Can’t believe it. Summer’s gone. The weather is getting chilly. And, we’re packing to leave.
Danielle is loaded and gassed in her hangar, and it is all too soon. But, this is the way it must be, at least for a few more years. Then…who knows.
We have some pics to immortalize our time here this summer.
Gary’s Rose Bed
One of our first projects was to make good on something we talked about LAST summer – a rose bed for the entryway. Above, is the beginning.
Progress
Then, we had progress…
Little at a time
And, it came along nicely…
Done
Then, finally it was done. Gary Sample – if you’re reading this, I copied your little beds out front. We even found some “Drift Roses” (a new trouble-free breed) that can be seen closest to the camera (very young). Anyway, a worthy and fun project. Lotta work. Now the REAL work begins.
We wanted a nice veggie garden. Down the hill, at the bottom of our little forest, is an old corral. Perfect location. Very rich soil. But, when we arrived, full of weeds and other noxious stuff. Enter Al Bushnell, stage right…
Capt Marvel (aka: Al Bushnell)
This would not have happened, at least not this year, without the Captain. With his expert work, and later Gary’s tilling with her new very cool toy, called a Mantis Tiller, our garden has produced tons of produce that we are now enjoying.
From this: Gary’s final Tilling
To this, in 45 days
To this, at 60-70 days
After 90 days, we had CORN on the Cob!!
Captain Marval’s payback will be lots of fully mature corn, as we sampled it at our farewell indoor BBQ (too cold outside) and it’s not quite ready, but still sweet. Al and Helen may also consume any and all lettuce, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans or green peppers we are leaving behind.
I’m jumping in here to help out with the blog, so Drew can finish getting things ready for our departure. Critiquing permitted. Just be kind, please, Gary
Our favorite ‘Margaret Time’ hangout.
‘Margaret Time’ being Drew’s tradition of toasting his deceased sister at cocktail time now includes any and all of our ‘angels’ who’ve joined her. This is when we call to check on ‘The Mom’, who keeps us smiling with her quick witted repartee. Drew’s mother is quite a lady whom we both love very much.
Our mission this summer while here was to protect the house, etc. from fire by clearing the windward hillside of brush.
Before.
The masticator literally eats up the brush as it charges up and down the steep hillside. This was the way to do the job in a couple of days rather than years, as we were trying alone last year. Not cheap, btw.
After.
What a difference a day makes. Now all we have to do is keep them down by spraying as the roots put up new leaves. Not so easy. The slope is PRETTY STEEP and that 3 gallon backpack makes for tenuous balance when walking across the slope. Drew did a super job, however. We also spent a lot of time finishing the clearing by hand with regular chain saw, Shrek and our travois on a section the machine simply couldn’t run up safely.
Harvey joins us.
What one can find at yard sales in Colville will amaze you.
First Fire Pit Night
We needed a fire pit, so Drew and Joe got to work with Harvey & Shrek’s help. This pic is of Dorrie, Helen, Joe and Harper having fun on their vacation from their home in Massachusetts. We took the week off and just had fun with them, flying them over this area to their heart’s content.
The backyard seemed to draw loads of local wildlife.
One of the ‘Twins’
Thomas Alert
From 27 wild turkeys, to multiple deer, coveys of quail, and a super variety of birds.
We enjoyed flying to new spots in the area over this summer from Port Hill Border Crossing to Cavanaugh Bay Resort in Idaho and beyond.
Headed for Canada?
Sullivan Lake, WA
We had a flat tail wheel, but I didn’t know it. Drew did get us home before dark and now have a new tail wheel tire. Oh, that ain’t coffee, btw. It was an early ‘Margaret Time’ for me.
Priest Lake, Idaho
Cavanaugh Bay Resort grass strip.
Brunch at the resort restaurant was a highlight. We flew over to join a couple we’d met at last summer’s RAF/Sullivan Lake Fly-In. A brief, but good time, good food (if pricey), and good folks.
Colville, is pretty unique; we have pet deer here. A true love/hate relationship if there ever was one. These guys are typical. I hope they enjoy themselves; with those racks, they WILL be harvested this fall.
This is simply one of our favorite pics of the house from, literally, the top rock on the hill. The new little rose bed shows in the entryway. Our little airport ‘family’ has a ‘leader.’ His name is Jon Bateman. He is partnered by ‘Becky’ his faithful sidekick. They keep us close by providing leadership in the form of a bi-weekly bbq at the airport pilot shop deck. He’s a really good guy and a great grill chef. Meet Jon…
Much of the summer was spent in this little glade of Aspen trees at the very foot of our hill, adjacent to the veggie garden, seen in the background.
Another view of the Aspen grove. They’ll be turning yellow soon.
The corn we planted really surprised us. It was so HEALTHY. It grew tall, and produced about 75 ears, about 70 of which will ripen after we’ve gone, but that’s ok. Below, is the top of one of the stalks. We’d never noticed the flower-like structure at the tippy top. The honeybees from the area LOVE that stuff.
Back to the Aspen grove…Let us introduce you to ‘Big Momma.’ She’s enormous. Gary can get her arms about half around her. She’s a beauty and now we can see and admire her; she was earlier completely surrounded by chest-deep brush. Very dangerous brush fire situation, now taken care of!.
Big Momma dwarfs Gary
We enjoyed ‘soft’ air when the sun was going down. This is what it looks like. Beautiful area, no?
View on a beautiful sunset flight in our local area
Vista of Colville Valley, looking toward Kettle Falls from the ‘Bench’ above the Aspen Grove
Just a nice view from the ‘lower 40’, looking South, toward Spokane
From here, we’re moving on to a new page that we’ll call ‘South Migration – Fall 2013.’ It’s been a great summer, always exceeding our lofty expectations of beauty, serenity, and friendships. See you on that page, and we’ll head South together.
drewamh 