Spring weekend with family

Loading the 35 gallon tank to go water tomatoes in the greenhouse.

Aunts & uncles should be along shortly. We had such a nice visit last night. We're gonna do a weenie roast this evening with some dry apple wood if everything works out.

Wishing you all a super fine Saturday.

Spring melancholy

Had a good run into town with mom getting supplies for the weekend visit. Met Shelly's assistant manager Stephanie, what a sweety. Her husband is a lucky man; gotta wonder if she has a sister about my age.

I've been in a melancholy mood all morning. Lots of weird, heavy dreams last night always leaves me feeling a bit spent and concerned.

Dad's feeling pretty good, if he and I have the ambition we will be planting corn later today. Lots of chores to do here first. Mom is having a bit of a tough time with her arm in a cast. It just really tires here out to do stuff like today's run into town. So awkward and it makes it hard for her to sleep too.

But all things considered it is a lovely day and we really don't have a good reason to feel sorry for our selves. Life in this land of the free can be sweet indeed.

Wishing you a day of sweet freedom and productive liberty.

Peaceful Sunday after the rain

Had a great day yesterday working with the apprentice. Got wires tied and tomatoes planted in the greenhouse. Will have to discuss a small matter with Kyle about his work but am moderately satisfied with his progress. The tomatoes are looking pretty good, it got a little hot this morning before we put the sides up but they should be fine now.

This morning's breakfast was excellent: pancakes, eggs and bacon.

Todd & Robin stopped by about an hour ago and we had a great visit.

Hope y'all are having a fine and peaceful day of rest too.

Frosty spring dawn

Had a good night's sleep but woke up with frost on the ground, durn weatherman was wrong again. Dad was already out ahead of me putting propane burners in the greenhouse. Looks like we managed to just squeak by.

Eggs & hash browns for breakfast; preparing them our little family ritual.

Wishing you a fine day with only pleasant surprises.

Sleep knits the ravelled sleeve of care

I think that's how the phrase goes...

Had a wonderful night's sleep. Hard work and a good tired makes for good sleep. Finished reading "The 5 secrets you must discover before you die" by John Izzo last night and I must say it is one of the most uplifting books I have ever read. I greatly recommend it to you all, get it at the library, buy it or whatever but read it as soon as you can, you will be glad you did.

Now I wish you all a day as beautiful as the mountain outside my window.

Glorious spring day

Had such a great day working in the cornfields with dad today. The sun was warm but the westerly breeze was cool. On the way there in the pickup dad said "It's so weird, just sitting here like this I feel just like I did three years ago." I count that as a good sign but any good day with dad is a blessing. We still have to add the Xeloda tomorrow morning so we'll see how things go after that.

Dad finished dragging the field while I mowed the drives and parking lot behind our stand. Then we laid out our first irrigation pipes for the year and got to see the glory that is spraying water under a bright spring sun.

It was dinner time and mom called just as we were getting ready to leave the field. I don't know how she does it, she had fish sandwiches and tater medallions prepared when we got home and with only one hand!

Hoping you all find the same glories and wonders in the small things of your life.

Blessed with good sleep

Great night's sleep! Full 8.5 hours and no sleep aids except a little melatonin and some Tension Tamer tea. So nice and not even any disturbing dreams just 1 nice one. Waiting for the air temps to get up so we can put the first sheet of plastic on the early tomato greenhouse. That's taking so long I might have to drop the "early" but still well worth doing to protect & improve the crop.

Wishing you all a fine day.

Good day despite the bad

Took mom and dad to the oncology infusion room in Medford for his new chemo, an eloxatin drip and xeloda pills which he starts on Saturday morning. So far so good. The side effects look a bit worse with these 2, neuropathy from eloxatin (oxaliplatin a platinum compound) that is to say sensitivity to cold or heat, numb or tingling hands and feet. The Xeloda can increase mouth sores, cause redness or blisters on the hands or feet. So dad will have to take it a bit easier for a while. I'm going to research and see if we can use astragalus and some of the other herbs to help keep him feeling good. I know we aren't supposed to use strong anti-oxidants or herb concentrates but these are all food grade and should be ok. Will check Sloan-Kettering's "about herbs" page to be sure.

We were going to go to Tin-Tin chinese buffet afterwards but when dad stepped into the cold wind blowing outside the oncology building he instantly got an ice-cream headache so we just stopped at Jack-In-The-Box and got some chicken sandwiches and tacos.

Had a book along called "5 secrets you must discover before you die" by John Izzo and it is an awesome book. Didn't solve any of my problems but helped me get back on an even keel. It's a short book and I read most of it in just a couple hours. My favorite line was "live the moment" which I am working on diligently. Can't change the past or control the future and life is short so make the most of this moment.

Anyways, hope you are all feeling good and doing good. God bless you all and take care.

Maunderings

Our mistake was we get our hopes up. 2 weeks back dad's tumor markers were down so we slipped up and let ourselves hope, despite what we know about pancreatic cancer. Now the worry is, how will he respond to this new chemo agent? Will it diminish his quality of life? Will he still be able to work (which he enjoys...) I think our finances are ok to cover the deductible etc. but all of these are uncertainties weighing down on an already emotionally exhausting situation. There's a whole list of other things which I'm not going to go into at the moment but all of them are tiring while also removing one's ability to rest easily. The last few months we could slip back into old routines and play out some of our usual winter indolence which was in retrospect the right thing to do for sure as it was very comforting and allowed all of us to regain some strength. Now we're shaken up again and once more pressed for time.

Sorry to get melancholy but it helps to vent a little. Thanks for the concern, at least enough to read of my worries. I hope life brings you something different and better than this which occupies me right now. God bless you all.

Another tough day at the Savage Creek Farm

Mom got a proper cast put on her hand this morning.

After that they ran in to see dad's oncologist to review last week's blood panel and CT scan. Neither came back good. The tumors have grown, though she didn't say how much and the blood panel showed more tumor markers. So she's going to change to a new chemo course, a combined series of an injection every 3 weeks and oral pills daily. I'll go along tomorrow because mom can't drive and we don't know how this new stuff will affect dad. Plus this way I can get the stats on this new stuff and run it through my info filters to see if we can improve effectiveness.

The only other thing we can do is enjoy life, tighten up our diet again. We were slacking with eating to much sugar and fats. And of course we will thank god for every day we have together.

Y'all have a great day. Don't let this news get you down, that's the last thing we want. God bless and thanks again for all the cares and prayers.

Tough turn of events

We had a poor night. Mom took a spill when we were walking in the evening; tripped on a lizard. Towards midnight her hand swelled up & really started to hurt. Ran her into the hospital & she'd broke a bone in her hand. She's all splinted up now & doing better but they said it'd be 6 weeks. I told her "the upside is you don't have to do dishes for 6 weeks." She laughed. No walking today but when they put a cast on it tomorrow she'll be back getting her exercise again. Activity is good medicine. She's napping right now.

Dad and I are a little frazzled from lack of sleep but work will go on.

Just Back from hand watering the onions again & planting Boule D'or melons. Whew! it's hot out there, 78 on the digital thermometer. Gonna take a little break & then go mow or work on the greenhouse for a while.

Hope you are doing well; watch out for lizards.

Hot Monday

Had a fish sandwich for lunch, yummy. Dad & I got the wire on the top of the greenhouse & the first sheet of plastic laid out. Getting too hot now, dad's going over to the 2nd farm to disc and drag the first 3 corn fields. Might plant after this weekend's rain or earlier if the pump is in. I'm gonna run bills & books into Rogue River.

Hope you are having a wonderful day.

Sunday Dinner

Mmmm-mmm-mmm !! The Red Dragon comes through again with one of the finest take-out Chinese dinners we've had in a long time. My Kung-Pao chicken was perfectly hot. If you're ever driving through Rogue River at dinner time stop in across from Ray's Food Place and treat yourself to a fine meal.

Spring Sunday afternoon

Just back from watering the onions by hand with 5 gallon buckets. Sure wish the Grants Pass Irrigation District would get off its butt & start pumping water. Glad I did it though cause the onions were really hurting. All wet & happy now.

