Cherry Picking

I have never been excited about radishes, so I won't count them as the first thing we harvested this summer.  But I couldn't help but be excited about the tree beautifully adorned with pie cherries.  We picked a bit more than 4 quarts yesterday, pitted them, and put them in freezer bags to save for pies for later.

Gary had told me that he would not be getting on the ladder to pick cherries, that I could do that.  He said his doctor told him not to get on a ladder again, as he had had a fall a few years back and injured himself.  I was curious whether the reason was the unsteadiness of being on a ladder, or whether it had to do with physical condition, so I asked him what the doctor said about it. He said "The doctor said it is stupid for anyone over 60 to get on a ladder."  I could see as he was saying it that he was realizing he was telling me I should do something the doctor said would be stupid, as I am 62 years old.  So - he didn't want to injure himself but it was OK for me to take a chance?  I hope it was because he perceived that I am in good physical condition and less likely to lose my balance, rather than he cared more about hurting himself than me hurting myself.  Ha, ha.

Anyway, we did pick cherries and it will be fun to make pies with them later.  For now I just love looking at them.

The Drama of Hay

I first had a clue about the drama of hay, talking with my friend nurse Sandy at the Benedictine Nursing Center.  She has 5 horses.  She told me there is a short window where hay is available at a reasonable price, and she has to be on her toes with phone available at all times, to arrange for hay for the winter for her animals, or she'll lose it to someone else.  If you don't get hay during this period it would be prohibitively expensive later.

Now I have seen the other side.  Gary has 10 acres, and he grows hay on 7 of it.  The biggest part of the drama is weather during the haying season.  "Make hay while the sun shines" is no joke.  If it rains during the process, you can lose the whole crop.

Here is how it goes.  First the hay is cut.  It needs to dry out a bit, so it sits for a couple of days, then it needs to be turned.  A tractor with a particular implement turns the hay.  Then a couple of days later, the tractor combines each two rows into one, making fewer passes for the baler.    Next, the baler comes, and it is an amazing thing to watch - it travels along, taking in hay, and turn out bales from it's back end. You can't help but think of it as eating up the hay and passing it like, well, you know.

Gary was on pins and needles yesterday during the baling.  His friend Fran wants 350 bales and the rest will go to neighbor Harold who has 10 horses.  Gary and Kelly combine their crops for this sale.  Kelly doesn't have as many acres in hay, because part of his is planted in evergreen trees that sometime after his lifetime would be harvested.

Gary normally would have about 435 bales, but this year because of weather only had 335.  His expenses are rising, with fuel and fertilizer, so price needs to go up.  Last year he charged $120/bale.  This year to break even he would have to charge $130/bale or to make a little profit (very little, for all the trouble), he would need to charge $140/bale.

The next really important step is for the hay to get moved and under shelter, to protect from weather.  If the customer does this, Gary can charge less than if he had to get his work done and figure out where to put it.  At this moment the bales are sitting in the field waiting to get picked up.  Next bit of drama, will Fran and Harold accept the higher price?  If not, how to find other customers?

It is a sketchy business, because Gary needs someone else to do the tractor and baling work. It is hard to find people willing to come work on a small 7 acre operation.  His friend Dennis does it, just because he is a friend.  His wife, the lovely Geri Ann, is the one who provides eggs for us from her chickens.  I am impressed with what a community there is here, how connected everyone is and must be.

Here are photos:

Forest Walk to Old Stubby

One of the best things I have done in Corvallis is go on a hike in McDonald Dunn OSU College Forests which is minutes from Gary's property.  Neighbor Kelly loves a particular hike, which passes by a particular tree, which he has named Old Stubby.  Isn't isn't exactly "stubby" in the sense it is not short.  But it is very wide, indicating it is very old.  It really stands out, so much wider than any other tree around it.  It has become something of a touchstone for Kelly.  He took me on this hike and I am so grateful.  I took photos.  These are really just a small sample of all there is to see - trees, creek, wild flowers, even a herd of OSU cattle.  It is fabulous.  The last photo here is a tree with mistletoe growing in it.

The Recumbent and the Upright

I am behind on my blog, so today is the day to being trying to get up to date.  I want to be sure to mention having a couple for dinner that are friends of my sister Debbie.  Their names are Sheryl and Bryon Van Fleet.  Debbie met Sheryl while working at the Oregon Caves in college. Sheryl and Bryon went to OSU, lived in Klamath Falls for a number of years while Bryon taught school, and they owned a used book store.  For me, that would be a dream, to own a used book store.

Anyway, they had a huge adventure with bicycling across the United States, as older non-athletes.  Sheryl wrote a book about it, including some of Bryon's hilarious narratives as well, and it is called "The Recumbent and the Upright: A Bicycle Adventure by Two Retired and Unfit Cycle Enthusiasts, That Grew into a Ride Across the Continent".  It is an amazing story, and really made me laugh in parts.

They have moved to Corvallis, so Debbie made an effort to get me in touch with them.  We had them here for dinner, and it was great to be able to talk with them in person.  I hope we get to see more of them.

Why American History is More Interesting Now

First of all let me say that lately I have been listening to a lot more audiobooks than reading books, because of busy new life in Corvallis.  So my choices are often things that catch my eye at the library in the audiobook section.  One extremely interesting book is "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen.  This book hit home with me.  I have gotten much more interested in history at this point in my life than I ever was in school.  Mr. Loewen explains why.  He points out that the history we learn in school has been sanitized.  The text book companies collude with school boards to not present anything controversial, and particularly not show our country's history in any negative light.  So true! So it is very boring, and really does a disservice to students who might want to really know what has happened in the past.  It also contributes to poor current day decisions, by politicians who really do not understand the past.

