:: Scuff Productions ::

Finally this winter! Some SNOW. It’s been a bit treacherous up here at 1000′ for Rodger getting to work….his first attempt failed when he found all roads between here and OHSU were closed…. he tried going west later and barely made it to work. This will happen again tonight, but it’s short lived. By Friday, temps with heavy rain forecast will be in the high 50′s. Oh well. When snow is rare, and temps just “right” enough to make it stick to the rain forest, it’s quite moving. I MUST get this done quick, I still have some winter weather bits to get done…..But wanted to post a few PICTURES from the yard AND Mac’s Forest Park hike this morning…….

I’ve “crunched” them to get this done, but please hit a click on ‘em all….it’s the only way to FEEL the snow around you.

I have NOT edited ANY of them, and it was cloudy…. This was a 2 hour walk.

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The walk down To the Wildwood:

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The Newton Access Rd Parking Lot:

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This fire Lane, about 400′ lower than Skyline blvd, shows clearly, that this storm was “elevation driven”….This lane will take you eventually all the way down to 40′ above sea level at Linnton, OR along hwy 30:

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The poor ferns in the park seem to be completely crushed:

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By noon, we’d had another couple inches at home, and back deck’s starting to look rather nice:

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This fir at the front of the property got so weighed down, a major branch (hadn’t happened yet in this pic) broke away from the tree:

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Some snow was shoveled just “in case” tonight’s event turns out to give us another 5-6 inches:

Oh well, there were more, but this is enough. When you see snow So rarely, it’s rather a treasured time even if some hell is paid driving in terror, working to save branches, drying the dog (yes, he got to catch snowballs for a while), etc etc.

As I sat here trying to recover from a head cold captured while visiting the ICU Ward at OHSU this weekend…… the blues have hold of me. We gathered as a family once more at the bedside of Bruce, surviving husband of my cousin Nancy who died last april. Bruce suffered a massive aneurysm while getting ready to come over to Lake O cousin Nancy’s place to join us all, including his son J & his family……… Bruce passed away Sunday afternoon, or was rather, allowed to pass away, once a determination was made that the brain damage sustained in the aneurysm was so severe he couldn’t have maintained life on his own. . . . “J” is an only child, and losing both parents within 6 months has been traumatic to say the least. He showed lots of strength this weekend…….. Perhaps memorial services will be scheduled after the holidays……

We came home to meet cousin Stan and wife Mary for their 3 days visit while he continues his checkups from the post-bone-marrow transplant he had here last June….. they would be here for 3 days.

Rodger gets a call from family to learn his eldest Uncle Albert has passed away Sunday.

Hospital waiting rooms are NOT the place to be on holiday weekends or any other time…..people come to see their own ill relatives while they themselves are coughing with colds unaware, I suppose, they’ll be spreading their own viruses to us.

So I’m simply gonna give in, relax, rest, medicate w/zinc, Yin Chao, and let these blues pass………..

In the meantime, this control of our entire political machine in DC by one Grover Nordquist eats at my nerves:

Fall went on a respectfully long time it seems across much of the country. We kept snapping pics because fall colors have never been so brilliant so long.

But with the first REAL winter RAINS in the forecast, and most leaves exiting the trees, I grabbed the android a couple days ago to snap a few “bye” pics around the place or on the trail to say “bye” to our unusual fall. **pic quality suffered a bit** it was foggy in places.

**I can COUNT the last Gravenstein apples left (4). All that fell have fed deer & coyotes. These last four are feeding birds….I love it:

I am quite sure it’s birds….. squirrels would have pulled too hard and they’d have fallen. This is delicate eating:

But, at least the Granny Smith tree is now about ripe. A pie in December?

Once again, as in the spring post, at the top of the trail, we start down Dave’s little road….the leaves WERE SO THICK I took the mower / bagger to them twice in the last 2 weeks. This is what was left 2 days ago….the leaves are almost ALL gone off the tree today:

Then on to Arnie’s stretch of the trail where several perfectly healthy Vine Maples seem to enjoy their warm quilt of MOSS:

At the bottom, I’ve mentioned the mammothly tall cedar…here’s looking up from the bottom…to PROVE it IS alive. What’s interesting, the top 40 feet of this tree sits ABOVE those branches as dead as can be…and serves as a feeding/calling post for EVERY woodpecker in the area:

MOSS! IT WAS a rather cool summer, not too dry . . .so the MOSS has hung on….can you imagine what this will look like in the spring?