It's 79 degrees here right now, supposed to be 91 tomorrow. Hard to believe we might still get rain, cold or even snow. But it is spring after all.

Tomorrow should see us just about done with the early tomato greenhouse. Gotta spray the weed sprouts in there, cut slats and put the plastic on. Also try to get our corn fields ready at farm #2 but might put that off until Tuesday.

Wishing you much happiness on this fine spring day.

Spring day of rest

Had a good night's sleep. Biscuits & gravy for breakfast. Lazy Sunday ahead. Maybe just plant a few more cucumbers, that's not really work, it's fun. Hope you all have a fun & spiritually nourishing day.

Springy

Sun, clouds & a few showers. Just through planting a tray of lemon, pickling and marketmore76 cucumbers. Also 8 mixed summer squash in 5 inch pots. Dad is dragging the bottom field we finished plowing yesterday. Mom got back from town about an hour ago, she's napping now.

It was very hot in the greenhouse.

Hope you have a sweet and mellow day.

More ground breaking

Spent yesterday afternoon plowing. Wish I had some way to really share the experience with you. Hanging on to that smoke belching, roaring, steel and rubber feral beast of a tractor as the 2 bottom plow heaves and shatters earth. Burying disease, insects and waste debris in a pulverized wave of soil. Very powerful and wholesome being nature's hand.

It's another lovely day, will be back to plowing the last half of the field below the grapes in just a bit. Just got through watering the strawberry patch.

Mom and dad are going in to Medford for dad to have a CT scan in the next couple hours. Probably do some shopping while there too.

Those darn wild turkeys have been tearing up our black plastic mulch for the early tomatoes. Got the post-holes dug so should have that taken care of by the weekend.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Ground breaking

Had a great Easter Sunday. Lots of fun seeing the twins crawling around Shelly's floor.

Yesterday we started breaking ground at the corn field. Dad laid out the field then I did the first third while he came home and had lunch and got a mask (don't want him breathing in any stuff from the soil & corn debris) then he took over around 3 and ran until 5ish. If the snow showers will hold off for the rest of today we'll probably finish it soon.

That's right I said snow, it snowed here for quite a while this morning. Probably turn into rain showers now so we're waiting for the radar image to clear up a bit and for temps to rise before heading back over.

Hope y'all are having a super day.

Early tomato greenhouse progress.

Made some good progress on the early greenhouse this week. Still have to put in posts, plastic, plants and wires. Hope to have that all done before next weekend.

Happy Easter

though your people walk in the valley of darkness,
no evil should they fear;
for they follow in faith the call of the shepherd
whom you have sent for their hope and strength.

I've never been a terribly religious man and I'm not prepared to go into my assorted beliefs, ideas and doubts here. But this day has always had its special place in my life, from the Easter baskets of my childhood to egg dyeing with my nieces to the quiet contemplation of my advancing age.

I hope you all find peace and contentment in your hearts and life, today and all days.

Warm spring Sunday

Bright warm sunshine and gentle breezes are making me anxious. Feel like I need to be out working even though it's a Sunday. Was going to do some grafting, that's more like fun than work, but it's actually going to be too warm today and tomorrow. Will wait until the showers return later in the week.

Having some tea now, was reading a bit this morning. 3 really good books, "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, "God Laughs and Plays" by David Duncan and "The pleasure of finding things out" by Richard Feynman. All really good and very good counterpoints to each other for reading simultaneously. Not at the same time of course, I read a chapter or two of one then a chapter or two of the next etc.

The barn swallows have returned and were hanging out near me when I took a walk a bit ago. Funny how close they'll get. Beautiful little bird.

Mom & dad are napping, think I'll go back to my books and/or work on some website design stuff. Peace and contentment to you each and all.

Journalist Jargon

Haven't had time for political commentary lately but watching a little news channels this morning. Not going to comment on the politics of the day, but I am going to echo my buddy Gary & talk about the jargon being used. Does this list sound or look familiar?

1) "Jump start" you can't jump start something that is already running. Defibrillate maybe but not jump start.
2) "Ramp up" we use ramps for loading equipment or changing oil. What does it mean to "ramp up" something?
3) "Ratchet up" a ratchet is a one-way device, usually a wrench, jack, strap, cable or binder. Where is the one-way element in hosing out stimulus money?

These mentally enticing semi-visual elements are vague enough to serve any purpose while not really telling us anything.

Showery spring Friday morning

Lots of little showers blowing around on Mt. Fielder this morning. It's a bit dim and gray today but still quite beautiful. Lots of varied thrushes have been showing up and the purple finches are hitting the bird feeders pretty hard. My little hummingbird buddy is flashing his coppery throat at me from the trumpet-flower shrub which has just started to leaf out. He'll be really happy when it flowers but in the meantime the hummingbird feeder seems to be acceptable.

Gotta go uncover the tomatoes in the greenhouse soon. Lots of other garden stuff hanging in the wait but I'd also like to finish some more of Tracy's web pages. Got the 2 index pages for jewel-toned items just about done, starting on the item pages by tonight, I hope.

Mom and dad are running some errands in Rogue River and making a fun run to the Dollar Tree in Central Point. Hope they have a really good time, they deserve it. Will be fine if they just don't have to hassle with any jerks but would be especially nice if they ran into some of the cool people that live here. I guess going to town is a little like a box of chocolates ;)

Well, better get on with things. Wishing you each and all a peaceful, lovely day.

Such a lovely day

Really need to be about my work, but so much beauty is running loose today that I had to try and share it. The sun was out earlier but in these pics it was shy. Still a really nice day in the fields and mountains. Some showers blowing through but I'll get some gardening done anyways. I-5 is really rumbling again today, I always feel good about that. Progress and economic activity as it were.


Hope some of the same glory finds a place in your life too.

Turned out good

Didn't get a lot done but the day turned out pretty good. Dad got the coulters on the plow fixed up finally, took him about 3 hours to bang those into shape. I got the recycled-tire strawberry planters put together and the first dozen strawberries planted before dinner was ready.

Dad's blood panel was good today, only a tiny bit of anemia. So another infusion tomorrow.

Hope y'all are feeling good and doing fine.

Spring Wednesday before the showers

Had a great night's sleep. Only a few dreams and those weren't terribly distressing. Yesterday was a pretty good day in the fields, got all the plastic mulch and pipe rolled up. Then dad ripped and dragged the bottom field and dragged the top field which I had already roto-tilled on Saturday. Rain is supposed to show up tomorrow so we hope to get at least the top field plowed today.

Now I'm going from up to down. Mom and dad just left to get his blood panel taken and visit with the doctor. These days are always a bit of a bummer. Me & Sparky and the cat alone. It doesn't matter how up-beat you are, when a loved one is troubled it weighs on you. Add to that the tax and medical bills that are starting to show up so long before the summer cash flow and things can seem down right bleak at times. My final complaint is that I'm falling behind in my reading too. Darn library doesn't give me enough time, only 4 renewals ;)

I-5 is rumbling with some serious traffic, lots of big trucks. So at least something good is going on out there. Kinda puts a lie to the whole "economic disaster" meme that the media is always putting out.

Going to go do the dishes for mom now. Always try to do some clean-up on these going-to-town days so that isn't staring them in the face too when they get home.

Hoping your day is full of rewarding pursuits and challenges that grow your spirit.

Spring getting sprung

Really busy now, we've gone from being too early to do things to being behind schedule in just a couple days. Blame it on the weather. Plus we're still recovering from all the medical stuff we had to do in January and February.

We've been rolling up plastic mulch and prepping ground so far. Rain supposed to be in on Thursday, just in time to keep us from plowing again. We've got to get the tractor over to our second farm but that thing is a beast to drive on the road, poor brakes and the steering ain't great either. Only 2 weeks until we should have corn in the ground and our early tomato planting is rapidly becoming not so early.

Dad's transplanting tomato sprouts right now for our second field. Eggplant are sprouting too. Melons and cantaloupe will go in the greenhouse shortly.

