Fox River Grove Visit

What a great visit with the "Grand-Angels".
On Saturday, Eli celebrated his third birthday! He is a very talkative and exuberant youngster, and he loved hanging out with his Daddy and Grandfather in the garage. Eli loves his trucks and cars (anything with wheels) and greatly enjoyed playing with his new action figures. Eli loves Rex (a huge 110 pound dog) and despite the differences in size - they seem to play together quite well.
Brynn, Eli and I had a wonderful time reading books together and playing outside. Brynn thinks she would like to be a fashion designer and is an avid reader with a well developed imagination. Brynn is growing up so fast - what an absolutely delightful young lady!
My iPad was a big hit with the kids. Both Eli and Brynn loved playing with my iPad and watched the Toy Story App over and over and over ...Good thing the battery life is so outstanding.

Visit with Betsy

Last week, Frank's sister (Betsy) drove out from Colorado to visit for several days. Although the weather was somewhat inclement, we did a bit of sightseeing. One of our first stops was the head of the Metolius River out at Camp Sherman. Believe it or not - you can see the spot where the water bubbles up out of ground. The Metolius is a favorite fishing spot - only catch and release. The color of the foliage was absolutely magnificent.

After our short walk to the head of the Metolius we stopped at Camp Sherman. Just look at this picture of a cabin located on the river. Please notice the yellow and pale green looking pine trees - they are called Tamaracks (also known as Larch trees). When I first noticed them, I was really upset - thinking that something was killing the trees. Later I learned that Tamaracks are the only deciduous conifers. We just planted one in our yard - however, it is only about three feet tall right now. No matter - we are still looking forward to witnessing (close up) the growth cycle of this fascinating tree.

We also drove Betsy out to see Suttle Lake. It was an overcast day, but there was an ethereal layer of mist hovering over the lake and the foliage was especially vivid. We also enjoyed a tour inside the main lodge. What a great visit!

Color - glorious colors

Wow - I've always heard about the Fall and the explosion of oranges, reds, and gold - but this is the first time I've really experienced the change in season. I wish this window of transition lasted longer. On several occasions, I have taken note of a particularly glorious aspen, or red maple and thought "Okay, better come back tomorrow with my SLR and shoot this!" only to return in the next couple of days to find the leaves had already dropped to the ground. The pictures above were taken with my iphone.

What a day!

Today is a big day in Sisters - it's the Harvest Festival. However, first I had to attend a garden club meeting at City Hall. Today's topic was "winterizing your garden". I learned that we need to fertilize our lawns in October or November (just before the first snow). If you fertilize too early - you promote growth and prevent the grass from going dormant which can be deleterious to the root system. At the end of the meeting, the session was open to general questions. One of the club members inquired about the squirrels - everyone agreed that the squirrels have been excessively busy - storing pine cones and dropping cones all over the decks of Sister's most ardent gardeners. One upset member claimed that she had even been hit in the head from pine cones being "jettisoned" by the squirrels. The general consensus was that such excessive activity was an indication of a "harsh winter"to come!

Another garden club member claimed that she has a log in her yard that separates her property from her neighbors. Apparently this log has a long groove in it that has rotted out over the years. She reported that the squirrels in her yard have filled the depression with pine cones neatly stack one next to the other - and even put in a second row!

Following the garden meeting we went to the Harvest Fair. The Lumber jacks were putting on quite a show, and Frank and I enjoyed a ride around town in a horse drawn wagon. Unfortunately, it was raining most of the day so that dampened the festive spirits somewhat.

While we were checking out the vendors, we noticed a lady with two tiny puppies tucked in her jacket. We stopped to admire them - and believe it or not - we ended up taking one home. We've named him "Bogie" (short for Boggart) and he is a toy australian shepherd. He has one blue eye and one brown eye. Full grown - he will only be the size of a cat!

Catching Up!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Frank and I traveled over 3000 miles (by car) in the last month. We flew to Tacoma to pick up our two cars and drove them back down to Sisters. We rested one day and then started out to visit Luke and Lei in Southern California.

Our drive from Carson City to Mission Viejo was really pleasant and we traveled through some beautiful country.The Mammoth Lake area was particularly nice,and Frank and I would like to return when we can spend more time exploring.

As we approached the San Bernardino area, the desert was particularly bleak and the air quality was horrendous. It was really distressing! I shot this picture from the window of car - the whole world looked gray. I hope this picture gives you an idea of what it was like.

