed at 7:30 and greet Suzie who waits for me at the bottom of the stairs. After a good belly rub she's ready for her breakfast and I for mine.

I like to work a Sudoku at breakfast to sort of wake-up my brain. So by 8:30 it's time to get dressed, make the bed, get the day goin'. Check my e-mail and do the dishes I couldn't face the night before. Housework takes me to 10 or 10:30. Then I can't stand it anymore and I must get outside. This is when Suzie and I go on a walk. It it is raining, it might only be a twenty minute tour of the homestead. If dry, we try to get an hour in--30 minutes out and back. My sister Rosalie's place is about that far away unless you cut through Jonna's. Walking gets me thinking about things, noticing the Indian plum is blooming and I see the first skunk cabbage emerging near the stream bed. I should come back here with my camera and document this.

We get back in time for me to make lunch, soup out of leftovers and a sandwich on Bakery San Juan bread. Should I check my e-mail once more or read that book I just started? Hopefully, I can get something done this afternoon. But I'm tired after my walk, perhaps just a short little nap? And look, the kitchen is all messed up again and I need to take the laundry out of the drier. If I'm not careful, it's after one before I can start on any "projects". I know, I'll go downstairs and work in the craftsroom.

Can't start anything until after I tidy up this place. Oh, look at those cute baby clothes patterns, I really must get started on them before Audrey outgrows that size. And here's a box of photos, should I start sorting through them now? (must concentrate--what do I want to do today) I've got the yarn for that weaving project. I'll do it--I'll warp the loom today. Well, okay, I'll at least wind the warp. Oh no! Suzie! Leave that ball of yarn alone! Bad Dog! Should only take a minute here to rewind that ball.

Two hours later--so maybe I'll only wind half the warp today. I think I'll have time to wind the rest tomorrow. Right now I am going to get a massage. Let's see, its on Egg Lake Road, that should take me all of six minutes to get there. Ahhhhh.

Home by 5:06. Must make dinner. Roger tells me he's delivered the fresh lettuce from his greenhouse for tonight's salad. I'll cook the ravioli and toss it with pine nuts and pesto. Peach pie for desert.

Now I'm watching the Olympics on t.v. Too tired to wind the rest of the warp after dinner. Didn't accomplish much today, really. Let's see, nope, just a couple hours worth of weaving prep. Oh yes, and I finally posted something on the blog.

January 2010

2010-01-24T16:34:00.000-08:00

Audrey Josephine Ellison born 1:07 PM, Thursday, January 21st. 8'10" Mother and daughter doing fine.

Here is a pix of Ethel and Iliana holding new baby.

After that, the news becomes more mundane. I've been working on some basketry. Ruthie from my Textile Guild gave me some yellow twig dogwood trimmings, so I made a basket using them and a little purple plum:

I plan to give it to Ruthie as a thank-you gift. Tomorrow, I start a three day workshop on Shaw for beginning weaving. Even though I have been weaving since the 70's, it has been over ten years since I had anything on the loom which has been in storage since we sold our house in Seattle in 2001. The weaving class uses a table loom, but I believe the enthusiasm engendered by that class will propel me into starting a project on my 4-harness floor loom.

This month as been mild and relatively dry. Roger has gotten lots of pruning done, including the crab apple in the courtyard and this hawthorn next to the house:This was one of those, got to do this task before this other task that I really want to get done happens. In this case, a friend asked if I could use some willow. Of course I said yes, but it was too branchy for basket work, so I decided to use it to replenish the wattle fence behind the kitchen garden.

This couldn't happen until the hawthorn was pruned so that branches wouldn't hit the new fence. The wattle fence acts as a reflector of afternoon sun. See the new green branches on top of old faded willow.
I've also been working on the living bench project near the rv. It's looking good but I will wait with pictures until new branches make it more impressive.

I've am grateful for the mild weather this month as I have been walking every day. Next week will be busy with three days on Shaw and then a trip to the mainland to see our new little granddaughter. January will be gone in a flash.

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T21:13:00.000-08:00

Seasons Greetings, Buon Natale, Happy New Year to All!

We have had a wonderful, family filled month of festivities this year. It began with a large family get together at my brother Marc's on Bainbridge Island. Everyone was able to come. Kudos to Marc and Leigh for taking on, feeding, and entertaining 32 people.

Even my neice Bina came up from Alameda with nine month old Ovid Duke.

A good time was had by all. The guys played music most of the afternoon and after dinner we watched a slide show of my trip to Italy narrated by my sister Jeannette. It was fun to relive the memories.

Here is a family portrait:

That same weekend we visited Roger's folks in Auburn and celebrated his 54th birthday.

December was filled with Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, caroling, tree trimming, lots of visiting with friends and even a play called " Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol". This year they could say of me "She knew how to keep Christmas well."

After spending four days in Seattle doing a lot of Christmas in the City type things, we brought Dad up to Thornbush. Bjorn and his family joined us Christmas Eve. Two three-year olds at Christmas time add up to a lot of fun.

Iliana

Lenora

The kids hadn't been here in awhile and there was a lot to show them, including Uncle Eric's bunnies.

But soon it was time to go and celebrate Christmas yet again at the Ellison's. This time all the attention was on the newest member, Miles James Ellison, just three months old.