Dad's been feeling pretty good, still a little tired from the chemo. 2 more treatments in this series but no one will explain what if anything comes next. Pfizer has a new pancreatic cancer drug called "Sutent" but I'm afraid to even even bring it up with our oncologist because of the price and because she probably hasn't heard of it yet. Sometimes doctors get on my nerves.

But at least it is a lovely day with many fruits trees in flower and I-5 is rumbling with traffic. A good sign that business is still happening.

Well, gotta go feed mom's birdies. Y'all a have a super day.

A warm spring Friday

Had great weather today. Kyle was here a bit before 10 so I've been pretty productive today. Surprising how much better my day goes when I'm motivated by having to keep someone else busy. I ran the tractor through last year's tomato field, using the ripper to loosen black plastic mulch. Kyle had the delightful job of getting filthy pulling the plastic the last little bit out of the dirt.

The chemo really hit dad today, a little dizziness while we made breakfast for starters. "Chemo brain" a mild form of confusion set in a while later as he was working on one of our trailers. Then he had a couple of heavy surges of fatigue before lunch. As mom and I told him, he just kicked back in his comfy chair for a while. After lunch he got his legs back under him and proceeded to work on the greenhouse for the rest of the afternoon. We'll just chalk this down as the price the medicine exacts and be grateful it is mild so far.

The setting sun is painting Mt Fielder a golder shade of green. The plum trees at the bottom of the field are bright white with flowers, they smelled so good this afternoon when I was running the tractor down there.

Wishing you all nature's splendor and the happiness that goes with it.

Acorn woodpeckers

These are like the clowns of our bird neighborhood. Click the pic for a bigger view.

American revolution/revulsion

We're all pretty revolted by our government these days:

Almost spring

Had a delightful visit with uncle Jerry & aunt Carol yesterday. Looking forward to the same today. Turned sunny in the afternoon looks like it'll be sunny today as soon as the fog clears.

The ground is too wet to do anything with now and it's too early to sprout too much in the greenhouse so we're sort of in a holding pattern. Good time for the visit fortunately.

Tomorrow is the equinox! So hard to believe it's arrived. Seems like we didn't have a winter at all, not that it wasn't cold. Just too busy to pay attention.

Not much else to report. Y'all have a great day.

Spring busy

2 days out from spring, starting to get real busy now. Tomatoes are warm out in the nursery greenhouse. Will probably need to do some work on the tractor soon, before we start working corn ground.

Uncle Jerry & aunt Carol will be stopping by this morning. They'll be here for a couple of days and thank goodness the weather is pretty nice.

We're all feeling pretty well. Dad still gets little bouts of fatigue but this week should shape up nice with no doctor's appointments.

Wishing y'all a super fun day.

Rainy Sunday

Acorn woodpecker at the tall feeder. The birds have been really active in the front yard.

Dad put the propane burner on about 3 hours ago out in the new greenhouse and we just went and checked. It was a nice warm about 80 degrees. So we won't have a problem keeping the nursery plants happy. Dad's downstairs planting a few hundred more tomato seeds to make up for some that got burned by a little over-zealous fertilizing. Gotta watch that miracle grow on little plants.

I've been trying to get my winter reading finished, only about 6 serious books I'm working on, 10-12 I don't care if I finish or not. Going to get a lot harder after the 20th.

Here's a pic of the new greenhouse:

Hope y'all are having a great day.

Oh! what a lovely day

So nice and warm and sunny for a winter day :)
Got a pile of slash and trash burned up quick, the back wall on the nursery greenhouse and now dad's working on the door. Just the small east wall panel to cover and the door/west wall panel and we'll be ready to move the tomatoes out there tomorrow.

Wishing you all such a fine and finer day.

Suspended Wednesday morning

Mom and dad just left to have dad's blood panel taken. I'm working a little on some more website design for Tracey. Gotta do the dishes in a bit but I'm, like, so lazy! Short about an hour of sleep last night so I might take a nap before I dig into chores. Also need to do some reading this morning while it is still cold, however I'm not really in the mood for deep thought right now but I'm also out of any good fiction. Probably still enjoy "The will to believe" but not sure if I have the energy for philosophy. Maybe after a short nap?

Anyways, hope everybody out there is feeling fine and finding happiness today.

Mundane Monday

Got started outside late due to the cold temps this morning. I got some good website design done on Tracy's Chicy Hair-Ums site. Still trying to get the cat collar page done, maybe before tonight is out.

Once it got warm enough dad and I started on the greenhouse sprouting table. Still to windy to get the plastic on, plus we were waiting to see if mom could find a clearer grad of poly in town. No luck there. We'll have to go with what we have and lose a little quality on our sprouts I'm afraid. Should be fine.

We finished the afternoon cleaning up and pruning in the orchard.

Just now finished having dinner, leftover chinese take-out from yesterday, yummy!

The mountain is covered in patches of mottled, subdued and bright sunlight shifting with the clouds and the evening glory. So lovely, I wish I could share it but I doubt even a good digital camera would capture the effect.

Wishing you each and all a full belly and a contented mind.

Lonely in the house

It doesn't happen to me very often, most of the time when I'm alone I am centered. But mom and dad took off for his infusion this afternoon. I took a nap with some smooth jazz playing and when I got up I just couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. Winter often gives me these little challenges of depression.

Dad and I got the rafters finished on the nursery greenhouse this afternoon. Just wires, plastic, door and tables left to finish and we'll be done with that. If the weather stays good we should have it done no later than Saturday. 3-400 tomatoes already sitting in the sprouting room downstairs waiting to go.

When dad and I came in from working on the greenhouse he was pretty fatigued but we both perked up because mom had fresh peanut butter cookies warm from the oven. It was even better because we came in just as it started to shower.

The acorn woodpecker just took off from the tall bird feeder. He's such a lively clown like character. My stupid black cat tried bringing in a junco he'd killed. He's got at least 2 kinds of food to choose from but he still has to snack on our poor little feathered guests. Fortunately not very often and I don't mind so much because at least he eats them straight away instead of just playing with them.

Got a little reading to do then I think I'll wash the dishes for mom. Always like to lighten her burden a little when they have to go into town.

Hope everyone's day has a dash of sweetness and light.

Sort of a melancholy Wednesday

Just the classic rainy day blues.

Afraid I wasted a good day getting little work done. Read quite a bit and did a few chores but my body knows it didn't work hard enough. It rained quite a bit today but that's just sort of an excuse. I shouldn't second guess winter, it was a good day for reading after all. Some days I just feel a little anxious I suppose.

Dad had a good blood panel again today. So he'll get another chemo dose tomorrow. The doctor was happy with all his stats, so that's always a hopeful thing. He even gained a couple of pounds, hooray!

After mom and dad got home we had lunch, they brought home Burger King. Yummy but often gives me an upset stomach. After that we all took an awesome nap, it felt so good. Then we got up and took a 3/4 mile walk. It's raining pretty good again right now.

Well, not much else to report. Hope all of you had a fun and productive day.

Busy Monday

Kinda got a late start. Had a good breakfast and all of us feeling pretty good after a lazy but solemn Sunday. The weather was heavy enough to keep us in all day yesterday. I spent a good chunk chatting with old friends and family over at Facebook. Thanks again to Rae Ann for inviting me over there. It's really neat to feel the unfurling of once dormant connections. Friendships renewed, old slights forgiven & forgotten, family routines weaving their own rhythm &etc. An illusion on some levels I suppose but better than nothing at all, and genuinely touching at times. But also sometimes just plain silly! What is life, if not a jest?

Today dad and I got the greenhouse blown up again. Then after lunch we noticed that the dirt in the greenhouse was dry enough to use for tamping in the posts. So I carried 2 buckets of dry tamping dirt from inside the air inflated greenhouse to the site of the nursery greenhouse (only about 40-50 feet). We installed the 10 post (thanks again Travis!) and dad tamped them in while I shook dirt from the buckets. Another short break for walking with mom and a drink and we went back to install the extensions for the back of the frame. That means we're well past 1/3 finished on that greenhouse!

