New Spidey shirt!
Watering. (Because it's real dry here this time of year.)
A boy and his kitties.
Helping the gnomes.
Chloe takes her color-by-number turtle very seriously.
Two Mapes brothers
Three Mapes brothers
Showing posts with label visitors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label visitors. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thanksgiving, with Snow
We got 5 inches of snow on Thanksgiving day; it turned our yard into a beautiful winter wonderland. Although I worried for a bit that the snow would keep our guests away and we would end up facing a whole turkey ourselves, Eric & Miriam braved the drive from Olympia and Dave and Anita brought Great Grandma Marjorie and Anita's friend Ann out from Bellingham so we had plenty of help with the eating.
Conan worked up an appetite riding around the yard on the "snow boat" pulled by his only-slightly-less-excited-about-snow Papa.
We don't have any real sledding hills available, but it was a lot of fun anyway. With his warm winter coat, snow pants, fuzzy hat and big boots Conan was ready to make the most of the unexpected snow bonanza.
Sadly, the temperatures rose in the night, the snow turned to rain and there wasn't a flake left by the next morning, so we didn't get a chance to make any snow sculptures. Next time!
The food, of course, was delicious. We had smashed potatoes, roasted squash, ginger glazed carrots, vegetarian stuffing, bread, turkey & gravy, and pies for desert.
For the turkey I got a little creative and went with a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that promised over-the-top glaze, crispy skin, and tender juicy meat. I'm pleased to say it delivered.
The hard part was butterflying a 21 lb turkey. The turkey came from my buddy Ben Wiley, who moved back to Plain and raised a few birds for friends and family this year. We didn't necessarily need such a large bird for our group, but it was the one I got so there it was. It was a delicious, flavorful bird with great meaty texture and good muscle tone, so much better than the flabby pale meat from a supermarket bird. It took a good bit of wrassling to get the backbone out and break the breastbone in preparation for roasting, but in the long run it was worth it. The turkey cooked evenly and the glaze (apple cider, cranberries & molasses, reduced on the stove-top - now THAT smelled good!) adhered beautifully. Mmmm!
Conan worked up an appetite riding around the yard on the "snow boat" pulled by his only-slightly-less-excited-about-snow Papa.
We don't have any real sledding hills available, but it was a lot of fun anyway. With his warm winter coat, snow pants, fuzzy hat and big boots Conan was ready to make the most of the unexpected snow bonanza.
Sadly, the temperatures rose in the night, the snow turned to rain and there wasn't a flake left by the next morning, so we didn't get a chance to make any snow sculptures. Next time!
The food, of course, was delicious. We had smashed potatoes, roasted squash, ginger glazed carrots, vegetarian stuffing, bread, turkey & gravy, and pies for desert.
For the turkey I got a little creative and went with a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that promised over-the-top glaze, crispy skin, and tender juicy meat. I'm pleased to say it delivered.
The hard part was butterflying a 21 lb turkey. The turkey came from my buddy Ben Wiley, who moved back to Plain and raised a few birds for friends and family this year. We didn't necessarily need such a large bird for our group, but it was the one I got so there it was. It was a delicious, flavorful bird with great meaty texture and good muscle tone, so much better than the flabby pale meat from a supermarket bird. It took a good bit of wrassling to get the backbone out and break the breastbone in preparation for roasting, but in the long run it was worth it. The turkey cooked evenly and the glaze (apple cider, cranberries & molasses, reduced on the stove-top - now THAT smelled good!) adhered beautifully. Mmmm!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Olympia
This past weekend we visited Gabe & Cynthia and baby Morgan for three days in Olympia. Bo & Charlotte & baby Bellatrix also made the trek to Oly and stayed over Friday night. On Saturday we all went up to the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Fair in Buckley, and met the Ericsons there. It was so much fun to see everyone, and we had a great time at the fair even with the cold drizzly weather. It was kind of an impromptu thing to go to the fair, but we all agreed that we should do it again next year, with advance planning so we can dress up! I took some pictures that don't really do the fair justice, if you want to see some of the fun your best bet is to click through the link above and watch the video.