Here he is held up by proud Great-Grandfather Al. with Pappa James and Grandpa Guy alongside.

This year my Dad joined us at the Ellisons and convinced all the guys to play a game of pinochle.

Joe, Guy, Leif, Roger, Al

And the fun is not over yet. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and our guests are coming in on the 4:30 boat. We plan to make merry into the next decade.

May all your 2010 dreams come true.

Morning Light

2009-11-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

I took this picture on Nov 12th at 8AM from my dining room window. The colors this Fall have been very schoolbus orange.

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who expressed concern over Roger's health status. He is fine, has shown no further symptoms. He's taking medicine and monitoring his blood pressure.

Another catastrophic event one week after the lost weekend at the hospital--the computer was knocked out, possibly a trojan horse. We saved the files, but lost all of our e-mail addresses. So, if you haven't heard from us in the last 23 days or so, please send us an e-mail so we can collect your address again. In the meantime, I bought this nifty little HP laptop with Windows 7 on it.

The third bad happening was that I lost my notebook somewhere between the hospital and here, the notebook that had all the records of Suzie's first few months, many of my notes from my trip to Italy, and a variety of to-do lists I'd made since I retired. Not as bad as the first two events, but wanted you to know not to look for another disaster ('cause you know they come in threes).

Now for some happy news. We finally got to see our new brand new great nephew, Miles, son of James and Niki Ellison.

We saw the whole family at our niece Clare's wedding reception at the end of October. Here's a pix of beaming bride Clare and of husband Tony Truong. Clare and Tony live in LaJolla, so it was nice of them to bring the celebration to us.

Another benefit of the trip off-island last month was seeing Bjorn's family. As many of you know, we are expecting a little baby sister for Iliana and Lenora in January. The twins are 3 1/2 now. Should be a pretty exciting year for all!

The only other news of note is that after two years, I finally broke down and ordered satellite t.v. The Winter Olympics are coming to Vancouver in February and I didn't want to be right next door to them and not be able to seem them even on t.v. Between it and the new laptop, I definitely am feeling more connected with the outside world. Speaking of which, Helen!, thanks for becoming a follower. I'd lost all track of you. Please send me an e-mail at Thornbush@rockisland.com and catch me up on your world.

Autumn 2009 and a Wake-up Call

2009-10-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

At first I didn't think there was much to tell about. We didn't go anywhere and our visitors have dropped off quite a bit. We have had many visiting birds come through. Here are some evening grosbeaks checking out the fountain. In looking back over pictures and calendar entries, I see that things have a way of piling up. We've actually been quite busy this Fall here at Thornbush.

I'll start with a week in September when Roger's parents and his brother Leif visited. Here's a picture of them at the Farmer's Market which shows off another milestone--Eric and Roger are actually farmers! That's right--they are selling produce from our own gardens and orchards. And they bought a new, shiny scale to weigh it.

Then, about mid-September we went to the Permaculture Convergence held on the Kitsap Peninsula at Sahale Learning Center. http://www.washingtonstatepermaculture.org. Here's a picture of Roger and fellow permies at a workshop led by Rick Valley on Storage Strategies, Including Carbon, Water and Keyline.

We came back from the conference and a visit to Bjorn and the twins with horrible colds that lasted a couple weeks. This was very frustrating as we were then faced with (dum, de-dum dum)--the Tyranny of the Harvest, as my sister Rosalie puts it. Everything was ripe and ready to deal with. Apples, tomatoes, bell peppers, chard (always), beans, aronia berries, huckleberries (before the towhees got to them), everything! I've been dehydrating, freezing, cooking down and otherwise using up for weeks now.

The weather this past month has been exceptionally nice. It did, however, frost for a couple days early in the month which took out my canna lilies and turned everything a beautiful orangey gold.

There was also a couple chicks hatched about this time. Stella had been sitting on her eggs and not producing, so Roger borrowed a couple fertilized eggs from some friends who owned a rooster and put them under her. We now have two cute little chicks running around behind their foster mom. And two of the pullets from the compost yard are now laying so we will be knee deep in fresh eggs pretty soon.

The Second Monday Book Club from Seattle came up to visit me for the day the first weekend in October. Our book club has been in existence since 1987 and now that I have moved up here I very much look forward to their annual visit. This particular weekend in the San Juans is Artstock, in which various art studios open their doors to guests so we took advantage of the occasion and of the weather. The book was Folly by Laurie King. It is set on a remote island in the San Juans.

Here's the mandatory picture on alder bench with dog.

And now it is time for the Wake-up Call part of this post if any of you are still with me. On Saturday, October 17th, Roger woke up and had trouble speaking. I asked him a couple questions that he was unable to answer correctly, like what his birthdate was. We ended up calling 911 and the EMT's and paramedic came. His blood pressure was way too high. They were going to fly him to hospital in Bellingham in a helicopter but a storm was coming in. So for various other reasons, I had to drive him to St Joseph's myself from the 11:15 ferry. We made it to ER seven hours after his "event". They administered various tests including an MRI which showed five past occurrences of TIAs otherwise known as mini-strokes.