So now I'm kinda tired. Feeling good though as I'm pretty sure everyone here is. Wishing you all that same good feeling and a little jot of happiness besides.

catching up after the weekend

Had a good weekend. Kyle came out to help Saturday and really was useful getting wires untied from the tomato poles. We finished that huge job and then he, dad and I rolled up the first 2 rows of wire. There were several hawks, osprey or vultures in attendance high in the sky. I know at one point an osprey was working the area 'cause I could hear his cry.

Sunday was lazy and lots of reading. Dad didn't feel well, maybe had a low grade infection but his fever broke overnight and he's feeling good this morning, thank goodness. His chemo went well Thursday but as expected it beat him down pretty bad. Made him pretty fatigued.

The greenhouse was down this morning, looks like a puddle formed on the plastic over the air inlet and blocked the fan so I just unplugged it around 6:30 and we'll get out there to fix it in a bit. Going to work on the small wood-framed greenhouse again today. We made the mistake of not putting the poles in immediately after Gary dug the holes so now everything is so wet we can't tamp them in. We'll probably have to go with stakes for the frame instead. What a hassle. But like mom says, shouldn't expect anything to be simple or easy. Our own fault for procrastinating.

The sun is playing tag with the cloud shadows on the hillsides. I suppose I should get out there but my natural inertia is slowing me down.

Hope y'all have a fun and productive day.

Rainy winter day

Many showers blew through today. (For my friend Del, I should say "Many showers blew threw today")

But we still managed to get some stuff done. Mostly just clean-up in the shop and my barn. I hope to rip through the mess in that barn and get it prepared as a nice space for visitors, but that's probably wishful thinking. Then again, inspiration sometimes manifests amazing things.

Didn't get the big greenhouse blown up today, too much wind. Takes a fairly still day to safely erect an air-inflated greenhouse.

Well, not much else to report. Hope y'all had some laughs and good food today.

Sad morning, rejoicing

Been listening to Uncle Dennis' funeral from Dumas, Ar. and I'm reminded of just how lucky we are to live in a country where we're free to worship as our souls are called. I think it was my uncle Ben speaking and he reminded us that even in sadness we have reason to rejoice.

It's a lovely morning here, a few clouds brushing the top of Fielder mountain. The congregation in Dumas are singing sweetly and mom's birds are busy at the feeder.

I'm just through with my first little chore, did the dishes so mom and dad could take it easy when they get back from town. The weather's good so I suppose dad and I will tackle some more greenhouse work after they get back. I'm gonna take advantage of the short lull to get some reading done. Can't decide if I want to go with "The Triumph of God's Love" or "Doubt". Maybe a little of both.

Hope your day is touched by sweetness and light.

Good night, good morning

Got a full 9 hours of sleep for once, nice! A good, healthy breakfast and a little reading sent me right out to prune apples. Dad was cleaning up the shop when mom came out for a walk. I joined them and Sparky for about a 3/4 mile stroll. It was really nice, a tiny shower caught us half-way through but stopped shortly. Pruned a bit more then came in for a short tea break.

Trying to figure out what is pressing to do next. Kinda wish it'd rain again so I could get some reading and computer work done. Dad is sorting through some of his old possessions, deciding what to through away, give away or sell. Mom has her leg up and some heat on her knee, she needs to do that on these showery days to keep her arthritis in check.

Hoping y'all have a great day.

Monday showers

Just got back from a quick jaunt down the road with mom, dad and Sparky. Big raindrops started splattering down right at the end.

Dad and I broke out the seed boxes and started sorting for type and age. Had a real score when we found a box from last year with 1000 big beef tomato seeds, eclipse zucchini, lemon and slicing cucumbers. Another small box had all the watermelon seed and we also have most all the cantaloupe type seeds we need. We've still got to spend about 300$ on corn and a little more on a few other assorted things. Still we saved a bunch buying all that other stuff last year. Unforeseen foresight. Little things like that can really improve a guy's mood.

Looks like I need to fill mom's bird feeder. Maybe I can find a hole in the showers.

Hope your day brings you luck and joy.

Rainbow Sunday

A lovely rainbow just appeared over our vineyard. The shower is gone now but the beauty of it lingers in my mind.

Been struggling a little with my peace of mind this morning. Questions and confidence hover in a willful suspension of comforting platitude. Realities cold hand prods me with eventualities I seek to avoid and obligations I have postponed for too long. Conflicts of immediate interest and planning tumble over my natural lassitude and dedication to other pursuits of mind and purpose. A short night of sleep probably doesn't help either.

We lost Uncle Dennis yesterday. My prayers are going out to comfort Aunt Bonnie and her family. I suppose I should be more focused on that and less on my mental drama.

My cousin Phil and family will be stopping by later today for a visit. Wish they didn't have to drive so far. Bad enough they had to fly from Mississippi to Spokane but that's a long haul to make from there to here and back again in a few days.

Hope all of you find the day peaceful and fulfilling.

Great day's work

Worked hard enough to make my back ache, hoorah?

We got a lot done today despite the late start. Cleaned up the back yard some more, rototilled part of the early garden. I pruned and sprayed all 3 peach trees. Well, 1 is a nectarine technically. Dad had a great day, only 1 or 2 spells of fatigue. We'll each sleep well tonight.

It was just lovely today, with the sun warm enough to make me crave barbecued hot dogs. The ol' Osprey has returned, shrieking around the neighborhood for a couple hours while we cleaned up. The smell of bark and chainsaw oil brought the scene together for a perfect Oregon moment.

Hope you all had a day as fine or better.

I'm still a slacker

Was hoping to start getting an early start but it's cold and frozen out there and nothing is really pressing today. So I'm nerding out on the computer. Thanks to Rae Ann I tried Facebook this week and it is really wasting my time! but I love getting in contact with old friends.

Today's work will be pruning and spraying the peach trees, pruning apples, more clean-up probably saw up some scrap wood for the woodstove. We might get really lucky and blow up the air inflated greenhouse. If so I'll put up a pic of that, it's so cool. Never the same in photos but I can't resist trying to capture it.

Gotta go try and baby-step my way closer to actually being a man and doing my work.

There's a world of wonder around us always ready to dazzle and amaze. Let the good things come to you.

Great day, so-so work

Didn't get as much done as we'd hoped but it was a lovely day. No sun but no rain either. Gary came by with his 1 person pots-hole digger and "we" got the holes for the greenhouse finished. Way easier than using the tractor mounted one. Especially since Gary did all the work ;-) Big thanks to him.

Dad and I also got a lot of clean-up done again. Dad finished his 5th tray of tomato transplants. That makes about 350 plants in all, not a bad start for the year.

Not much else to report, I'd usually summon the energy for a political rant or find some interesting link to point out right about here but my biorhythms are probably off right now.

Y'all be heartful of peace and mindful of happy.

Work day vacillation

Pretty good work day, got started late because everything was frozen outside. Dad transplanted tomatoes into pony-packs while it was cold. Looks like he'll have three 72 packs finished shortly. A good start to the tomato season, if all goes well we'll be picking by July 1.

Rolled wire next, finishing that job in last year's late tomato field. Still about 14 three hundred foot rows to go (by 12 wires per row) many miles of wire actually.

Then we came in to hook up a harrow to rip our early tomato field. But the tractor wouldn't start. Dad's heart just sank, and it wasn't great for mine either. We spent a half hour running it down to the fuel pump. $1200 or so to fix that. Before we gave up, we checked one last time to make sure the fuel wasn't leaving the pump by removing the out line. As we cranked it, a bunch of air escaped the pump and suddenly the engine started! Hoorah!

Now dad is out ripping the early garden (cukes, squash and other stuff too will go there) so we can 'til it tomorrow.

A good day, all in all. Hope you all have one as fine or better.

insomnia

Well, I haven't really tried to go to sleep, but it's still insomnia.

Had a great day, got 5 old cars hauled off from the farm here and did a bunch of clean-up in the backyard. Dad was in rare good form, only got fatigued once right around lunch. A good nap took care of that while I was running errands in Rogue River.