Update: The best performance by far was the Ma'Ceo gypsy riders:
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Family Picnic Fun
On Saturday we went to the Anderson-Syre-Etc Annual Family picnic. The big attraction was that my cousin Andrew and his family (wife Lollie and kids Andie, Nichole & Alex) had come up from California. We had them over for dinner on Thursday as well, and it was really neat to get to meet them in person. We've been internet buddies for a while, but it had been something like 15 years since I'd seen Andrew in person. I'd never met Lollie & the kids, although I felt like I knew them from seeing their pictures and reading their family newsletter from time to time. Really great people... glad we're related!
Now on to the pictures - this may be the single best picture I've ever taken. No photoshop, honest!
Playing on the swing was a big hit. Grandma Debbie had fun too.
Time with Great Grandma is always special.
Nichole, Alex & Andie picked lots of raspberries from the rows around the picnic area, and Conan ate a ton of them.
Sitting on the "choo choo" with Mama was extremely exciting. The bigger kids got to drive the tractor around the field all by themselves, which was a ton of fun.
Self-portrait!
This picture is actually from last weekend, at Odessa's birthday party. Look out ladies!
Now on to the pictures - this may be the single best picture I've ever taken. No photoshop, honest!
Playing on the swing was a big hit. Grandma Debbie had fun too.
Time with Great Grandma is always special.
Nichole, Alex & Andie picked lots of raspberries from the rows around the picnic area, and Conan ate a ton of them.
Sitting on the "choo choo" with Mama was extremely exciting. The bigger kids got to drive the tractor around the field all by themselves, which was a ton of fun.
Self-portrait!
This picture is actually from last weekend, at Odessa's birthday party. Look out ladies!
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Memorial Weekend
We were lucky enough this Memorial weekend to host two of our favorite out-of-town families for a couple fun days of catching up and watching the kids play. It was quite a full house, with 6 adults, 4 kids, 4 cats and 2 dogs all sleeping under one roof. And then on top of that we had two more families over for dinner on Saturday, including two very fresh little babies, Bellatrix (2 weeks) and her cousin Riker (7 weeks). I somehow didn't get any pictures of baby Riker, but we did manage to get the other 5 kids all on the couch at one time, not crying, and facing the camera!
Despite the continual rain, we had a great time. The kids entertained one another and mostly got along and shared their toys very well. Kiah and Conan are interested in the same things, and they were really cute playing together. We did manage to get outside a couple of times when the rain broke, but it was super wet so it was never long before we had to go back inside to dry off and warm up, and of course eat some more. I think we must have eaten about 14 (delicious!) meals in three days. Good times. :)
Despite the continual rain, we had a great time. The kids entertained one another and mostly got along and shared their toys very well. Kiah and Conan are interested in the same things, and they were really cute playing together. We did manage to get outside a couple of times when the rain broke, but it was super wet so it was never long before we had to go back inside to dry off and warm up, and of course eat some more. I think we must have eaten about 14 (delicious!) meals in three days. Good times. :)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Guemes Island Weekend
We spent the weekend at Melissa Whitman's family cabin on Guemes Island. Melissa gave us a weekend stay as a wedding present, and what a wonderful gift it turned out to be! We shared the weekend with my brother Jon, his wife Nadege, her sister Vasilia and her husband Patrice, who were visiting from France. James Wiley and his dog He-Man also joined us Saturday afternoon. He-Man is a 12 year old Golden Retreiver, old and slow on land but he's still a puppy when he gets into the water, it's really cute to watch him rediscover his youth! Patrice and Vasilia had never been to the US before, and really enjoyed seeing the Pacific Northwest and doing island things like going crabbing and digging clams.