We spent a marvelous week visiting with Luke, Lei and Lizzie. Lizzie is now about 5 months and is a beautiful baby! We had fun cooking, decorating their new townhouse, and playing with our newest Grand-daughter! After leaving Luke and Lei, we drove up to Vallejo/Napa area to visit with my Mom as well as see Bunny and Michael (Frank's sister and brother-in-law). Mom was doing surprisingly well, and we were able to help her with some household tasks that needed attention. Our visit with Bunny and Michael was too short, but we had a great time. Bunny cooked up some great meals, and we had fun catching up. Michael and Frank are hatching plans to build their own outdoor oven on one of our next visits!

The drive back home was grueling - as the car did not have air conditioning and the temperature was over 100 degrees. We made frequent stops to stretch our legs as well as get some "cold" refreshments. As we passed through Doris - a small town in northern California - this sign caught our attention. Unfortunately, the restaurant was no longer in business - I guess maybe the food wasn't that great after all!

Traveling the Backroads

We left Sisters this morning and are headed for Southern California to see our newest grandchild - Lizzie. Frank and I really enjoy road trips, and generally try to take as many backroads as possible. Today was no exception. For lunch, we stopped in a very small town named "Adin". As we drove through this small hamlet of just over 500 residents, we noticed a roadside cafe (Oney Frosty In Town) advertising a peach milkshake-and since we had never had one - we make a quick u-turn and stopped for refreshments.



Naturally, after seeing the full menu, we succumbed to the "fat farmer special". I have to tell you that the cheeseburger was probably the best hamburger that I've had in the past 10 years! Curly, the owner, and his brother came out to visit - pulled out chairs - and sat down to chat! First of all they were quite taken with Frank's Mach 1. We learned that Curly used to be a "custom farmer" and was a hay baler for 16 years. He just purchased the family run cafe two years ago.

These folks were quite friendly and told us about some of the local history of the area. Apparently the last recorded lynchings in the state of California occurred in the nearby town of "Lookout" in the early 1900's (they thought the year was 1917). Apparently the vigilantes hung an entire family for stealing tomatoes and horses. It seems that they (the vigilantes) broke into the jail and carried off the thieves in gunny sacks. We were told that if we visited the old blacksmith's shop, we would see the actual rope that was used in the hangings. He told us that in the past, the local folks (relatives of the vigilantes) didn't like to talk about it. However, now that most everybody who had participated had died off, folks were more willing to discuss the affair.

Needless to say, we enjoyed our time with Curly. While we were chatting a woman drove up. Without hesitation, she headed directly for our table and pulls up a chair with "I think I"ll join you". She had driven up from "Bieber" - a town just down the road but liked coming to Oney's where she "could be anonymous". You've got to love these people!

If you are ever in "Adin" you've got to stop here and say that Frank and Judy sent you. I am including one more picture of Frank next to the welcome sign for "Bieber".
Frank's family name dates back to the 1700's when the three "Bieber" brothers immigrated to America. Their name was Americanized - hence "Beaver".

Sister's Music Festival

What a great 3 day celebration. The young - the old - and music lovers of all genre's enjoyed this celebration of folk music. My personal favorite was Ray Wylie Hubbard - but then one must realize that my Daddy was a Texan, and I was raised watching Hoffman's Hayride every Sunday evening.

Ray was a master "showman" who easily engaged the audience with his friendly style, deep resonant voice, and an invitation to sing-along. Group participation was maximized during a rowdy rendition of "Snake Farm". I ended up buying two of his albums!

The setting was very informal with tents pitched in the village square, Bronco Billie's, and The Art Works. A young folk singer named Ellis was particularly popular at this festival. Another group that I especially enjoyed included "Po' Girl" - a group from British Columbia. The singers had bright rich voices and each played a number of instruments including banjo, flute, accordion, and guitar.

Frank's favorites included the "Ty Curtis Band" - they played a "mean" guitar and harmonica that would please any Eric Clapton fan. According to our local paper, this band recently was voted second in a National Blues competition. Another group that he particularly enjoyed was the "Hot Club of Cowtown". The instruments included one violin, one bass, and one guitar - but my goodness - they put out more "foot stomping" sound than you could believe. They produced an amazing eclectic mix of music that is best described as "Texas swing".

Sunday afternoon we were exhausted - but had a great time. The weather was in the low 80's and of course we needed to cool down with homemade ice cream from one of the local shops.

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Storybird!

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