Gonna crash soon, just doing some last minute computer stuff.

Y'all have a delightful and refreshing night full of wonderful dreams.

how beautiful

Ol' Mt. Fielder was really lovely today, just had to share a pic.

Good night's rest

Gratitude for a good night's sleep was the first thing on my mind this morning. It is absolutely amazing what that does for the body and mind.

I was out at Mark and Tracy's until about 10 last night. Wish I could say it was all work but we talked for a long time. I am so lucky to have such good friends. We also did make some good progress on Tracy's website. Go here: Chicy Hair-Ums pet Jewelry to check it out, especially if you forgot to get something for your girlfriend's cat or dog on Valentine's day ;-)

We're all enjoying the beginning of a lazy day of rest here. The weather looks right for a burn day in Jackson county but when I mentioned it mom said "No! we're having a lazy day today." And no one disagreed.

Sparky is asleep on his little bed under his heat lamp. His nose is twitching just a bit. Some dream of sniffing out cats or squirrels probably.

We've decided to set our alarms tomorrow morning and start on our early farming schedule. So many things to do, every hour earlier we start is less crush come the May 15th start of transplanting, not to mention the April 15th corn planting date.

The sun is out and a cloud shadow is blowing across the lower ridge of Fielder Mountain. Just a lovely, lovely day.

Peace and happiness to you all.

Good day after all

Didn't get a lot done today but did get to see the nieces, Charley and Randie. They brought hand-made Valentine's gifts from Charley's daughters for me and "Grandma & Grandpa chicken". Cute little luv-bugs made from pixie-sticks, craft paper and pipe cleaners.

Kyle worked out great today. We didn't have a lot for him to do but we got a lot of wires untied and rolled up. For those who don't know, I do some website design for Kyle's mom and I went to school with his dad, Mark.

Dad and I spent a lot of the day talking while we rolled wire, hashing out stuff. I'm massively overwhelmed by the threat of having to run this farm by my self but mom and dad both keep reminding me to have faith and know that the lord won't ask more of me than I can do. It was easy to have faith last year, or at least confident purpose. Now it isn't such a simple thing. It isn't just doing the work, it's all the details and drive and purpose that dad provides which I have inner doubts about me being able to do.

Thank god dad is still feeling well. We'll take every day we can with deep gratitude and a flowing love for life. What else can we do?

Y'all have a good evening, a refreshing night, and sweet dreams.

Happy Valentine's Day

Somewhere in this world is a lady who I could love and share my life with. For some reason we haven't met yet and we might not ever. But I will still take this opportunity to tell her I love her and to have a happy Valentine's Day. Sorry I don't know where to send the card. Be well, lovey.

Tough night last night, bad dreams and only 6 hours of sleep. Stress from the last couple weeks catching up with me. Funny how well I slept in the RV when we were in Portland. But I was using sleep aids and exhaustion then.

Hoping to have a good day of work ahead today. Maybe if I get physically tired enough I will sleep well.

Mom said that dad had a rough night too, weird dreams etc. probably a lot like mine.

Sorry to be such a downer, will wish you all a fine day and hope to write later when I'm feeling better.

Friday whew!

Strangely tiring day. Emotionally stressful. Not really sure why.

Had visitors from Scio this afternoon. Tom Hamlin and his wife. Nice people.

Got some of Travis' good dry madrone burning in the stove. A little comfort goes a long ways towards soothing the aches of the day.

Didn't get much done today. Some research, a little clean-up. Had a great 40 minute long conversation with my brother. Dang! If only I'd realized sooner that he's great to talk to.

I'm just sort of achy and sore. 42 years starting to remind me.

Kyle is coming over to help around the farm a bit tomorrow. A chance at a little impromptu education. Fortunately there's plenty of work for him to learn from. If I'm really lucky Travis might show up too and then we could split into teams of 2 and really get some stuff done.

Praying you all a wonderful day and a healing night.

Strange Thursday noon

Well, it's almost noon. Feels strange, maybe because I'm home alone. Or it could be the Easy Listening music too. {*} There, switched it to smooth jazz. "September" is playing.

It was a short night last night, went to sleep late and got up early.

Had a great breakfast at Powderhorn Cafe with Del this morning. Biscuits and gravy! And of course more encouraging conversation. Keeping my eyes open for a higher power.

Nephew Travis dropped off some firewood a little while ago. Had a couple chuckles with him. Mom and dad left for dad's infusion around then and Travis took off too. So my chores are doing the dishes and stacking some firewood. I suppose I should feel lonely but I really don't.

Momentarily suspended on the software/webpage design front. Gotta make a visit before the next move manifests but I'm having trouble arranging a break in the action around here.

No rain but no sun either here today. Kinda gray but still lovely.

Everybody have some happiness! Despite it all...

What government is good for...

"Maybe Too Little, Always Too Late" is a funny article which points out that "the economy will improve even if the government does nothing."

I would have to qualify that as "especially if the government does nothing" but hey, that's just me.

Melancholy morning

Woke up feeling a little down this morning. Some weird dreams I don't recall well, that often leaves me feeling out of sorts. I think that some of our future financial challenges are weighing on me. Right now things are ok, but I'm just aware that more medical bills will be coming in. There isn't a lot of software work right now and it's quite a while until the farm can produce any sort of cash flow. On top of that, we'll have to spend a fair amount of money before we can even get the farming operation rolling. But I suppose that's why they call it "having faith" otherwise it'd just be knowing.

The land is mottled with snow this morning. Sis is probably stuck at home because the Sexton summit pass is closed. Trucks are backed up all the way to Barton Rd. Sure hope she got to sleep in, it'd just be good for her.

It's pretty out there but it's also really cold. Don't feel much like walking or doing any chores in that mush and slush. Deeply and profoundly grateful that I have the choice at the moment. Will have to take out some compost and do a little clean-up later but it can wait now. Think I'll read for a while.

Y'all have a super day and find happiness in the trivial things.

Doing the math

800 billion dollar stimulus package divided by 300 million Americans (approx) equals about $2,600 dollars each. That is both what it will cost us and what we would each get if the stimulus money were divided equally between us. That means a $5,200 dollar swing across the board. Lost sales and unrecovered taxes.

Sunny Monday

Still lots of clouds and a little frost around but the sun is definitely making an impression.

Dad and the uncles went off to see our old homestead at 222 Ewe Creek Rd. The A-frame my father built. Mom was busy making lunch and I just didn't have the courage to go see the place where I grew up. Plus I've got a number of my own chores to look after.

It's been real neat hanging around with the uncles. I'm hoping that the sun will stay out and that before they leave we can blow up our air-inflated greenhouse. It's just such a fun structure which I think they'd find lots of potential use for.

Anyways, gonna go do some of those chores I was bragging about.

Y'all have a fine and felicitous day.

Saturday report on Sunday

Had a great day of family visiting yesterday. Bro, sis, bro-in-law, uncles, dad, mom, cats and dog. We sent the post hole digger home with sis & her hubby. That was fun loading it, almost safe for once with 5 working men coordinating the action. Gotta love a really slow moving tractor for having to work around. Still dangerous but almost entirely avoidable and stoppable.

It never rains but it pours

For my sister anyways.

Tough enough having health problems on this side of the family, she's been faced with the failing health of her father-in-law as well. He's a lot worse off then our dad is, mesothelioma got him bad from when he worked in the W.W.2 shipyards. He's suffering now and the medics aren't being very cooperative either.

So if anybody's got a spare prayer, send it my sis and brother-in-law's way. Just a little peace and grace will help them a bunch.

Love ya sis. Be well, sleep well. And a big hug to my biggest brother.

And all you other folks, strength and peace to you too.

I just had to

I suppose the ladies might like this more but I just found the idea so appallingly silly that I had to try it. Teenage girls will mostly enjoy this service, it's called cornify and it will rainbow-and-unicorn any page you want it to. Just drag the bookmark link into the top of your browser and then cornify any page you want.

You can try a sample here with this link:


Hit it repeatedly for dense silliness.

