Relatives and Friends

Cousins Kendra and Twila.

Their mother always includes a photo with their Christmas card

Niece Lynda, brother-in-law Dennis, sister Pat,
nephew Scott and niece Kimberly

Nephew Scoot and Niece Jen and
their family. 

Niece Kimberly, Scott, and Lynda

Niece Lynda who lives in Phila 

It has taken me forever to assemble this collection of photos of the relatives and friends, some from the 2020/21 Holidays.  I've had problems with upload photos from my photo file to blogspot. What a pain. But here are some of the photographs I collected from the holidays. 

We're still in the pandemic. There was an attempted insurrection on January 6 and a polar vortex in February that had friends in Texas without power for several days.  Someone is trying to tell us something. Maybe we should listen.  

Our Christmas decorations

John with Fairchild in her
blankie

Our dear friends Marlis and Ralph Hodges in
Cat Spring Texas

Nephew Bob and Niece Kimberly
at their house in York PA

 

Midnight the cat

Iris Stahl and my sister, Kay,
the one with the big mouth

David, niece Lynda's husband, with their collection of cats.

Cousins Eleanor and Larry, who live in York PA.
 He retired the end of 2020. Happy Retirement!

Nephew Eric, Eric Jr, Mandy, and Kylie
at their home in PA

   

Niece Holly's dogs. See below for her family

The view looking east from the Lazy J

 Niece Holly with husband, Lucky, and sons Dayton, Zander and 

 

God daughter, Kimberly, attorney in Texas

Niece Annette and Steve with their children, Ian, Liah, Dublin and Ui.

Fairchild

Summer/Fall Garden

This is just some of the veggies we raised this summer. Also turnips, dragon carrots, lots of beets - white and red, sorrel, mustard, arugula.  Fresh and nutritious.

Carrots from library seeds

Greens in pots: tats, kale, spinach

newly planted elm trees in our new elms grove

Amaranth in pot in sun porch

Amaranth again

My experiment with greens in pots indoors

amaranth again

more amaranth

more amaranth

greens in pots

greens: tats, kale, mizen, spinach, raddichio

 

Life in a Pandemic

We've been sheltering in place during this terrible pandemic. We are fortunate that we are retired and don't really have to go anywhere.  We stocked up early but already had quite a store because John, being a Red Cross volunteer, believes in being ready for a disaster.  We were thinking earthquake not virus. Speaking of earthquakes on March 31st we felt the effects of a 6.5 earthquake centered in Stanley Idaho about 300 miles east of here. The house moved, curtains swayed, and it set off the grandfather clock. That was the excitement for that week.  All the while the pandemic was becoming really serious.

So I've been taking drawing lessons on YouTube during this time. One of my efforts is here.  I'm thinking to draw the cover of my work in progress, Wings of the Dawn, set on the Oregon trail in 1853. It would involve a covered wagon. The heroine is going to California to escape her past in New Orleans. So every morning I'm traveling the Oregon trail in 1853. It requires a lot of research which is interesting.  My biggest takeaway from the research was that the over landers were crazy to pull up stakes and move 2,000 miles west.

 Above I'm setting in the first garden seeds which have finally sprouted. I've planted beets, two kinds of peas, kale, carrots, spinach, and turnips in different raised tubs.

To the left are some of the greens I grew inside for my baby greens garden. (See previous post) They are quite yummy and turned out well.  I grew radishes, kale, sorrel, spinach, tatsoi and cauliflower, which needs to go into the garden but we are still having freezes.

 Here is a Russian Olive tree with a magpie nest over our pond.  A larger photo is below. The nests are an amazing collection of woven sticks that withstand strong winter winds and storms. Magpies renovate old magpie nests. This one hadn't been used in a while. But a noisy threesome moved in this spring. They are now setting on eggs, hopefully.  We both love magpies. They are very noisy and funny and smart.

 Here's the big blue spring moon last month looking east from our place.

This is one of the lilies John bought me for Easter. I also have a drawing of this. My drawing instructor says to practice, practice, and practice on things from real life.

 Fairchild enjoys a tough afternoon of sunbathing.

First radish from the greens garden. We got about a dozen. I sautéed the greens with olive oil and garlic.

Snow Geese on Sewer Ponds, Hines, Oregon

My friend, Terry Keim, sent me this photo today. She lives in Hines and walks on a nature trail that goes by the town sewer ponds.  What looks like snow on the ground are actually snow geese on the sewer pond. They like the warm water and I've heard you can trace migrating geese from city to city on their sewer ponds.  Terry is active on Facebook and posts her photos, poems and observations on a regular basis. Thank you, Terry.

Baby Greens Garden

Last week when it was sunny I snapped a photo of our baby greens garden. I started cool weather plants on our sun porch which is not heated but gets warm durning the day.  My idea is to grow "baby" greens which seem to be all the rage now. I can snip them off before they get big and have salads for us. I also sprout mung beans in a jar which are great in salads. I'm growing seeds from that the library gave out for readers to grow. I got tatsoi, radicchio, sorrel, radishes, bunching onions, cauliflower, and kale. The idea is to let some go to seed and give back to library.  I also planted spinach and three different kinds of tomatoes from seeds we saved. I also planted a row of spinach in one of our raised beds and the snow will be good for them. I'll plant more spinach outside this week. I've already transplanted some of the greens into bigger pots.

Greens are a little bigger.  Photo below shows a robin outside the window look for a bite to eat.

I've transplanted quite a few more and they are growing well. I planted more spinach, lettuce and peas in the raised beds outside. We had a few radish greens already. But the plants need to get a little bigger.

My World Today

It's Sunday March 15, 2020 and we've awakened to snow the last two mornings.  This morning it snowed most of the morning.  John went to mass against my recommend to stay home and self-distance.  In just two weeks our world has turned around. Now the corona virus dominates the news and has changed everything.  We bought in food. I don't go to town anymore than necessary. John went to water meetings this week, did the mail, bank, post office and library routine and shopped for groceries.  I'm having a great deal of trouble putting weight on my right leg and so it is hard to get around. I use my new, spiffy roller walker pictured below.

 Here's my world: books to read beside my reading chair, walker by the chair. On the table is my beading stuff. I'm making a necklace that Aunt Nancy made for me that broke into prayer beads.  It's white outside because it's snowing. We don't use the telescope now because it's a wee bit cold to be out at night.  Stars are gorgeous though on clear nights. Space station has been going over in the mornings about 6 AM.

Winter White outside the dining room window. Left is avocado plant we started

Looking out of the window east into the snow. The plants sit on my beading table. This past week I saw my first robin. The magpies are enhancing a nest in the Russian olive tree by the pond.  The king birds are back and of course the sparrows and starlings never left.

Hot Springs

It seems long ago now but the first week in March John and I went to the Crane Hot Springs abut 45 minutes south of us.  The weather was sunny and up near 70 so we went on a Monday and Friday after our aborted trip to the CCL conference in Vancouver, Washington.  It felt good to bounce around in the pond and move my legs.  The water was comfortably hot, the breeze a little brisk.  It's a big pond where the water entering is boiling hot and by shooting it up and circulating it cools down. We took noodles to help us float around.

My hat says "Make Earth Cool Again". I got it at the Citizens Climate Lobby Conference. I'm very cool and modern.😊