Wallowa bound

Next on the trip we hit the road toward Joseph.

We made a pit stop at Terminal Gravity Brewing in Enterprise to refuel.

Then we took a stroll up and down Main Street in Joseph. The town is known for its bronze work with many statues lining the main drag. I asked Ole to stand by the bike so I could take a picture and for THE VERY FIRST TIME EVER he did, even threw in a glance at the camera.

Oh, good morning! Our spartan motel really came through in the view department. At breakfast, I noticed people in town were a bit abuzz over the night's snowfall.

We boarded the Wallowa Lake tramway that morning for a fifteen minute gondola ride to the top of Mt Howard. Here we are getting settled at 4,450'. Ole looked so nervous and very small as we waited for the car to start its ascent.

 

But he's much happier mere seconds later as we pulled out of the terminal:

"SNOW!!!!!"

Up up up to 8,150'. I'd overheard the ticket seller say that there was a dusting of snow up top, but I did not expect to see this:

Lots and lots of beautiful snow! So we scratched our plan to hike the trails up top and instead tromped around and threw snowballs.

After a fun ride back down the mountain, we had a cozy afternoon curled up in the hotel room watching movies. O snacked on cucumbers and milk and played with his new tractor.

We were resting up for Alpenfest's biggest night. The Swiss-Bavarian festival had kicked off earlier that day with the smallest parade I've ever seen.

But everyone loves a polka band, right?!? The Polkatones were pretty great.

 I loved seeing the traditional costumes and watching the old-timers dance.

Ole had a laugh, too!

The town so nice they named it twice

Our trip started in Walla Walla, Washington. We stayed right downtown and enjoyed the luxury of walking everywhere--a real treat for us country folk! Walla Walla is a nice little college town going through a winery boom, and it's filled with beautiful old houses, cute shops and lots of restaurants. Rather than a wine tour, we hit the park circuit...starting with Pioneer Park. This park had a huge playground, a great aviary and a rose garden. Ole biked around and especially enjoyed the birds.

Showdown!

Climbed on his bike to get a better view.

Dainty rose

Me and little guy

Next up was the pioneer village at Fort Walla Walla. He was pretty impressed with the teepee.

 Lots of retired folks volunteer here, including costumed living history performances.

 We walked around and checked out the many buildings of the village Most were gated at the door so you could only peer inside, like this child's playhouse. Spying toys inside, Ole became absolutely obsessed! He rattled each window pane and lapped the building several times looking for a way in. Can you see him peeking in?

This tree! The plaque on the tree explains that it sprouted in the year 1200. Yes, very impressive. An elderly man in the crowd of senior citizens near us piped up, "Wow, a six hundred year old tree!" Oops, that's a minor math miscalculation on your part, buddy, but no need for me to correct you in front of your friends. I'll just bite my tongue and surely you'll realized your mistake soon enough. "Six hundred years," he continued, "from the year twelve hundred. Why, look at that! Six hundred years! Six...hundred...years..." Oh my god, it was killing me inside. But I managed to keep my mouth shut, so that's something.

And then it was time for a bite to eat and some refreshments. Good day.

Garden to freezer

We've just returned from a wonderful vacation in eastern Oregon and Washington. I'll be sure to post about that soon, but first I want to update you on the sweet corn situation. For weeks we ate lots of fresh corn on the cob and it was delicious, but about halfway thorough harvest, we just could not keep up. That precious sweet corn must not go to waste! Freezing corn is a pretty simple process: Shuck, blanche, cool, cut, and bag. Behold the corn porn.

Sweet!

Spinning honey

We filled the house with the sweet smell of honey last week when a couple of friends stopped by to help us extract. It hasn't been a great honey year, but one hive nearly filled two supers which yields about three gallons...not bad. We centered the giant barrel extractor in the kitchen and set up the hot knife and special spigot buckets. Everything was washed with hot soapy water and rinsed. We pulled out the heavy honey frames one by one. We all practiced the art of slicing the heated knife through the just the top layer of each frame's wax cappings before placing them in the extractor.

Once four frames have been opened on both sides, it's time to spin.

And spin and spin. This is where the company comes in handy.

We sampled the honey on spoons in the manner of fine wine tasters...hmmm, sweet with blackberry notes and a sticky finish. The next day I filled the honey jars. Be-a-u-ti-ful!

I'll end with a happy sunflower. Oh summer, don't go!

Counting apples

A neighbor invited us down to pick apples this week, so despite the 90 degree heat, Ole and I marched down the big hill chanting, "Apples Apples Apples!"

On my tippy toes, I plucked them from the spindly tree. I have no idea the variety. They are petite little apples, but that perfect mix of tart and sweet.

And the perfect size for you-know-who.

So we slipped a few into our bag and started the long walk back up the hill.

After a few water and snack breaks in shady rest stops, we made our way back home. Ole pulled out the apples one by one and pointed and counted and even tried some juggling.

A lovely September afternoon.

Hoppy days

Late summer brings the hop harvest. Last week we chopped ours to the ground and loaded them in the pickup truck for the annual picking festival at the pub. The slow and tedious job of removing the cones from the vines is eased by the camaraderie of picking and drinking beer together.

Most of the tables of the large patio were piled high with hops from all over town, given by friends of the pub. The patio filled quickly with eager pickers. The hairy vines cause itchy arms, so most folks wear gloves or long sleeves.

Ole was a great help throughout--picking, smelling, tossing, rolling about, and having an all-around good time.
Here he takes in the aroma:

Ah, yes, earthy with citrus undertones and a grassy finish.

The bin fills up steadily:

And he really got into it:

Now for the best part...the celebration!

Cheers!