Roger remained in the hospital for two more days and they administered many more tests which gave no evidence of where these TIAs were coming from. So they sent him home with instructions to take an aspirin a day for the rest of his life and to see a doctor about his high blood pressure and cholesterol. This was a long three days for both of us. But since we would not have known about the four other "events" if he hadn't had an MRI test, I guess it was a good thing.

Here is a picture of our first major harvest of chestnuts. We have over a pound of them. We also grew our best crop of quinces this year (see yellow fruit next to chestnuts). I'm planning to make quince marmalade soon. The Tyranny of the Harvest is not through with us yet. (Dum de-dum dum)

Cottage Industry

2009-09-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

(Continued from May 2)

Once we had the sawmill, we started pulling the logs out of the woods with a winch. We also cleared the area where we decided to build the cottage, on the edge of a fairly level area overlooking the pond. Many of our current forest paths started with a log dragged 50 feet or more and then around a stump and dragged further still out to the mill.

From that point, it was a matter of turning the logs into beams and posts for our "cottage". There was a learning curve.

By the summer of 1991, we made progress and our 16' x 12' cottage was begun.

The cottage was put together backwards--first the posts, then the wallboard, then the insulation, then the outer walls. Many of you know the story already, so I won't explain it again.

It got the name "Birdhouse" because we were only able to build it a weekend a month over many, many months and the swallows took advantage, building a nest in the eaves. By the time we got the windows cut in, the swallows were in a panic, trying to find their way out. We waited until they had fledged to add the glass. Even so, months later when I was cleaning out the old nest, I found a dead bird, killed from exhaustion, I imagine.

Later, Roger embellished the theme by adding faux birdhouses to disguise the roof vents on either side of the gabled roof.

And many friends came up and helped us along the way. Thank-you Eric, Tom C, Linda K, Jay, Abe, Bjorn and all the others who pitched in to help.

At the end of the summer of '92, the cottage was complete. There was a worn path to the outhouse way in the woods and a 12-volt battery provided our lights. Each year brought more civilization. We had a well dug, we brought up the water by hand at first. Then electricity, then a pump. Hooray!

Our mill provided all the board & batten siding.

We added a propane stove. Now we're cookin'.

By 1993 (or was it '94?) we were ready to add a back porch. Our living space grew by 30%. No more treks to the woods, we had a real bathroom! The composting toilet and the shower were giant leaps for womankind.

To date:
1989 May: bought land
1990 June: pond started/ Dec: Windstorm topples trees
1991 Summer: cottage started: August: garden w/topsoil planted
1992 May: honeybees in cabinet/ cottage finished
1993 Jan: 16*F- 4"of ice on pond
1994 May: new well/ 'Sept: running water
1995 Feb: snowed 5"

August Visitors

2009-09-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Sharon's visit started off the month of visitors. The weather was a little glum that weekend, but we had one wonderful walk on Mt. Finlayson and met up with two huge bucks and saw a fox or two.

End of an Era: All year long I'd been anticipating entering my art car in the Seascare Porchlight Parade in Brier http://seascare.com August 12th. "Starry Night" Art Car paraded down the Avenue for the last time. Shotgun Lynn and friends Barry and David helped throw candy to the hordes lining the road. Ten days later, I donated the car to Island Stage Left, a theatre company here on San Juan that produces fabulous Shakespearean plays every summer.http://islandstageleft.org/ We went to see a great performance of As You Like It earlier this month. Good-bye art car. It's been fun!

When I returned to the island with my friends Barry and David, the San Juan Co Fair was in full swing. Roger and I won one blue ribbon and two red ribbons a piece for our vegetables and baskets. But the big excitement was the Zucchini 500. Here's a picture of Barry racing his entry--
in the first heat--which he won! The Fair is always lots of fun--always good food, good music, and great company. This year was no exception.

The following weekend was the annual "Weaving Weekend" at English Camp. This year we were again joined by historical reenactors and basketweavers Karen, Patrick, and Judith. There were also lavender wands being made, wool and stories being spun. We made our usual assortment of wattle fences, hurdles, an obelisk, and a couple plant teepees--all out of indigenous alder and willow.

Immediately after weaving weekend more friends, Tabitha and Brigitte, showed up. They hadn't been here since 2002 so much had changed. We got to see dozens of whales at Lime Kiln Park, walked South Beach at Sunset, and they slept each night under the stars to watch the Milky Way and whatever meteors they could spy. Jay lay outside and watched the stars, too, when he arrived for a week of work and play. He helped haul in the firewood, harvest the potatoes, and weed the kitchen garden among other chores. (we did also have some great meals and played some music, too--it wasn't all work.)

Throw in a couple potlucks and other social gatherings with friends and that about wraps up August.

If it weren't for my visiting friends, I'd never go out and experience what a beautiful island I live on. I'd just sit on my deck and enjoy it from here.

Hey, I've been busy!

2009-07-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

Road trip to Montana- My friend Nancy retired from Metro in April. I invited her along on my planned road trip to see my friend Linda who just retired to her mountain retreat in Montana. July is possibly the only month we could expect to be free of snow. So I picked Nancy up on July 16th and we headed out along Hwy 18 to I-90, stopping to see my niece April in Ellensburg. We cut over to Hwy 2 and got to my brother Joe's place outside of Kettle Falls in time for dinner.