We had a wonderful time. The cabin is situated on a small cliff above a cove, there's a trail down to the rocky beach where the rowboats were stored. From the cabin and the deck we had a great view out over Guemes channel towards Anacortes. A surprise bonus was that the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Cheiftan, two beautiful replicas of 18th century tall sailing ships, were in Anacortes, and on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon they came out and staged cannon battles right in front of us! We could not have had a better vantage point from which to watch them, at least not from shore. They are such beautiful ships. You may recognize the Lady Washinton from the Pirates of the Carribean movies, she played the royal navy ship HMS Interceptor. Unfortunately my camera batteries had died by Sunday afternoon, which was beautiful and sunny, so all my pictures of the ships are from rainy saturday instead. Oh well.
We caught 4 "keeper" Red Rock crabs on Saturday, so we had a nice crab dinner. Sunday morning Jon, Vasilia and Patrice got up at 6 am to catch the low tide and drove to the north end of the island and dug clams in the rain. It was a neap tide, so the evening "low" tide was only a little below the high tide, no good for clamming or beachcombing. We didn't catch any more crabs on Sunday (our pots all came up empty!) but we cooked up the clams and had them with a fresh tomato & eggplant sauce over fresh pasta, Yum!
Really, a wonderful weekend. I'm so glad we were able to share it with our French visitors, I can't help but think that it was a real highlight in their visit. We certainly enjoyed hosting them, it's always neat to see familiar surroundings and activities through new eyes. :)
We had a wonderful time. The cabin is situated on a small cliff above a cove, there's a trail down to the rocky beach where the rowboats were stored. From the cabin and the deck we had a great view out over Guemes channel towards Anacortes. A surprise bonus was that the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Cheiftan, two beautiful replicas of 18th century tall sailing ships, were in Anacortes, and on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon they came out and staged cannon battles right in front of us! We could not have had a better vantage point from which to watch them, at least not from shore. They are such beautiful ships. You may recognize the Lady Washinton from the Pirates of the Carribean movies, she played the royal navy ship HMS Interceptor. Unfortunately my camera batteries had died by Sunday afternoon, which was beautiful and sunny, so all my pictures of the ships are from rainy saturday instead. Oh well.
We caught 4 "keeper" Red Rock crabs on Saturday, so we had a nice crab dinner. Sunday morning Jon, Vasilia and Patrice got up at 6 am to catch the low tide and drove to the north end of the island and dug clams in the rain. It was a neap tide, so the evening "low" tide was only a little below the high tide, no good for clamming or beachcombing. We didn't catch any more crabs on Sunday (our pots all came up empty!) but we cooked up the clams and had them with a fresh tomato & eggplant sauce over fresh pasta, Yum!
Really, a wonderful weekend. I'm so glad we were able to share it with our French visitors, I can't help but think that it was a real highlight in their visit. We certainly enjoyed hosting them, it's always neat to see familiar surroundings and activities through new eyes. :)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Early Spring Rain
It rained hard all night and morning, but around noon it tapered off enough for us to go outside with Gabe & Cynthia and have a look at the early signs of spring popping up here and there. The Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) is in full bloom around the edges of the yard.
Along the pathway out to the observation platform, the Indian Plum forms a thick understory beneath the Alder and Cascara trees. The alders are blooming with their brown catkins, but the Indian Plums remain the most obvious sign of spring at this early date. Their perky green leaves are so refreshing to see after the long brown months of winter.
Sanford accompanied us up onto the platform where he promtly demanded attention from Gabe, who wisely complied.
Cynthia brought a pair binoculars out to the platform, but despite a symphony of birdsong it wasn't a very good day for birdwatching. Even though the rain had let up, the birds were still staying undercover. We did see a pair of mallards take off from our pond and pass over us on their way to the next pond. It's a good season to be a duck!
Everything is super saturated right now. In the corner of our yard a small intermittant spring has overflowed its usual swampy depression and a fair sized stream is flowing along the edge of the yard.
Someday, I hope to dig a pond where the spring comes up, then landscape a little stream bed for it to flow through down to another larger pond which would occupy the lowest point at the edge of the lawn bordering the march. But today is not a day for actually digging or working outside in the yard. No, today is a day for staying warm inside, cooking, eating, and visiting with friends, playing board games, and, of course, updating the blog. :)
Along the pathway out to the observation platform, the Indian Plum forms a thick understory beneath the Alder and Cascara trees. The alders are blooming with their brown catkins, but the Indian Plums remain the most obvious sign of spring at this early date. Their perky green leaves are so refreshing to see after the long brown months of winter.