MORE MOSS….it’s beautiful right now:

And some of it’s LONG:

And as you walk BY the MOSSY branches, the leaves on the trail make a lovely carpet:

If you’re in the right place, thin branches look good under moss:

The Newton Fire Lane ……

One of the first markers one reaches from OUR starting point is this old growth tree with MilePost 25 1/4 on it. This means you are 25 miles from the Wildwood trail start in MacCleay Park downtown:

Just this week, as some wind began prior to this incoming BIG storm, three week thin trees came down…. IN a park like THIS, they don’t leave much of a mark:

One Ravine view is a natural pic place….taken by one of the few OLD growth Fir trees left after the 1940′s logging:

A Fall Trail view;

Trail view 2:

And on to beginning a few things for the weekend dining……………..

Sauteed Sprouts….stir-fried w/onion/garlic/brown sugar / touch of peppers & soy, YUM:

Roasted Asparagus:

Tomorrow…..Winter Garden Salad, Rodger’s Pies, and more and more.

Tis the season for family and friends.

Once again, at the end of the garden year, I kind of enjoyed that little break from being so busy….. for a short bit. …….. It has been an unusually long drier fall, warmer than normal, and even experts are chatting about the leaves still on trees turning brilliant colors. Example from the Irvington District, NE Portland:

And another same blocks……color saturation?

But, as these leaves disappear next week, and the rain begins…….. I’m finding I’m not liking the dark damp weather as much as I used to. The darker moods are here again……….I used to ignore these changes but am learning that I, too, am part of that small crowd here who withdraws a bit as the fun fades…..that I don’t look forward to the darker days, the HUMID days, shorter periods of light. I don’t respond as many do to more rain and get out and let my clothes get soaking wet. I am beginning to agree with Rodger about a move south whenever his career ending time comes in a few years.

TODAY will be the LAST day of sun with a balmy 60 degree forecast. It also translates, on these SHORT days, that the “60″ will ONLY be the REAL temperature for about 2-3 hours in afternoons peak …. I will be ON the riding mower with bagger attached picking up ALL the leaves that have fallen (there are still, mysteriously, many left on the trees here in November)….mulching them with that mower, and thickening the garden blanket of compost with them. I will like doing that.

We HAVE had company the last few days. Cousin Stan, who will be recovering from his life-saving bone marrow transplant here continues to have required visits at the Cancer Clinic at OHSU regularly. This is their 3rd morning here with two long days prior to this….. They were so encouraged that things were finally looking some better they took a short vacation to Solvang, CA 3-4 weeks ago……WHERE he broke his hip in a fall…. WOOPS. Suddenly, recovery gets more complicated, and “Stan-Care” more work for wife Mary. That made THIS visits doctor consultations complicated…..they were at OHSU’s Hospital ALL day for 2 days in a row. BUT ALL in ALL, things ARE healing. He won’t have to return for 3 weeks, then, hopefully, 2 months later…. I AM LEARNING about the struggles of illness and the REAL luck, blessing, or whatever you want to call it when are you enjoying almost perfect health…… LIVE EVERY DAY……….
***MAYBE that ALSO means: do NOT let the winter blues come to roost in your rain forest home****

Oh well……
Thanksgiving in two weeks. Ever since the Smiths moved, our annual love of being their family’s adopted guests at Thanksgiving went away…. This year, we will be joining up with cousin Nancy M with her kids, grankids, and the husband/son/partner of our dear cousin Nancy P, whom we lost last May. This will be a great time together, and we’re looking forward to it. **After being guests at other homes, WE have almost ALWAYS cooked a turkey on our own anyway —-don’t you have to have some Turkey leftovers in your fridge for a few days? —- but so far this year, haven’t purchased that little item to make that “spare” meal in memory of family holidays past.