Pancreatic cancer Twine

Twine is an interesting new collaborative search site. I've put together a bunch of pancreatic cancer cure sites there, if you're interested check it out here:
Pancreatic cancer cure Twine

fine evening

We just got through eating some delightful fish that mom fried up for supper.

Dad's infusion went well but took longer than expected. Dad's white blood cell count was down a bit but that just proves that something is going on. If it drops again when they take blood Wednesday then they might skip a chemo treatment.

Uncle's Arnold and Doug from Mississippi are coming out to visit tomorrow night through Tuesday. Should be a load of fun.

Y'all have a good night now.

lovely day, no rain

Just got through speaking with my friend Del. Trying to figure out when we can arrange breakfast again. Kinda hard to guess with my disarrayed schedule.

Mom and dad are running late from their chemo infusion appointment. Mom left me a message that they had to see a doctor (probably about the new port-a-catheter) and give blood so they didn't get started with the infusion before 3:15.

Heading back out now to move the tractor and clean-up a little more. Dad and I spent a good chunk of the morning pulling up plastic in the field where we plan to plant early tomatoes in a greenhouse before spring. Dad got a little breathless, but that was probably from just being out of shape not anemia from his chemo just yet.

The sun is poking through clouds and lighting our big oak tree with patches of gray, white and green.

Praying you all a day of peace and happiness.

Another good day

Despite the gray.

It was cloudy after a short bit of sun for our morning walk. Dad and I got started on some more clean-up. I ran the bush-hog and dad rolled drip tubing. I felt much, much better once I started working. My fears and worries receded into the necessity of good, honest work.

Some folks who were in service with mom and dad at Rancho Cucamonga in L.A. stopped by to visit. Delbert and Lilian Unruh from Scio. Sweet, sweet people. They brought us a giant cinnamon roll from Heaven On Earth bakery near Glendale. Wow! was it good, we decided that pretty much ruined our dinner. So we're gonna just pick and piece supper tonight.

Tomorrow dad goes in for his second chemo. So far he still feels really good so despite the reality a tiny grain of hope keeps surfacing. We'll see how he feels after this next round. One thing is sure, he's got a lot of prayers coming his way. Thank god for such wonderful people. It doesn't resolve the issues facing us but it does give comfort in the face of tough times.

Hard times ahead

Yesterday was a great day. We got dad's first slug of chemo put in and he handled it well, little or no nausea or discomfort. He's looking good and feeling good. We stacked firewood that nephew Travis brought over and moved a little furniture around in the house, put mom's new chair in her usual spot.

It's been really tough with our usual plans all awry. I'm hoping and praying that things will go well and that with the support of friends and family we will be able to get the farm open to sell produce again this year. What will happen with dad will happen, it is in the lord's hands now. We will cherish every day we have together.

But I've been remiss in making better plans for the future so now I've got a lot of catching up to do. It is frankly very overwhelming but I believe the lord will help me find the way and that he won't burden me beyond my ability.

The alternative, if our finances can't be kept in line, will be to sell the farm and buy a small place for mom and dad (and me) to live in. I'm really hoping that the community we have served for 20+ years now will help us keep that from happening but it might be part of the bigger plan so I will accept what comes.

Sorry to be so melancholy so early in the day. I'm still finding my way back into my faith so the peace of heart I see in so many of my aunts, uncles and cousins is something I'm still not familiar with.

Hoping you all find that same peace in your hearts.

Fragged is the word

Derived from "Fragmented"

Had to cancel breakfast with Del tomorrow because we've got an appointment to view educational material at the oncologists office. The more I look into the chemotherapy they are suggesting for dad ( gemcitabine ) the less I like that option. As options go it's all you've got and the cure is only slightly better than the disease.

I'm heavily leaning towards alternative treatments based on some of the well researched agents which are found in foods and herbs. Things like resveratrol, apagenin (found in celery and parsley), curcmin (from turmeric) and many similar therapeutic agencies. The nice thing is these things are so safe that they can be used concurrently with just about any chemo agent. So this option is open to dad no matter how he feels about his first chemo treatment. That should be happening on Thursday.

Oh yeah, Tracy (a lady I'm doing some website design work for) liked the word "Fragged" so much, she declared it the word for the month. So that makes it official.

Wishing you each and all peace, happiness and hope.

So glad to be home

Got back around 4pm. All Very tired but all feeling good. I got a little wired on some strong coffee I got for free (with 10$+ in gas) at the Sutherlin Shell station. If your travelling along I-5 in Oregon, the people there are really cheerful. And their coffee rocks!

Oops, I gotta go throw a log on the fire. Good evening to all.

unpleasant diagnoses

Well, they got the biopsies back in a hurry and the spots in dad's liver were cancer. So we're gonna pack up Sunday and head back home. We'll do the chemo in Medford.

It's been an exhausting, long day of patience and waiting. I'd like to write more but I just don't have the juice.

Y'all be well.

Patien(t)ce

Spent most of the day at OHSU's center for health and healing. Filling out paperwork, reviewing procedures, submitting blood samples. Dad's holding up in good humor. Doc explained a change in plans. Tomorrow will be just the biopsy procedure. For best quality the results should be returned by Monday. Then either the full surgery will be scheduled in the proceeding weeks or we will pack up and take the struggle home again.

So we will maybe be in Portland for another 3 weeks. Fortunately we found our way to this Jantzen Beach RV Park which has been just a super place to stay. Some other people on the net complained about the noise at this place from the airport but the paths are mostly north of here right down the Columbia. I think it's really cool being able to see all those planes coming in. Especially at night. And the sound hasn't kept me up not even once in the last 4 days. Also I've got to say that Joseph, Erica and Marylynne have been very helpful. I also like how close all the essentials like groceries, restaurants & etc. are.

Got a fair amount of the family in the loop on what's up now. 12 brothers and 4 sisters in my dad's family so that's taking a while. Hope nobody who gets info last doesn't feel slighted. I'm usually the last to know anything in our little branch of the family but I suppose ignorance is bliss after all and it's never really bothered me.

The driving in Portland sucks and so do Google maps. Of course I love google maps and earth but their driving instruction don't always match the physical expression. Which is both dangerous and frustrating.

Gotta go sleep. Happiness and health to you all.

Dad's next surgery

Day after tomorrow. Sorry to my blog-crowd but things got hectic there for a while. I will now proceed to fill you in.

Dad was diagnosed with a tumor on his pancreas about December 8th shortly after his gall-bladder surgery. He was still jaundiced after that and they did 3 endoscope plus 1 interventional procedures to get a stent placed in his bile duct. 7 biopsies later and still no clear-cut designation of "cancer". What they have found is "cell abnormalities". Doctor Billinglsey, who we have complete confidence in, says (after a more state-of-the-art CT scan) that is is almost certainly cancer and that it may have spread to his liver, they'll do another biopsy of that region on Thursday and if it hasn't spread they'll do a modernized version of the Whipple procedure on him shortly after the biopsy. If it has spread then they'll go the chemo/radio route and avoid the surgery due to the physiological expense of the procedure. The surgery will all be happening at the Oregon Health Sciences University hospital. Recovery time is about 10 days and 2 months of recuperation.

That was all determined last week. We got someone to watch the house and farm back home. My big bro asked his good (and wonderful!) friends Jesse and Darcy to loan us their RV and we found a great little park called "Jantzen Beach RV Park" where we could stay. The people here have been great. They even have a wireless router so I can stay virtual.

For the last 6 weeks we've been making sure that dad gets plenty of great cancer fighting foods and as much physical activity as he can take. He has recovered from the procedures so far very well. He is in no pain and only a little discomfort from the stent and gall bladder operations. He's feeling good, looking good and doing good. If it weren't for the diagnoses and CT scans this would just but an awesome RV vacation for us.

If we're lucky and the operation goes well I'll be here long enough to get a chance to visit with an ol' classmate and some other friends.

It's late, I'm rambling and I need to go hit the sack. Up around 5:30 tomorrow morn to go fill out paperwork and to meet the anesthesiologist for some EKG work-up.

Y'all be well, eat well and keep and eye out for beauty.