Sanford accompanied us up onto the platform where he promtly demanded attention from Gabe, who wisely complied.
Cynthia brought a pair binoculars out to the platform, but despite a symphony of birdsong it wasn't a very good day for birdwatching. Even though the rain had let up, the birds were still staying undercover. We did see a pair of mallards take off from our pond and pass over us on their way to the next pond. It's a good season to be a duck!
Everything is super saturated right now. In the corner of our yard a small intermittant spring has overflowed its usual swampy depression and a fair sized stream is flowing along the edge of the yard.
Someday, I hope to dig a pond where the spring comes up, then landscape a little stream bed for it to flow through down to another larger pond which would occupy the lowest point at the edge of the lawn bordering the march. But today is not a day for actually digging or working outside in the yard. No, today is a day for staying warm inside, cooking, eating, and visiting with friends, playing board games, and, of course, updating the blog. :)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thanksgiving 2007
We hosted both our families for our first Thanksgiving here. I was a little nervous, but everything turned out great. I did a bunch of planning & prep work beforehand, so it wasn't too hectic to get everything finished in time for a 3 pm feast. 
I'd never roasted a turkey before, but thanks to Cook's Illustrated's instructions my bird turned out beautifully. I brined it overnight (noone in my family had ever brined a turkey before, and everyone was impressed with the results), then air-dried it in the fridge for four hours, stuffed it with rosemary, thyme & sage and put it in the oven at noon. I basted it occasionally with melted butter. It cooked at 400F breast-down for the first 45 minutes, then flipped it over and put it back in for another 1 3/4 hours. Stuffed only with herb sprigs, it didn't take nearly as long as a traditionally stuffed bird would to cook, so despite the fears of a few doubters it was ready to come out of the oven at 2:30. As you can see, it was gorgeous. I was feeling pretty proud of it. :)
Here's the full feast spread on the table, ready to eat! There were 9 of us (Dave, Anita, Grandma Marjorie, Cary's Cousin John, Mom, Dad, Grandma Joy, Cary & I) and way more than enough food. Leftovers are a wonderful thing.
In addition to the turkey, I made:
Bacon & Apple Stuffing
Herbed Vegetarian Stuffing
Carrots roasted with maple syrup
Brussels sprouts braised with garlic & pine nuts
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy and Cranberry Sauce
Grandma Joy brought the butter-flake rolls
Dave brought Roasted squash
Mom & Anita each brought apple pies.
And as if that weren't enough, later in the evening Nick & Tombi & Moira stopped by with some of Tombi's pumpkin cheesecake, and then Bo & Charlotte came out and brought Charlotte's chocolate-ammarretto mousse. I'm sure it's completely unrelated, but the pants-shrinking gnomes hit in the middle of the night and made my pants tight. :)
We are so blessed. What a wonderful day, what a wonderful life!
I'd never roasted a turkey before, but thanks to Cook's Illustrated's instructions my bird turned out beautifully. I brined it overnight (noone in my family had ever brined a turkey before, and everyone was impressed with the results), then air-dried it in the fridge for four hours, stuffed it with rosemary, thyme & sage and put it in the oven at noon. I basted it occasionally with melted butter. It cooked at 400F breast-down for the first 45 minutes, then flipped it over and put it back in for another 1 3/4 hours. Stuffed only with herb sprigs, it didn't take nearly as long as a traditionally stuffed bird would to cook, so despite the fears of a few doubters it was ready to come out of the oven at 2:30. As you can see, it was gorgeous. I was feeling pretty proud of it. :)
Here's the full feast spread on the table, ready to eat! There were 9 of us (Dave, Anita, Grandma Marjorie, Cary's Cousin John, Mom, Dad, Grandma Joy, Cary & I) and way more than enough food. Leftovers are a wonderful thing.
