Friday, October 21, 2016

Can-Am Model T tour in September

Pat and his 1912 Torpedo Roadster Model T Ford in front of the murial on what is now the Studebaker Building in Harrington, Wa.  This was our lunch stop on the first day of the tour.
 Some of the crops on the way to Spokane for the Can Am tour
 More of the tour cars in this Palouse country.
 More scenery with the train.  These trains are probably primarily for the transport of grain and other crops from the area.
 An old homestead.  Yes the trees lean over.  Our first day of touring was very hot and windy.  The second day was rainy, cold and windy.  I did not take my camera the second day, but wish that I had, as there was some more spectacular scenery.
 This is a photo of a mountain (I do not know which one) on our way home along the I-5.
There were cows just across the fence from our KOA campsite, near Burlington.  No, this is not our motor home.  :)
It was a very well organized tour and enjoyable despite the weather.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Some of the garden at the end of September

 The amaryillis belladona in a bouquet with michaelmas daisies
 This is the flower bed beside the old garage where the oriental poppies, the Lily of the Nile, the cyclmens, and the amaryillies grow.  The lily of the Nile are hugs blue flowers that finished blooming just before the amaryillies started.  The cyclamen are spreading all over the garden.
 The amaryillies had a large clump of blossoms this year.  They were in bloom for a few weeks.  This makes a very good cut flower with the michaelmas daisies, in boquets.
 The figs, at the end of September were just starting to ripen.   This is the second crop that does not usually ripen before they freeze.  We have had a very mild winter last year, so they were early.  We have been eating some in the past week.  They are not as sweet as the summer sun ripened ones.  The leaves are dropping from the tree now too.
 The sedum Autumn Joy was in bloom on September 26 and is still looking quite good now.  We have had quite a bit of rain recently.  The Autumn colors are glorious this year.  The autumn flowers have come along very nicely with the rain.
 I have been doing some renovations to the front garden.  This was the juniper by the front entry way.  It has grown too big and was falling apart.  I now have it all taken out and have a tiny yew tree to fill its spot.  There is a hyacinth that will come up in the spring, and a blue geranium, that is evergreen.  Next to this there is a globe cedar that wraps around the stems of the lovely big pink tree peony.  The globe cedar got pruned back a bit and will look like a green pot that holds the peony, when it grows out.  The other spot where I removed another overgrown birds nets spruce, has annuals planted in the improved soil around the ugly water meter spot.  The petunias are looking very good in that spot right now.  I hope the snapdragons survive.  I must add some tulips and perhaps hyacinths.
 a close up of the cyclamens along the old garage flower bed, at the end of September.  They are still in bloom now.
A glorious sunset from off the back deck on September 26.

I have harvested the purple plums and have packages of fruit frozen for winter eating.  There is also about 60 packages of soup frozen too.  The next Autumn harvest will be the apples.  The tree is loaded.  I have some apple sauce packages frozen, there is much more to do.  I have a package of plums made into pie filling, so I should be able to do this with some of the apples, too.  The better ones will be saved for eating fresh, and making apple sauce.  The apple tree produces a heavy crop one year and the next year there is very few apples, so we should have apple sauce and pie filling for two years made up.    After that, of course there will be leaves to rake and mulch with the mower to put on the garden beds for winter protection.  This mulch seems to disappear over the year.
Last week there was a weather warning for high winds and heavy rain.  So, I moved the orange trees into the house, along with the echeveria.  That chore went very well and seemed to be much easier to do this year.