The next day, Joe and his wife Cheryl took us on a history tour of the region. This pix is of Joe explaining the accomplishments of a pioneer named Rickey. We had a great dinner of local food that night http://www.lovittrestaurant.com/ and later heard the "Planetary Refugees" play reggae in the produce section of the Meyers Falls market. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLumsg9FZco

The trip across Idaho and Montana took a lot longer than we figured and we had to stay in Butte the next night. But early on Sunday we found our way to Linda's in the Bridger Range of the Rockies, near Livingston. Here are pictures of Linda's valley, Linda and Nancy on Linda's porch, Linda and Suzie in a nearby meadow (did I mention I brought my dog Suzie on this trip?) For more on this part of the trip, check out Linda's blog "Sweet Home Montana" posting. http://clemoyer.blogspot.com/2009/07/visiting-season-is-upon-us-and-murphys.html

We then had a nice return trip on Hwy 12 in Idaho inspite of the ever-present road construction, stopping for the night in Orofino and the next night at my brother John's place in Richland, WA. He gave us apricots fresh from his tree which he needed to pick immediately before the resident skunk got them all. It was 100 degrees in Richland. But that just prepared us for the weather waiting for us at once we got home.

The encampment at English Camp was just a little more special this year because this summer marks the 150th anniversary of the Pig War on San Juan Island. That is why the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftan graced us with their presence in Garrison Bay and nearby Wescott Bay. Roger and I went on a "three-hour tour" last Sunday. We needed to take the longboat to the Hawaiian Chieftan as the water was too shallow at the English Camp dock. It was a glorious day!

Earlier that day, Suzie took part in a "Doodle Romp" to celebrate her labradoodle friend Emma's 2nd birthday. There were over a dozen goldendoodles and labradoodles and one standard poodle--Suzie! Look at all the doodles retrieving from the water. Suzie is still watching from shore.

Yesterday we hosted Roger's brother Guy and his wife Brenda from Sacramento. We plan to visit them in October. Here ends our very busy month of July.

Pictures from trip to Sicily

2009-07-10T16:30:00.001-07:00

I’ve finally got my pictures on Flicker. Here’s the link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myake/collections/72157620982491023/

If you look around this sight, you will find the collections for my sister Jeannette, her husband Bill Yake, and son Matthew Yake. And yes, there are stories behind many of these photos. If one piques your interest, let me know!

Ciao,

Anita

June 2009

2009-07-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

June 2009 was quite a month for me. I spent the first couple days in Rome, coming back to Thornbush on the 3rd. The next week or so I touched up the artcar. Here is picture of my friend Karen and myself at its debut at the Fremont Solstice Artcar Blowout.
Meanwhile, my mother, who had been under hospice care for 20 months, “flew away” on June 17th. We gathered the family together and buried her on June 27th. We are glad she is finally at peace. Thanks to all of you who sent your condolences.

The weather for June was the sunniest it’s been for something like 25 years. Now we are already talking about drought. Our stream is merely a trickle in places. The ocean spray is in bloom and the garden is bursting. Another sign of summer is the beginning of a stream of Thornbush guests. My high school pal Mary visited me for a few days at the end of the month. Here is a picture of our visit to the Lavender Farm about a mile up the road from us.

The Lumni Nation were honored guests at Friday Harbor’s Fourth of July parade. They paddled into the harbor on July 3rd. My sister and I shared hosting of several members of our family for the holiday with dinner at each of our houses along with the parade, some sing-a-longs, a pancake feed or two, and the fireworks over Friday Harbor.

Evelyn (1920-2009)

2009-06-17T12:15:00.001-07:00

Evelyn J. Barreca entered this life May 2, 1920. She entered eternal life on June 17, 2009. A Service and Reception to celebrate her life will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Saturday, June 27th, 2009 at St. Francis of Assisi, 15236 21^st Ave SW, Burien, Washington, followed by internment at Gethsemane Cemetery, 37600 Pacific Highway S., Federal Way, WA 98003 Evelyn Jane Jones was born to Daniel and Matilda Jones, the seventh of seven children in Eagle Valley just outside of Richland, Oregon. She moved to Portland and became a “Rosie the Riveter” after WWII started, but soon enlisted in the Coast Guard and was stationed in Florida where she met her husband Joseph A. Barreca. They became engaged on New Years’ Day, 1944 and were married in Missouri on March 2, 1946. The couple moved to Seattle later that year and she attended Seattle Pacific while Joseph completed law school at UW. They moved from Holy Family to St. Francis in 1958 and were faithful members of that parish for Forty-five years until 2002 when they moved to DayStar Retirement Home in White Center and returned to Holy Family. Evelyn was a member of St Michael’s Circle at St. Francis for many years and has many good friends there still.

She is survived by her husband of sixty-three years, Joseph A. Barreca and her children, Joe Jr. (Cheryl), John (Marilyn), Jeff (Kathy Kroening), Anita (Roger Ellison), Marc (Leigh), Jeannette (Bill Yake), and Rosalie (Tom Howarth) and her grandchildren, Bina (Joe Brock), April, Emily, Nick, Bjorn Ellison (Ethel), and great-grandchildren, Iliana and Lenora Ellison and Ovid Duke Brock. She also leaves behind a sister, Ruth Young, and many, many nieces and nephews.