In addition to the turkey, I made:
Bacon & Apple Stuffing
Herbed Vegetarian Stuffing
Carrots roasted with maple syrup
Brussels sprouts braised with garlic & pine nuts
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy and Cranberry Sauce
Grandma Joy brought the butter-flake rolls
Dave brought Roasted squash
Mom & Anita each brought apple pies.
And as if that weren't enough, later in the evening Nick & Tombi & Moira stopped by with some of Tombi's pumpkin cheesecake, and then Bo & Charlotte came out and brought Charlotte's chocolate-ammarretto mousse. I'm sure it's completely unrelated, but the pants-shrinking gnomes hit in the middle of the night and made my pants tight. :)
We are so blessed. What a wonderful day, what a wonderful life!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Appraisal Ready
Whew. We spent the entire weekend getting ready for the appraisal tomorrow. We are in the process of refinancing from the 18-month construction loan to a regular 30-year mortgage. The appraised value of the house will determine the loan-to-value ratio, and could make a big difference in how "comfortable" a monthly payment we end up with. So we went all out spiffing up the house to hopefully get a nice high value.
Here's what we did:
Here's what we did:
- Repainted the stairway walls,
- Washed the windows,
- Vaccumed and swept all the floors,
- Deep cleaned both bathrooms, including scrubbing the hard water deposits off the shower wall and polishing the fixtures,
- Cleaned the kitchen & did all the dishes,
- Unpacked the remaining boxes from the move,
- Cleaned & rearranged the office,
- Cleaned & organized the sunroom,
- Cleared everything off the porch except the bench, the big planter, the BBQ & the firewood,
- Put away all the shovels, rakes, ladders, flower pots, hoses & sprinklers,
- Mowed the lawn,
- Cleaned up the garden,
- Straightened up the mechanical room,
- Cleaned the main entry room,
- Took down the rest of the wedding lights & signs,
- Washed, dried and folded all the laundry,
- Cleaned & rearranged the spare room,
- Cleaned & decluttered the TV room,
- Bought & installed a blind in the TV room window,
- Uncluttered & dusted all the windowsills,
- Swept the ceilings for cobwebs,
- De-cat-haired the living room furniture,
- Put a new shower curtain in the upstairs bathroom,
- Hung curtains in both bathrooms,
- Hemmed the bedroom curtains (finally!),
- "upholstered" the bedroom window seats with blankets,
- Hung pictures & decorated empty walls,
- Put a clean tablecloth on the dining table,
- & put a bouquet of flowers in the living room.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Busy Day
Moira helped Cary and her Dad calculate the bracing angles necessary to re-inforce the observation tower to withstand an onslaught of wedding guests.
Dave came out also and made good progress on the railing. The observation platform feels really safe and sturdy now. :)
I fertilized the lawn, worked over all the container plants, and then put my signpost up at the branching of the trail between the house and the parking pasture.
In the evening a fellow from Lynden came and delivered the hay bales we bought from him, and Cary and Nick stacked them at the edge of the yard. We got a really good deal on them because they are three years old - no longer good for feed, but perfect for seating around a bonfire.
Dave came out also and made good progress on the railing. The observation platform feels really safe and sturdy now. :)
I fertilized the lawn, worked over all the container plants, and then put my signpost up at the branching of the trail between the house and the parking pasture.
In the evening a fellow from Lynden came and delivered the hay bales we bought from him, and Cary and Nick stacked them at the edge of the yard. We got a really good deal on them because they are three years old - no longer good for feed, but perfect for seating around a bonfire.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Hog Fuel & the Dingo
A few weeks ago we had 20+ cubic yards of "hog fuel" delivered in the form of a gigantic pile in our front yard. Hog fuel, for those of you who don't know (I didn't) consists of shredded trees, shrubs, stumps, yard waste, and the like. It's MUCH cheaper than wood chips, and also much dirtier & irregularly sized and shaped. It's commonly used by farmers to fill in a wet corner of a pasture or as bedding material for dairy cows. This is what the pile looked like this morning: 
That machine parked in front of the pile is a Toro "Dingo", which I rented for the weekend from Hardware Sales. It was a pretty impressive little machine, really fun to operate once I got the hang of it. Here Tombi and Moira watch as I back away from the pile with a full bucket...