The tail of an outing

Mom and dad and I went into Grant's Pass yesterday, just to run some errands and get out of the house.

We were having fun until I discovered my wallet had fallen out of my pocket somewhere between Fred Meyer's and Wal-Mart. I was pretty sure I'd had it at Fred Meyer's so I quickly retraced my steps while mom finished checking out at the very busy WalMart.

Went into Fred Meyer's and talked to the lady at the Customer Assistance counter. She asked me my name and when I told her she said "well I didn't pronounce it right then..." Turned out a lady had found it and brought it in. However (!) it wasn't there, they had seen my SOFCU (southern Oregon Federal Credit Union) card and the lady who found it said "Oh! I bank there, I'll just drop it off there on my way by"

With that little reprieve in place and after picking up mom, we went and had lunch with my sister at Dairy Queen on Redwood Highway. What a delightful visit that was.

There are 3 branches of SOFCU in this vicinity, so we went to the nearest one and after considerable wrangling with account numbers and ID the nice young lady, Staci, there found out my wallet was at the north branch. Like I said to her, "You should be able to feel the relief radiating from me." So we went and got my wallet. As I told the manager at Fred Meyer's "Thank God for good Americans" I still don't know who returned it, but I really hope some good stuff comes her way. And I'll be sure to keep my eye open for an opportunity to pay this forward. I'm also gonna sew some velcro into my sweat-pants pockets!

As I always tell mom and dad when they head off for town, "Keep your eye out for beauty" and have a great day.

Happy New Year !

You heard me.

New Year

Wow! 2008 is almost gone. What a heavy year it was.

Up on the freeway the trucks and cars are rumbling in a constant staccato of action. A vibrato of commerce. A tremolo of transportation. So at least at the moment the superficial appearance is one of vigor and normalcy.

Dad is sleeping off a nice lunch of Burger King. Mom has run to Rogue River to get the mail and run a few other minor errands.

Up on Fielder Mountain, fog banks, cloud shadows and sunlight are playing tag amidst the rocks, shrubs, trees and ridge lines. Craggy cliffs emerge and vanish in the play of light and mist.

In our fields the birds and mice scurry diligently to fill their bellies with the remnants of our farming. We bring so much life into the world with our labors. Rodents, small birds, assorted small to medium birds of prey, turkeys, crows, geese, cats, opossum, fox, raccoon, insects, and lizards. Every year their numbers increase and they spread out, filling the empty places in the land.

The New Year is a time of reflection, opportunity, and peril. Best to be alert in all three cases.

Happy New Year, everybody.

A good place for breakfast in Grant's Pass

My good friend Del invited me out for breakfast this morning. We had a fine meal and our (un)usual eclectic conversation. It was a mighty fine breakfast.

If you or anyone you know is traveling along the I-5 corridor up or down the west coast, do yourselves a favor and stop in at the Powderhorn Cafe for breakfast or lunch. They've got good chicken-fried steak, biscuits and gravy, hamburgers etc. and their pies are absolutely delightful. You probably won't find more polite and cheerful people in a month. Here's where they are:


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Can't win for losin'

Dad and I got a good laugh from this article about how we American's all need to spend more...

Belated Christmas evening entry

What a wonderful Christmas afternoon and evening we had, almost the whole family showed up. We even got to visit with my niece's recent addition of twins. What delightful, bright eyed little joy bundles! We were so surprised when Kaycee (my oldest grand-niece) came gliding around the corner of the kitchen with a huge grin on her face.

A half-hour later we got another magnificent gift as my youngest niece Cassandra came into the house. It was the first time we had seen her walking since her car accident 2 years ago. She's still healing so she spent most of the evening in her wheel chair, but as my brother-in-law Roger said "that just makes me feel good to see you come into the room like that" What courage and strength that young woman has!

The only ones missing were Amber and Travis and their girls, a darned cold had ahold of them so they stayed home. They were missed for sure, but we all understood their priorities.

The evening flew by and everyone needed to get on the road before it got too icy so it was over way too soon. Our memories were so bright that though it was a let-down that evening and yesterday we are still aglow with delight.

Happy New Year, everybody.

Xmas afternoon

What a fun morning we had! Got up around 7, slowly waking. Got out our stockings full of small goodies which Santa left overnight. Then we started opening presents. Too many items to list, but mom got shorted a bunch of gifts. I only had time to find her 2 and dad has been too ill to go out and about.

Well, that is, mom got shorted until my brother brought over the new rocking recliner he and I had picked up a couple days ago from West Coast Appliances at dad's behest. At first mom thought Bro and I were bringing it in for dad, until I told her it was all his idea. Her astonishment and delight were absolutely wonderful.

Mom got me the cheap mp3 player I wanted. Wasn't about to take something expensive into the cornfields with me, but this unit from Coby works ok and I don't have to care if it breaks, other than losing something mom gave me. I also got a Benjamin break-barrel 177 pellet gun with scope from dad for shooting the giant, long-legged rats in our garden ;-) Dad wrote "Don't shoot your eye out!" on the box.

Dad got some warm slippers and sweats from mom and a nice collection of assorted small tools from me. He also got a bunch of other things like a couple books and some other clothing.

We all got the glorious gift of being together for another fun Christmas morning.

Oh yeah, and Sparky got a new assortment of chewable squeak toys.

God bless this good green earth and Merry Christmas to all.

Xmas Shopping

Went Christmas gift shopping with my brother this morning. Haven't done much with him in 3-4 years and I must say it was a sublime joy to talk and laugh with my big bro.

Lots of people on the road were crowdy and pushy and grumpy but despite the crowds in the stores, everyone seemed of particularly good cheer. I gave and got many cheerful "Merry Christmas"'s. Some of my fellow shoppers in the aisles even spoke briefly, all with good humor or at least a sweet level of politeness.

May all this good cheer, spirit of cooperation and human kindness spread and grow.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Thankfullness

Today was a pretty tough day mentally. Dad is home and convalescing as well as possible and mom is recovering a bit too. But I was pretty down today. Just the vagaries of life I suppose.

But when I went into Rogue River to run some errands I was so delighted by the people there. The post office and stores were pretty crowded but the checkers were so friendly and helpful and the crowds were upbeat. I feel so lucky to have such a positive community to live in.

Then when I got home it was already getting colder and darker and my mood went down again. Fortunately dinner was ready not long after and I was once more grateful to be able to sit down to a warm plate of food with my family.

I hope that all of you find something in your world to be thankful for too.

Al Gore, where are you?

It's gotten up to a blazing 25 degrees Fahrenheit here already. I don't think my pineapple plants are gonna make it.

The whole world and especially the US is showing below average temperatures, but the climate change alarmists won't stop their rhetoric and propaganda for a little thing like evidence. Especially not evidence of the senses. No, no, it's all about model confirmation, and failing to mention that a model can be made to demonstrate anything whatsoever. That's all the energy I have for a rant today.

Dad is going back into the hospital for some more work today, putting a stent in his gall duct now. I can't say more until dad gives me clearance but we are all a bit worried.

There's some beautiful snow on Fielder Mountain this morning but I'm not going out to take a pic, it is just too cold.

Health and happiness to you all, Merry Christmas.

Chicy hair ums

Been busy with some fun and good web design for a delightful small business out of Grants Pass. If you've got a pet that needs some special style, check out Chicy Hair Ums for fine Couture Pet Accessories.

Sense of humor

I'm so glad I have one. Some people out there won't find this funny:
Gay activists offended by UW newspaper image

But I got a chuckle out of it. I think it would've been a better picture if they'd used a pineapple....

The tide of life

I thought I'd finally have some time on my hands at the end of the season here, but as often happens event and circumstance are conspiring to keep me shrink-wrapped into a state of absorption.

Dad is going in for gall-bladder surgery tomorrow. That came on sudden like but thank god for sonograms or they wouldn't have been sure what the problem was. I won't go into anymore details, medical stuff makes me queasy.

Saturday will be our last day at the stand, still a few ripe tomatoes and winter squash to get rid of. But that won't be the end of it because conditions have been so dry we're thinking of prepping some ground for winter/early spring crops.