Evelyn was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She wanted everyone to remember that there is a God in heaven, who loves us. She shared her love of flowers, animals, rocks and all of nature with her children. She cherished her memories of growing up on a farm in Eagle Valley and we will cherish our memories of her. You may view a photojournal of her life at: http://home.comcast.net/~yake/Evelyn%20Barreca%20HTML/data/index.html

Donations in her name can be sent to Group Health Hospice:Group Health Foundation, Dept. 4194, P.O. Box 34936, Seattle, WA 98124-

Arrangements: Bonney-Watson Funeral Home

900 SW 146th Street
Burien, WA 98166
Phone: 206-244-2320

Rome and beyond

2009-06-08T17:24:00.001-07:00

We got back from Rome on Tuesday, June 2^nd, at 9 PM. The following Sunday I persuaded Roger to go to “Angels and Demons” starring Tom Hanks at our local theater. It is set in Rome and the Vatican and the posters were all over Italy. I was just in the Sistine Chapel on Monday! But the Vatican looked very different in the movie. It didn’t have any people in it. Here is what the line to get in to the Vatican Museum looked like last Monday:

The movie also showed the Pantheon and the fountain of Rivers in Piazza Navona and several other sites that we checked off our must see list while we were in Rome. The movie was fun, but Rome was so much more interesting. We are hoping to put our photos on Flickr or something like it soon.

Anita

http://thornbushreport.blogspot.com/

foto of famiglia

2009-05-27T03:34:00.001-07:00

A sample photo from our trip.

Famiglia in Castelbuono: Daniele, Vincenzo, his mother, Giovanni, Rosaria, Rosario, Mario

hello from Italia

2009-05-27T03:21:00.001-07:00

May 27, 2009
Our trip is two-thirds over all ready. We spent the first week in Sicily,
mainly visiting relatives (whom we have never met before) in Castelbuono.
They could not have been more kind or generous. They fed us huge Sicilian
meals. And they never eat dinner before 8 pm in all of Italy, so we eat
and eat and eat and then go to bed. Meals are never less than four
courses, usually more. And the desserts! Mama mia!

We have also been staying at agritourismas along the way which are working
farms that also let people stay overnight and have ristorantes that serve
food they grow at the farm. Also wine they make from their own grapes. I
will set up a Flicker account when I get home because the scenery is
fabuloso.

On Sunday we travelled by train to Naples from Taormina, Sicily. The
train boarded a ferry to the mainland. The whole trip took about six
hours. Naples is like a third world country. It is dirty and loud, but
with beautiful architecture from past glories. We went to a huge museum
there that housed all of the treasures from Pompeii that the Bourbons had
collected. Incredible. Then we went to Pompeii yesterday -66 hectares of
city have been "restored". How big is a hectare?

Today we are in Amalfi at an Internet Point. The Amalfi coast is gorgeous
with cities built and sheer cliffs into the sea. Amalfi has tunnels and
staircases built into the rock. It is touristy, but understandably so.
It is so beautiful. It is also hot.

We also went to Mt Etna and hiked around and we spent some time hiking in
the Madonie national park in Sicily so it has not all been cities and
towns for us. Tomorrow, we turn our direction to Rome and will spend the
last four days of our holiday there.

Until then, ciao from Italia,
Anita

test for trip to Sicily

2009-05-11T13:13:00.001-07:00

I’m leaving for Sicily and Southern Italy on Thursday, May 14. I hope to post something along the way. If not, check back after June 3^rd.

Arrividerci,

Anita M. Barreca

http://thornbushreport.blogspot.com/

storms, ponds, and tractors

2009-05-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Needless to say we began enjoying the pond right from the start. In the summer . . .

And the winter.

With the purchase of land comes the purchase of equipment. Roger and Eric were lucky enough to have parents who owned two rental stores in Federal Way and Bonney Lake. They were able to acquire a lot of machinery this way.

And when you have equipment, you must have a place to store the equipment. So Roger and Eric set about building a "tractor shed". Here is a picture of the prototype for said shed.

And here is a pix of the shed as they were building it.

In the winter of 1990-1991 the Northwest saw a series of storms that had long-term effects on the direction of Thornbush operations.

Here is a quote from Cliff Mass' book, The Weather of the Pacific Northwest:

"When Arctic high pressure moves into British Columbia and relatively low pressure builds over Washington, air accelerates southwestward down the Fraser Valley. . .

An example of such a strong Fraser outflow wind occurred on December 28, 1990. A frigid highpressure center had moved into British Columbia, while a trough of low pressure associated with an Arctic Front stretched from Wyoming, through Washington , and offshore of Vancouver Island. The result was a zone of intense pressure difference over southern British Columbia and norther Washington. This pressure difference accelerated cold air southwestward down the Fraser River gap and then across Bellingham, the San Juan Islands, and vicinity. . ., a swath of extremely strong winds, reaching 80-90 miles per hour, struck a large area of northwest Washington . . .On northern Lummi Island, two observers reported winds exceeding 100 miles per hour, and massive tree falls, damage to homes, and extensive power outages occurred. Af few miles to the south, Guemes Island was hit hard: there was a widespread loss of trees over the northern portion of the island, with swaths roughly 500 feet long and 150 feet wide where nearly all trees were downed . . ."