Gabe & Cynthia really helped a lot too, pushing wheelbarrow loads (the dingo fills the wheelbarrow fast!) in addition to the Dingo-loads out to the various dumping sites and raking out the hog fuel once it had been dumped. We got a nice early start in the morning, and worked until about 10 am while Cary & his brother Eric fixed us all a delicious pancake breakfast! :)
It took a lot of trips with the machine & the wheelbarrrows to move all that material and spread it around where we wanted it. The finished product looks pretty spectacular, as Kess models below:
That's the path through the bushes from the parking pasture above. Below is the new & improved rope swing landing area, complete with a path leading up to it.
It finally decided to start to rain, so we called it a day at about 4:30 pm with the pile reduced to a mere sliver of it's former self. Tomorrow, assuming we're not all too hungover after the bachelor & bachelorette parties tonight, we'll quicky finish it off.
All in all, a good day's work! I'm pretty impressed with the Dingo. It's a really odd machine, not like any other I have operated, but it really made this job go a LOT faster than it would have with shovels & wheelbarrows alone. All the extra labor by people who thought they were just coming up for a party weekend didn't hurt either! :)
That machine parked in front of the pile is a Toro "Dingo", which I rented for the weekend from Hardware Sales. It was a pretty impressive little machine, really fun to operate once I got the hang of it. Here Tombi and Moira watch as I back away from the pile with a full bucket...
Gabe & Cynthia really helped a lot too, pushing wheelbarrow loads (the dingo fills the wheelbarrow fast!) in addition to the Dingo-loads out to the various dumping sites and raking out the hog fuel once it had been dumped. We got a nice early start in the morning, and worked until about 10 am while Cary & his brother Eric fixed us all a delicious pancake breakfast! :)
It took a lot of trips with the machine & the wheelbarrrows to move all that material and spread it around where we wanted it. The finished product looks pretty spectacular, as Kess models below:
That's the path through the bushes from the parking pasture above. Below is the new & improved rope swing landing area, complete with a path leading up to it.
It finally decided to start to rain, so we called it a day at about 4:30 pm with the pile reduced to a mere sliver of it's former self. Tomorrow, assuming we're not all too hungover after the bachelor & bachelorette parties tonight, we'll quicky finish it off.
All in all, a good day's work! I'm pretty impressed with the Dingo. It's a really odd machine, not like any other I have operated, but it really made this job go a LOT faster than it would have with shovels & wheelbarrows alone. All the extra labor by people who thought they were just coming up for a party weekend didn't hurt either! :)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Tower Improvements
Dave came out on Sunday, and we added stairs to the observation platform. Much better than the ladder!
We also roughed in the railing around the top of the platform - it needs some more supports before we call it done, but it already feels safer. Big black thunder clouds moved over us all day, but it never actually rained more than a few drops on us - too bad, because now I have to water the lawn.
The bridge got a railing too, and the brush clipped back away from it.
We also started working on our signs for the trail, but that will be a multi-day project because waiting for paint to dry is boring.
Also - I mowed the lawn again! Now that's excitement. It just keeps looking better all the time.
Cary's Aunt Chris & Uncle Reimar came down in the afternoon and helped with the tower railing and spreading wood chips on the path, and then they camped overnight in our field and watched the meteor shower. This was the first time anyone's camped out here since the house was built, so it was an inauguation of sorts, or perhaps it would be better to consider it a trial run on the wedding accomodations.
They declared it quite comfy. :)
We also roughed in the railing around the top of the platform - it needs some more supports before we call it done, but it already feels safer. Big black thunder clouds moved over us all day, but it never actually rained more than a few drops on us - too bad, because now I have to water the lawn.
The bridge got a railing too, and the brush clipped back away from it.
We also started working on our signs for the trail, but that will be a multi-day project because waiting for paint to dry is boring.
Also - I mowed the lawn again! Now that's excitement. It just keeps looking better all the time.