Along these lines I want to share some books I have read that have filled in a lot of color on the history of the U.S.  These are ones I also found in the audiobook section of the library.  First - "The Hemmingses of Monticello".  This provides a fascintating view of an interracial family tree, and of Thomas Jefferson, with his strengths and weaknesses.

Another one "Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation" by Cokie Roberts.  I'm afraid I will overuse the word "fascinating" but it truly is.  This includes both women we've heard about and those we haven't.  Their challenges, victories, losses, and profound influence on our country.  It is not sugar coated in any way.  It would be great required reading in our schools, to help boys and girls be aware of the contributions of women.

On to "A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation" by Catherine Allgor.  Before listening to this audiobook I didn't remember anything about the war of 1812.  What a mess.  But it was so interesting to see how Dolley's strengths helped James Madison with any successes he had.  And it gives food for thought on how people of differing views might find common ground.  Something we could sorely use today.

I hope teachers are finding ways to supplement those really inadequate textbooks - to help students find history interesting, and become better educated.

Forest Hike

Gary is lucky enough to live minutes away from OSU's McDonald-Dunn forest (http://www.cof.orst.edu/cf/forests/mcdonald/ ) where there are many nice walking trails.  But in the 12 years he has lived here, he has never gone on any walks there!

On Easter Sunday I went by myself on a lovely forest walk (photo below from that walk), and decided the two of us should go. 

The day before yesterday, I got him to agree to go with me on the next day, yesterday.

I woke up from my morning sleep (after working the night before) and found a note from him that he was doing errands and would be home by 2:00.  I got myself ready. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I was pumped.  He came home at 2:20 and I asked if he was ready for our little hike.  He said "I was hoping we could do it tomorrow."  I said no.  There was no reason to postpone, and I know if we postponed there would be some other reason not to do it tomorrow.  He said "Well it is raining in Lewisburg" (which is about 4 miles away).  I responded that it wasn't raining here.   He hates the rain and is ready to throw in the towel if it has rained, or might rain on any particular day.  Despite current conditions.

So we drove the 3 minutes it took to get to the closest trailhead. We arrived and he said "I wish we would have brought Lola".  Lola is the midsized terrier mix.  I said it was fine with me to go back and get Lola.  So we did.  Heading back to the trail head, he looked at clouds and said "Our asses are going to get wet."  I told him it wouldn't hurt us if they did.

Finally we embarked on our walk.  I told him I'd be happy with just 20 minutes in and 20 minutes out.  It was great.  Lola loved it.  We definitely need to do this regularly - we'll all be happier for these easy forest walks.  Here are some photos.

Gardening and Dinner Party

There used to be a sign on Gary's property that said "Gary and Kerri's Place".  The story goes that not long after Kerri left, the sign fell down of its own accord, witnessed by the neighbor, Kelly.  Left were two weather treated posts set in concrete, and some deteriorating plywood.  A bit of an eyesore.  Then Gary took a chainsaw to a shrub behind the sign, and the hacked up shrub made it look even worse.  I communicated that impression of mine to Gary.  I was taking a nap, and by the time I woke up he and his friend Dennis had pulled the whole business out of the ground and covered over the holes left.  Yay!

There is a lot of work that needs to be done on this landscaped property.  I said that I would take responsibility for weeding and maintenance of the large bed that you see as you're driving up, and also seen from the front porch.  It is huge, and includes many trees and shrubs.  Also, a rock structure and small pond with lilly pads.  It is obvious that it was beautifully done, by Kerri, but has suffered from lack of attention. 

My first project was to put something where the sign and shrub used to be.  I decided I wanted to get some "yard art", and I had an idea that a Chinese pagoda would look nice there, surrounded by some flowering plants.  Gary took me shopping to Garland's Nursery for my birthday, and I found just the pagoda.  I also collected a few plants.  Here is what it looks like so far:

 Next I started weeding on the section where there are rosebushes on either side of a trellis, which leads into the big bed.  I was squatting down, pulling one weed at a time, and Gary came up and said "That is just silly".  He really said that, "just silly".  He thought it would be better to use Round Up, then rake the dead plants off.  I did NOT like that idea, did NOT want to use chemicals in a flower bed where I want to place other plants.  So I just kept weeding my own way.  It looks nice, but I have a lot more to do.

Next part of my story - which connects with gardening - the dinner party.  We invited Gary's old friends Julius and Sue.  Here is Gary with Julius.

And also my "band mom" friend Linda, and the man in her life, Tim.  We had a good dinner of grilled cod, squash from Gary's garden, and spinach salad.  Plum cobbler for dessert - the plums from Gary's tree which he had frozen.  Gary made rice but we forgot to serve it - I so often forget to serve one dish from a meal I've cooked.  Here is the dinner table with Linda, Tim and Sue.

Back to gardening, Linda works for the extension service, advising people on gardening issues.  Perfect.  She volunteered that the weeds she was seeing are Round Up resistent.  She said pulling them up is the only way to get rid of them.  I was so glad that she was behind me on this.  Here is Linda:

She also gave us a lot of helpful tips in just the short tour around the property - plants to encourage, plants to get rid of.  She saw 3 shrubs too close together and advised moving one.  Julius and Sue said they'd love to take one home, so here Julius is digging it up with Tim's help:

And here are Linda and Sue, watching:



I had a lot of fun talking with my old friend Linda, and new friends Julius, Sue and Tim. Linda, Sue and I hope to have a happy hour together soon.  Linda said she'll think about my landscaping and come up with ideas for me. I'm excited about that.  And excited about the friendships.