This wind swept through San Juan Valley and our property. We counted 42 trees down.

And so we bought a sawmill. (Learn more of what the sawmill made for us in the next edition of "thornbush retrospective".

Yellow Island

2009-05-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today, May Day, I was fortunate enough to travel with the "Friday Walkers" to Yellow Island Preserve on a landing craft. Here is a description from the Nature Conservancy Brochure:

"In the Spring, Yellow Island's scant 10 acres display greater floral profusion and diversity than any other comparable area in the San Juan archipelago. . . It has long been a landmark known for its brilliant wildflowers and rustic driftwood cabin."

From late March to early June, Yellow Island's native fescue grassland supports an ever-changing succession of wildflowers. Colors emerge and recede, beginning with yellow buttercups and delicate white fawn lilies. Camouflaged brown and green chocolate lilies, purple shooting stars and scarlet paintbrush bloom in mid-April and are soon joined by myriad blue camas."

Today was we had fabulous weather and all of the above wildflowers were in bloom, along with red sedums and these tiny little violet things. The caretaker tells us that every year, two acres are burned in order to keep the woody shrubs in check and let the wild bulbs emerge.

It was a great day to be in the San Juan Islands.

Another interruption

2009-04-09T19:09:00.001-07:00

I'm taking another break. I wanted to talk about some of the things I'm doing now, and I'll forget about them by the time I get through the retrospective at the rate I'm going. (The pond was built in 1990 so I still have 19 years to go!)

Here are some baskets I've made in the last few months. The middle basket was from a workshop here on the island led by Polly Sutton who is world-renowned for working with cedar strips. It is "twined" with sweet grass. The two on either side were from this year's basket retreat in Port Orchard. All of these baskets emulate native northwest work either in shape or material. The basket on the left uses horsetail root and bear grass for the black & white decoration. This is quite a departure from my usual willow work.

I'm also making a very big "living willow" bench just below the orchard. I'm using wild willow from around our property, plus red and yellow-twigged dogwood. The idea is that the stakes will take root and keep growing so that the basket never decays. New branches would sprout every year that will be either pruned back or inter-woven into the sculpture. It's fun, but it is taking a whole lot of long pieces and the weather has not really been cooperating until very recently. (It is about six inches taller all around than when this picture was taken)

I want to include a picture of a wood carving from a shop I visited recently in Langley, on Whidbey Island. I will try to credit the artist, once I remember his name. (You can click on any of these pictures for more detail.)

My friend Nancy (with whom I travelled to India a couple years ago) came up to see me after her retirement from Metro. We spent one sunny afternoon improving the hood of the art car. I'm so inspired, I hope to touch-up the sides as well and enter it at the Fremont Fair Art Car Blowout.

And finally, in honor of my new great-nephew, I just had to include this picture of a couple Ovoid Ducks. Happy Easter everyone!

Pond Building II

2009-03-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

The bottom is pure clay and it is at the low spot of a large watershed, so the site was perfect. Pretty soon the water started showing up at the bottom of the pond. Here's my Dad, adding perspective.

And then, in November of 1990, it rained like nobody's business. It has never rained since then as much as it rained that month. Our 1/2 acre (?) pond was filled up in no time.

Here's the view of our pond from the neighbor's window. This slightly yellowed photo sat on my desk at work for the next 18 years.

Pond Building

2009-03-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

The dozers came in the summer of 1990. Note the expert equipment operator on this massive machine in the first picture. First they scraped off the precious few inches of good topsoil and piled it up for Eric's and our future gardens. Then, they sketched out the dimensions of the pond, going round and round, creating our new road and the dike holding the pond away from the stream to its North.

At one point they asked us, do you want an island? We pondered for a minute, and then said Yes! We do want an island. This also helped as we did not have to displace tons more of the soil.

Here is a picture of the whole pond. You can see the blue camp-site tarp in the distance. This view is approximately the same as from our living room window today. The final picture shows my sister Rosalie (five feet, maybe) This illustrates that the pond is about 11 feet deep in places.

My next post continues pond building and filling with water!

we interrupt this retrospective for a news update

2009-02-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/weasel/Minkprintout.shtml

Mink are small members of the weasel family. Dark
brown in color, mink have long been sought after
for their pelts. Though they only reach 2-3 lbs
in size, mink are aggressive and predatory. They
will prey upon most anything including rats, mice,
fish, rabbit, birds, eggs, insects or muskrat.
Because of their long and sleek design, mink will
commonly find their way into chicken coops or
other animal holding cages where they can kill
several of the captive prey animals in a short
period of time. This characteristic - random
slaughtering of prey animals - sometimes confuses
the animal owner into thinking local vandals
are responsible. They also like to line their kill
up in a row which leads to further confusion. It's
hard to imagine such a small animal could be so
destructive, aggressive and organized. But if you
raise quail, pheasant, chickens or some other small
bird, hope the local mink don't find out!