Cary's Aunt Chris & Uncle Reimar came down in the afternoon and helped with the tower railing and spreading wood chips on the path, and then they camped overnight in our field and watched the meteor shower. This was the first time anyone's camped out here since the house was built, so it was an inauguation of sorts, or perhaps it would be better to consider it a trial run on the wedding accomodations.
They declared it quite comfy. :)
Saturday, June 16, 2007
An Unexpected Visitor
"Hi! I live next door, thought I'd drop by and introduce myself, take a look at your new house. Love the porch, all this nice dry concrete to sun yourself on..." 
Isn't he a cutie? This little guy turned up last night and explored the porch for a little while. He's 4-5 inches long, including the tail. His topside is brown, a bit knobby and dry-looking, and his underbody is light orange. He moved v-e-r-r-r-y slowly, but purposefully, checking out several nooks and crannies while I took pictures of him.
Eventually he decided he'd seen enough, so he walked back to the edge of the porch and slipped away into the 2" drainrock that is our back "stepping stone".
I looked him up on the internet, and it's pretty clear he's a rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa). They are common in the pacific northwest, and are known for moving slowly, having rough, warty skin, and generally frequenting this sort of habitat. They have the distinction of being the most poisonous newt in North America. Only our native garter snakes, which have evolved special resistance to the newt's toxic compounds, can eat them and survive. No wonder he didn't seem very concerned with all the humans standing around watching him! I sure hope our cats know better than to try and eat these.
Isn't he a cutie? This little guy turned up last night and explored the porch for a little while. He's 4-5 inches long, including the tail. His topside is brown, a bit knobby and dry-looking, and his underbody is light orange. He moved v-e-r-r-r-y slowly, but purposefully, checking out several nooks and crannies while I took pictures of him.
Eventually he decided he'd seen enough, so he walked back to the edge of the porch and slipped away into the 2" drainrock that is our back "stepping stone".
I looked him up on the internet, and it's pretty clear he's a rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa). They are common in the pacific northwest, and are known for moving slowly, having rough, warty skin, and generally frequenting this sort of habitat. They have the distinction of being the most poisonous newt in North America. Only our native garter snakes, which have evolved special resistance to the newt's toxic compounds, can eat them and survive. No wonder he didn't seem very concerned with all the humans standing around watching him! I sure hope our cats know better than to try and eat these.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Burning, Mowing & Grading
Yesterday my Dad came over with his tractor, numerous implements (mower, tiller, rake, harrow, roller) and of course, his dump truck. We also rented an excavator locally. Cary's Dad and his friend Jack also came out, and between the four of them they really did a lot of work! (I was away at my annual office retreat/meeting. Talk about good timing!)
Here's Dad hooking the mower up to the tractor. You can see several of the other implements in the background. It's so wonderful to have access to all these things, AND to someone who knows how to use them all. :)
Cary mowed while Dad worked the excavator. Notice how far reduced the burn pile is! That was a big priority for the day's efforts, and it is great to have finally gotten rid of that giant eyesore.
In preparation for building the wedding pergola, we cleared a few more trees at one edge of the yard. Jack got in on some tree-falling, and his 45 degree angle-cut technique proved to work quite well. After the trees had been cut, Dad got in with the excavator and pulled out their stumps, as well as this giant old stump from somebody else's past logging efforts. The trees and stumps went straight on the fire, of course. :)
All in all, it was a very sucessful day. With the fire stacked up again with all the new material, the guys all headed inside for beers and bbq salmon, richly deserved!
Tomorrow I'll get the pictures from today's further accomplishments (and freakish monsoon rains) up...
Here's Dad hooking the mower up to the tractor. You can see several of the other implements in the background. It's so wonderful to have access to all these things, AND to someone who knows how to use them all. :)
Cary mowed while Dad worked the excavator. Notice how far reduced the burn pile is! That was a big priority for the day's efforts, and it is great to have finally gotten rid of that giant eyesore.