Also, we finally got a good steel roof put on my barn which means I can begin the grueling process of repairing/remodeling that mess. Now that water won't be running in like a stream.

Gotta go, hope everyone finds a little happiness today.

Thankful thankgiving

Just getting over a nasty head cold or allergy or something. Still sneezing though. Whatever it is, it's making me fall behind in my work.

I've got a lot to be thankful for, not gonna make a list though.

Gotta go, y'all be as much as you can be.

Yes, we can. On our own.

A very good article here, by Paul Ibrahim, about the independence of the American Dream upon government and politicians.

Rainy slow day

With fall firmly holding court we have cut down our open days to Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. So I spent most of the day at the stand waiting for a half dozen people to wonder in. It poured and it rained and it blew and cold was omnipresent. But I got a lot of web page work done so that made the day productive.

We're still harvesting some nice tomatoes from the greenhouse and the yams dad dug a couple weeks back have been selling good. And of course winter squash are a mainstay especially in this weather. Nothing makes the belly happy like some warm baking squash on a cold, rainy day.

I've been reading a book called "The universal history of the destruction of books" which I got from the Jackson county library. Sounds kinda dull but it is actually really interesting. Never realized how many libraries have burned over the centuries. Weird that so many books from so many authors have vanished forever. Gives me a seething curiosity, wondering what was lost.

Hope y'all stay dry and warm and happy.

Social superposition

Right now American society is entering a period of absolute uncertainty as the populace rolls the cultural dice to decide who will be our next president. For the next 48 hours we will remain in a state of being with 2 potentials unrealized. Will America enter the McCain or Obama era? Just like an electron being given 2 paths to travel but both remain potential until measured. So too is America in a superposition. No amount of polls or calculations, speculation or manipulation is going to change this. The fact is that the electorate will make up its own mind and only counting the votes will determine the outcome. Well, I suppose Acorn's attempt at manipulation might have some affect but then again it might back-fire too. Constructive or destructive reinforcement can be like that.

Hmmmm... Blogger's spell checker flags Obama's name as a misspelling but not McCain's. An infomatic omen? Or just more gigo? Time will tell.

disenfranchized no more

Finally got my ballot in the mail yesterday after having been dis'd from the last 2 voting cycles. Just gotta review the initiatives and candidates and then I'll vote. One thing's for sure: every Oregonian should join me in writing in Patrick Deardon for State Treasurer. He knows how to use Excel and we can all be sure he hasn't been bought by a special-interest-group.

As for the big 2 candidates, you could split a penny on the difference between them. I'd vote for Bob Barr if I thought he had a chance in heck of winning. But that'd just give one less vote to the opponent of the candidate I dislike most.

It's 34 degrees and fogggggy at the farm this morning. Apple picking is the job for today; precarious monkey action on a 12 foot aluminum ladder.

Everyone be well or happy or, preferably, both.

This is freakin hilarious

Look, I love cats. But this page is freakin' hilarious: BlenderDefender.

redirect warnings

Been seeing a lot of malicious redirects exploiting the recently described security hole in internet servers. I click on a link to Lifehacker, Make or some other webzine or service and will get an odd looking page, poorly formatted, which is clearly not the page I'm looking for. It's a good idea for everyone to be alert for this right now.

Signs of the times

Been working on (painting) new signs for the produce stand. Apples, new hours and next I'll refurb the big baking squash sign. Mom's been working with the dryer and dad made corn bundles. Other than that it's been a pretty easy Sunday. Some bright sunshine, a few passing clouds.

Fall has begun transforming the landscape colors, so pretty.

The tomatoes in the greenhouse are holding their own against mildew and dampness. A couple more days and they should be safe as dryness spreads. Especially if I can give dad the spare time to fix-up the fan he bought in White City.

Few more Sunday evening tasks to do, y'all be happy.

Now! is when you have a gas boycott

According to Reuter's gasoline has just taken its biggest drop ever. So I am reminded of a previous post scorning the ever present chain-email letter encouraging a gas boycott ( link here ) and I would like to point out that logistically speaking, NOW would be a really good time for all of us to start working together to dramatically reduce our usage. Not for global warming reasons, simply to put serious downward pressure on the pricing structure.

So everyone use your cell phones more, arrange mutual trips with neighbors in to town and buy large amounts of storable food to reduce additional trips. Carpool, for god's sake it's the 21st century you can find someone on the net to carpool with you.

Anyways, gotta go sleep now.

cantaloupe gone

Ol' Jack Frost ate his fill of my melons last night. Pretty much everything else too except the tomatoes we covered. 600+ glorious tomato plants under clear plastic, gorgeous. Gotta set my alarm for 3am to check and see if we need to turn on the burners in the greenhouse; another cold night.

Dad and I were scramble busy this afternoon pinning the rest of the plastic down for the greenhouse. What we had up was good enough for one night but we had to put a bunch more slats and staples on if it was to survive wind and rain. Plus we were up at 3:30am to put water on the corn (a frost preventer of limited success) and that just eats a lot of one's sleep.

So it's been a long, busy, tiring day with another likely tomorrow. I'm gonna shuffle off to clean up and go to bed.

Y'all be well.

Greenhouse up

Thank goodness. Heater is in place too. 500,000 b.t.u.s of thermal power. Only have to keep the frost off. I also took the time to hook up the sprinklers over on Pete's ground so we can wet down the corn if frost thinks of taking hold there. Hopefully temps will stay high enough otherwise we get up at like 3 or 4 am, sneak over there and turn the water on.

Gotta go. Sleepy-sleep time.

Y'all be happy.

Greenhouse tomatoes

Today dad and I will finish covering the late tomatoes with a plastic greenhouse. 660 plants in three 300 foot rows.

Yesterday our good friend Gary stopped by in the afternoon and the three of us finished building the rafters. Then, while I was picking corn, dad and Gary covered the first third. So that only leaves the last 200 feet to cover.

Now our tomatoes will be protected from the frost and we can keep selling them, maybe all the way until thanksgiving.

Wishing y'all a hopeful and prosperous day.

Rain Uncertainty

The rain is mostly past now. 2 days of it and you'd think that would've given me time to write at least 1 or 2 more blog entries but no, still busy.

The first morning of rain was sort of intense, loaded with smoke and ash from recent forest fires it made a mess of everything. Yesterday's heavier showers washed most of that away and this morning the air was clear and sweet smelling. Those fresh Oregon mornings always take me back to my childhood at Yew Creek road which the county misspelled "Ewe Creek", bunch a numbskulls. It was called Yew Creek because of the Yew trees growing in the creek basin. Here's hoping that the rains have diminished the fires along with restoring the air and my memories.

The uncertainty is exactly how much damage was caused by the rain. The early tomatoes especially the large ones will be heavily damaged and the grapes will too. Cantaloupe were extremely dry before this so they might not have split too bad and we may see some good harvest tomorrow morning. If I can keep them picked off a little on the pre-ripe side we can probably avoid rot too.

Tomorrow will be morning harvesting of cants, squash, and cukes. Then pumpkins and squash in the afternoon. My good buddy Alice will stop by for a visit and some fresh veggies a little after lunch, or so she is planning. It's always a blast to see my classmates.

Getting tired, gotta go snooze it. Y'all be well and smart.

They call it a bailout

To paraphrase Boromir, "This is no bailout, this is a tomb!"

A recent study has shown that the vast majority of failed mortgages are in the hands of speculators and risk taking real estate dealers.

The media and congress keep insisting this isn't a bailout, it is an investment opportunity. But if the assets remain worthless even this "new and improved" bailout bill will end up having little or no effect with the exception of weakening the dollar and causing the turmoil on Wall Street to stretch on and on. According to Bloomberg we lost over a trillion dollars in a single day ("Hey Joe, where'd we leave that box with a trillion dollars in it?") Is anyone stupid enough to believe 700 billion will last even one day in such a climate?

Seeing the Senate try to foist this off on the American people again is like finding a five year old playing with cat feces: revolting.