Mink like to live close to water. Dens are commonly
made on the banks of streams and creeks but they
may choose a location under a rock or log. Mink are active in most every
state except one or two in the southwestern region
of the United States. Since mink are usually nocturnal
and secretive, they are not easily seen. Generally
they are not the first animal thought to be responsible
for local damage unless the land owner is familiar
with how mink behave. But once they learn of a good
food supply, they will be persistent and resilient.

A mink broke into our chicken coop Wednesday night and killed all of our chickens. Roger will reinforce the coop before we acquire more hens.

In other news, I just have to include this picture of little Suzie building a snowman in Thursday's snowfall. She started with a tennis ball and kept at it for over an hour.

2009-02-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has taken so long to start my retrospective. It was harder than I thought to locate pictures from twenty years ago.

Here's pix of my friend Peggy Sue's digs on Lopez. This is where she was living when we first started looking for a place. We really thought we'd end up on Lopez near her. Lopez had some advantages like only being thirty minutes away instead of a hour or more on the ferry. But we didn't find any parcel that had all the qualities we wanted so we began to look on San Juan. Good thing we didn't buy on Lopez as Peggy Sue moved back to Friday Harbor a few years after we had bought here. It's so nice to be on the same island!

After much dickering with the sellers, the property finally closed in May of 1989. We started camping on it right away. Usually we would spend at least one weekend a month there at least during the summer. And each summer we'd spend at least one week of vacation really "improving" the place. The second picture shows an improved situation, so it must be the second summer. You will note a tarp over the tent, AND a camping cupboard that housed some of our equipment while we were away.

One year we came back to find that honey bees had discovered our cupboard and built quite a hive. Needless to say, we decided to let them have it rather than argue the point.

Here are pictures from that same camping area today. My brother-in-law Eric now owns this real estate and may build a house on it one day. But the view down the valley is now full of alders.

To be continued . . .

First Trip to Friday Harbor - 1973

2009-02-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

I found an old photo album with very blurry pictures of my first trip to visit my friend Peggy Sue the summer of '73. Had to be summer even though I'm wearing that heavy coat of Peggy Sue's. June can be very cold up here in the corner of the nation. Hmmm, that would make me twenty years old. (I'm sure that's lemonade in my hand.)

If George, Barry, Ken, or Peggy Sue have any clearer pictures of this trip, please send them my way.

By the way, this week is the anniversary of my first year as a retiree. Hooray!

2009-01-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

I was soaking in the bathtub a week or so ago when a fabulous idea came to me. Roger and I bought Thornbush twenty years ago--in 1989. Some people have been asking just how we came to find this place. Why not do a look back over the last twenty years to explain just how we got here?

So over the next few weeks/months? I will be taking you back to the very beginning. I'll have to learn to scan some old photos or hunt up the cd (Did they have photo cd's 20 years ago?)

But to let you in on the beginning. We both knew we wanted to buy some land somewhere. I've known I've always wanted to move to the San Juans ever since college days when my roommate, Peggy Sue, brought a group of friends here to show us her island home. My other roommate, Lynn, and I had been visiting her in Friday Harbor every year since then. And when she moved to Lopez, we started visiting her there.

But Roger grew up in Longview which is near Portland, and he had very good memories of that part of the state. He had visions of a place near Skomakawa. Well we all know now who won out.

It all started with a leave of absence from work in February of 1989. We were going through a recession, and there were threats of layoffs, or in our case, sending a 1st-line supervisor back to driving a bus (god forbid). So I suggested they give me a leave of absence instead as I hadn't had a break since I began my job twelve years earlier. They ended up giving four people three- month leaves. And I used mine to start looking for property.

After several weeks of looking on Lopez, Fidalgo, and San Juan Island we put earnest money on the 26 acre DeVillez property on March 5th. We bought it knowing we would need to sell some of it in order to pay for it. And so we put out calls to all our friends and relatives to see if anyone would want to buy in with us. The property was partly in a 10 acre only zone and partly in a 5 acre only zone. So we could have up to four houses on the 26 acres all together. Only one person took us up on it, Roger's younger brother Eric.

Stay tuned for more history and even a few pictures as I take you back in time and describe how Thornbush came to be.

2008 Review in Pictures

2009-01-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Anita retires after 30+ years at Metro Transit at the end of January. That weekend she moves out of the little cottage she has lived in four days a week for the last 6.7 years in Fremont and joins her husband at Thornbush on San Juan Island.

They join friends in Kona on the Big Island for a week in February. They enjoy paradise and their friends' company very much. Snorkeling is a highlight.

In April, Roger and Anita celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. Anita acquires a puppy after waiting for seventeen years since her last dog went to doggy heaven. She gets a standard poodle and names her "Suzie". Her life is changed dramatically. Oh yes, and they start raising six laying hens.

Both Roger and Anita take part in the Fourth of July parade and vounteer at the San Juan Island National Historical Park. They win prizes at the County Fair for baskets and vegetables.

After a fabulous summer of fun hosting many friends and family members, Roger, Anita, and Suzie take a road trip down the Oregon Coast to the Redwood Forests of Northern California. They ride a narrow guage train near Tillamook.

Later in the Fall, they get together with Ellisons and Barrecas to celebrate a wedding, two Thanksgivings, a birthday or two, and Christmas. Anita starts a blog to record her life at Thornbush.