In preparation for building the wedding pergola, we cleared a few more trees at one edge of the yard. Jack got in on some tree-falling, and his 45 degree angle-cut technique proved to work quite well. After the trees had been cut, Dad got in with the excavator and pulled out their stumps, as well as this giant old stump from somebody else's past logging efforts. The trees and stumps went straight on the fire, of course. :)
All in all, it was a very sucessful day. With the fire stacked up again with all the new material, the guys all headed inside for beers and bbq salmon, richly deserved!
Tomorrow I'll get the pictures from today's further accomplishments (and freakish monsoon rains) up...
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Rope Swing
Sunday Cary, Bo & Nick (and Moira) put up our first rope swing, in a fine cascadian spring drizzle. They selected one of our larger aspen trees behind the shop for this honor. Cary harnessed up and climbed the tree like a monkey, pulling the rope up behind him. 
Once he tied off the rope to a stout branch near the top, Cary climbed back down the rope limbing the aspen until he got back to the ground. Nick & Bo cleared some brush and cut away some smaller trees around the base.
Watch out below!
Unfortunatly, this is the best picture I got of the finished swing in action. Stupid rain drops on the lense! For the time being, since the ground is relatively flat around the swing tree, the best swing comes from jumping out of the crook in this smaller aspen. Eventually, a platform will probably be built for easier accessability.
While this isn't nearly as epic as the old Farm rope swing, or as crazy as Dan & Kriss', it's still exciting that we have a rope swing again. Its just one of those things that makes life better. :)
Once he tied off the rope to a stout branch near the top, Cary climbed back down the rope limbing the aspen until he got back to the ground. Nick & Bo cleared some brush and cut away some smaller trees around the base.
Watch out below!
Unfortunatly, this is the best picture I got of the finished swing in action. Stupid rain drops on the lense! For the time being, since the ground is relatively flat around the swing tree, the best swing comes from jumping out of the crook in this smaller aspen. Eventually, a platform will probably be built for easier accessability.
While this isn't nearly as epic as the old Farm rope swing, or as crazy as Dan & Kriss', it's still exciting that we have a rope swing again. Its just one of those things that makes life better. :)
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Bridge Accomplished
Yesterday, Cary and his brother Eric built a bridge over the stream that divides the property in two. It's not a big waterway, as you can see below, but the sides are muddy & indistinct enough that jumping over it usually meant getting your feet wet. 
They used nearby logs for the undersupports, and reclaimed pallet wood (from the tile pallet that had been sitting in the yard for months) for the decking. The nails were from the tail ends of nail-gun ammo strips that we picked up and saved during the construction. A cool side effect of using scavenged/recycled materials is that it makes it feel more like building a childhood fort than a grown-up project.
Sprout models the finished bridge. No more wet & muddy feet! That's a cause a cat can really get behind, you know?
While Cary & Eric put the bridge together, Miriam and I (mostly Miriam) cleared the brush off a mossy ridge of stones which extends into the nearby swamp, creating an incredible little natural stone nook garden. It's very japanese looking, with a beautiful snag sticking up next to to big beautiful moss & fern covered boulders.
It's a really neat little space, we'll have to improve the path and trim a bit more brush around the edges and presto- instant rock garden! Someday the path will continue from bridge to the rock garden and then further into the swamp to the birdwatching tower and the zipline...
They used nearby logs for the undersupports, and reclaimed pallet wood (from the tile pallet that had been sitting in the yard for months) for the decking. The nails were from the tail ends of nail-gun ammo strips that we picked up and saved during the construction. A cool side effect of using scavenged/recycled materials is that it makes it feel more like building a childhood fort than a grown-up project.
Sprout models the finished bridge. No more wet & muddy feet! That's a cause a cat can really get behind, you know?
While Cary & Eric put the bridge together, Miriam and I (mostly Miriam) cleared the brush off a mossy ridge of stones which extends into the nearby swamp, creating an incredible little natural stone nook garden. It's very japanese looking, with a beautiful snag sticking up next to to big beautiful moss & fern covered boulders.
It's a really neat little space, we'll have to improve the path and trim a bit more brush around the edges and presto- instant rock garden! Someday the path will continue from bridge to the rock garden and then further into the swamp to the birdwatching tower and the zipline...
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