Christmas at Thornbush is a quiet, peaceful affair due to record low temperatures and about 14" of snow on the ground. They prepare the pond for ice-skating.

When she thinks about all the big events of 2008, both personal and in the world at large, Anita is overwhelmed. How could 2009 top a year like this last one?

six random facts meme

2008-12-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Here are the rules to the Six Random Facts Meme:1) Link to the person who tagged you.2) Post the rules on your blog.3) Write six random things about yourself.4) Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.5) Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

My friend Peggy Sue tagged me with this meme last week. I posted the six random things about myself in my profile, that was easy enough. Why six people? That's hard for me at this point.
I mean, I read other blogs, but I don't know the other people personally. Can I count Peggy Sue again or is that against the rules? Nope. I'm going to have to settle for four. Perhaps someday I'll know enough people who blog to make it up to six.

However, it does give me the chance to introduce some very inspirational blogs to all my readers. Check these out:

1. Marnie: art cars

2. Robin: beaded jewelry

3. Mizu: the artist

4. Linda: living in the mountains of montana

2008-12-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

Our reindeer display looks pretty weird

Somewhat fuzzy and a little dog-eared

That won't stop us from wishing you cheer

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Baby, it's cold outside. 23 degrees F last time I looked. The pond is frozen. A couple days more of this and I may start ice-skating. Here's a picture of a great blue heron sitting on the pond this morning. I would regale you with tales of adventures in the snow, but this is nothing--check out my friend Linda's blog Sweet Home Montana. -25 degrees, now that's talkin'.

Fortunately, evey activity I was planning for this week got cancelled so I didn't have to go anywhere. That included the east coast swing dance class we are taking, yoga, the Textile Guild Christmas Party to name a few. No landscaping is getting done. So, too bad, have to sleep in, decorate the house for Christmas, bring in the firewood. Play with the dog.

Of course, if it dumps on us like it threatens to on Sunday, we may have to hitch Suzie up to the sled and go get provisions. Four miles to town.

Hope you all are making the best of this winter wonderland. Oh, and Happy Solstice!

November 2008

2008-11-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Last night (Nov 21) I dreamed I was driving The Route 2 Trolley Route. It is not unusual for me to be dreaming about driving a bus even though I haven't driven one in service for twenty-two years. What was unusual was that it was a trolley (an electric bus not a streetcar) and that I could experience the feel of the steering wheel which acts quite differently from a diesel bus.

I remember feeling very smug as I negotiated the turnaround down at the Madrona terminal at Lake Washington in one smooth pass as I paid attention to the overhead wire. But at one point, I overshot and my bus climbed the sidewalk. (this wouldn't have happened at the Lake Washington terminal, but hey, this was a dream). What was interesting was that I could feel the sidewalk underneath the wheels--pretty specific for a bus dream.

Meanwhile Roger told me that he, too, had a bus dream last night. That's not as exciting because it's only been twelve years since he drove for Metro. However, his dream was about pulling in, but just missing the head of the zone and feeling the brakes, the bus, the road as he pushed down hard to reach his mark. Also very specific physical sensations for a bus dream.

My usual bus dream is about wildly careening down a dark street where my bus has no business being. Sometimes steering from the back of the bus. Perhaps you other current and past busdrivers reading this blog could comment on this with your own experiences of bus dreams. Check out http://www.mehva.org/index.php for more trolley pictures.

Also in November I had my first reflexology treatment. How wonderful! Reflexology is based on the principle that certain parts of the body reflect the whole. Reflex points, which relate to all parts of the body, can be found in the feet, hands and ears. These points respond to pressure, stimulating the body's own natural healing process. The body starts progressively clearing blockages, re-establishing energy flows and balancing itself, resulting in better health.

I came back home and asked Roger for a series of treatments for my Christmas gift.

After a nice Thanksgiving at Roger's folks' house in Auburn, we ventured out to do something I used to avoid like the Black Plague--shopping on Black Friday. I purchased a new digital camera to replace the one I lost on my vacation in September. So expect more images soon. For Roger's birthday, we bought a new Food Saver system! Keeps food fresh up to 5X longer. How exciting! We also contributed to the economy by purchasing shoes at REI and ordering a new pair of glasses for me. We've done our part by shopping, Mr. Bush.

Report #13

2008-11-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

Dinner Island is a small island in Griffin Bay, just a five minute outboard motor ride from Jackson Beach. We were able to picnic there on a surprisingly sunny October day with good friend Janey and her friend Dan Ward, whose family owns the island.

I don't have any good pictures that show the island, only pictures of water towers and bunkhouses and a happy dog on the beach. Rest assure, it is a gorgeous island with many fabulous beaches and a frisbee course like no other. Here's pix of Dan:

On the last weekend in October, we celebrated an early Thanksgiving so that the eastern Washington Barrecas don't have to travel over the pass in late November. This year my sister Jeannette and her husband Bill Yake hosted at their home in Olympia. Twenty-five family members and friends came together for music, food and good times.

And to round out this post, I simply must mention that we were able to celebrate the Election Day returns at our friends Ellie and Eric's with a house full of elated companions. Yes We Can!

First Post from Thornbush

2008-11-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

Lenora at Barreca Thanksgiving 2008

I did it! My goal was to start a blog this Fall. Watch this space.