Now, on into the kitchen…..what’ll we make for breakfast to send Stan & Mary on a hearty farewell back to northern Idaho? Some light fluffy buttermilk pancakes? Eggs Benedict? Methinks it’s gonna be some oatmeal.

Yes, we noted the garden was being put to bed a couple weeks ago………. it’s a process………… Fencing’s put away, stakes, cages all put away. The FIRST pile lawn CLIPPINGS have been spread on the top (and there’ll be a few more as the leaves fall)……….

And, the BIG JOB has been the murdering (I always hate to cut down a big old tree) of the last tree we think we’ll have to remove….we wanted them ALL done this year so we can start NEW trees that should be lookin quite perfect by the time we will sell and get to a smaller place….. 8 – 10 years……. hopefully. The FINAL TREE the last two days (and two more to finish) is the big tangled WALNUT in back. We’ve had to cut it back several times from the house, and it just allowed TOO much shade in the back. That means: Moss, mold in too many places. It’s cut, chopped, and piled almost………..that I’ll have to finish soon.

BUT: The GARDEN? What could possibly be LEFT to do? ( I JUST BARELY yesterday finished the last of those fabulous little Russian tomatoes….that flavor held up all the way through…. now, we wait another 9 months for some more)…………..

The fennel plant was getting too heavy / wet to think it would finish curing outdoors, so it was harvested and brought in to dry along with several branches of bay leaf (Bay Laurel) that were pruned from the plant….this was all about 2 weeks ago:

Today I finally cleaned up that harvest, the fennel seed is packed, and ONE bottle already has been selected….it gets a trip to California for Christmas:

The bay leaf is still finishing, and will be ready in about a week:

I am about ready to clean up and store the green onion seed:

The leek blossom is still drying, but I’ll eventually have Leek seeds for spring:

In the last post, a cilantro plant was drying out near the wood shed…..that got enough “curing” to trim and be brought in. It dried quickly and is ready to pack and wait for spring planting:

I harvested MORE Sunflower blooms, and since they were also getting too damp, I am finishing some of them in the oven today:

SO. Now, I can finally say, the garden work is done other than covering it with mulch in the next 4 weeks.

ON TO plans and schemes that may involve actual yard design work……Rodger’s excited about that…… a little well placed fencing, deck replacement, helping the OLD tool shed become part greenhouse, stripping carpets in the old L/R and replacing with wooden flooring to convert it to a dining room, and on and on……that guy has NO end to imagination…… I’ll be contacting our budget office about how soon some of it gets done, hah.

I’m staring out the window at a very dark gray damp afternoon. Sigh.

With incoming rain forecast all next week, temps dropping to 40′s, there’s nothing that will keep the last of the tomato fruits healthy. The garden was picked the last two days….and cleanup of the space has begun for the season end. It’s been with mixed feelings I’ve been out there beginning the space clean up, putting away tools, cages, etc. With the DEER Fence going away, deer will find the space in a week or two and help with the cleanup.

These super ripe tomatoes have been in the kitchen for a few days awaiting disposition, and I’m finally noting my “ripe summer tomato” craving finally getting its fill:

These two little tomato groups have been picked in the last two days, and are far enough along, that they should ripen okay in the next several days:

Some of the big sunflowers collapsed with the last rain/windy event, so SOME are now cut and drying in the living room. THEY will become bird food:

The cilantro plant going To seed had been pulled 2-3 weeks ago, and here it is awaiting my cleaning it. The seeds are READY for storage for 2012 planting:

Peppers are now drying and ripening in the garage:

Cayenne:

**and there are 3 Habaneros also hanging in the same place.

Here’s part of dismantling a summer garden….the deer fence is down, rolled and ready…. the tomato cages are slowly being reclaimed for storage:

That leaves the garden exposed (fuzzy pic):

The north end almost bare:

BUT…..a FEW things are still there. The Fennel Seed is hoping for another 3-4 weeks to get ready for harvest:

MAC hopes the carrots will be kept right here to be selected one at a time for HIM only:

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And THAT brings us to the canning event of the summer…… OUR home tomatoes are best enjoyed sliced, lightly salted, and devoured. For pasta, Romas are the best….and Rodger wanted some for winter. We picked up a big box at Sauvie Island and spent a day on that……… We have had what we thought was only a “fruit” mill that separated most of the pulp from the seed…. Rodger saw the SAME machine (for a lot more money) in one of the big catalogs but called a Tomato Press. WELL! We pulled that out and saved ourselves LOTS of SLOW work getting the ‘maters peeled, and ready for the stove:

Yes, it was a beautiful thing to watch. After a couple run throughs of that little machine, the sauce looked beautiful:

It filled this stockpot, but 2-3 hours later was down to this:

After cooling, into the containers it went and is now beautifully frozen for one of the finest Tomato Pasta Sauces I’ve ever enjoyed:

Obviously, we’ve accepted that summer’s over. NOW back to getting rid of this cold I seem to have picked up from Rodger, who, it appears picked up at the Further Show last weekend in Eugene. Ah, to be human!

Awakening to foggy morning, dark later, cooler days, shorter light spans, the garden is doomed. Until then, however, busy busy busy, yes, like the ant and the grasshopper! I wanted to save some of this 2011 Sept memory to see NEXT year late-summer ….. just in case THAT year’s harvest is a bust. Hah.

Some things are about done….The herb row for one (except for the fennel seeds that are JUST beginning to form:

***These will be harvested in about a month….dried slowly, and we’ll have a big supply ready*** Bruce and Kevin? Ready for your shipment? )
The Oregano (closest) has been harvested, dried, and is being used in salsa. Thyme awaits cutting for drying, and the celery will be around until November for kitchen use:

On the other end, things ARE looking perhaps a bit ragged now, but somewhere in this picture there are hundreds of hot peppers that, will either be used fresh, or when it gets some colder, will be cut and dried for use through the year:

***The cilantro in that pic IS going to seed….I’ll have enough out of that to keep us in the herb through next summer and beyond.

The NEW HARVEST BEGINNING TODAY? CORN! Here’s the Corn Chowder ready for supper tonight:

**and there’s a big bowl of sauteed fresh corn to add to that if one wants ……BODACIOUS corn! VERY Sweet.

There is ONE HUGE thing making the garden still look spectacular. SUNFLOWERS. It truly is a beautiful space right now….FULL of BEES everywhere. Here’s the big view:

Nice!

Things HAVE been coming along nicely……. the Sungolds will STILL be giving up those little golden gems for a couple weeks at least:

The Tomatillos will ALSO continue to ripen perhaps into the 1st of October, and I’ll probably have enough to make another double batch by Friday:

BUT….for The last 3-4 days, besides what we’ve eaten and given away, or taken to a dinner, THESE are ON the island awaiting some attention……. ***AND PLEASE, CLICK on the PICTURE…..You MUST see it in its FULL POSE!!!!****

**NOTE: Tomorrow nite, Rodger will make a fabulous “sauce” with some, and I’ll roast the others. Some of his sauce will be in the freezer with the roasted ones.

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Other than that we have FINALLY made SERIOUS progress about cleaning up the downed tree mess. Remember all those stump pieces in the yard:

Here’s that same view now:

Lookin’ better, but will need to re-seed the lawn in the fall:

Then, there were TWO rows of big branches to saw, split, move, and stack:
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NOW, there’s ONE left that will be gone by weekend:

Must post….. many other tasks of catch-up to do still……….. **NOTE here: Wednesday, weather appears to seriously be downgrading . .. not bad, but not good enough to ripen tomatoes further….. Must plan on freezing corn next.

So, it’s 90 outside for the 2nd day in a row, and four more to go. A month ago I “knew” we wouldn’t ever get ripe corn this year. And, as always, you can NEVER KNOW in Portland what kind of summer you’re gonna have…..

Yesterday’s Harvest:

Those Tomatillos were combined with some picked a bit earlier and TWO batches of Tomatillo Salsa were made. Here’s a bit of the work…you clean/cut/chop the tomatillos to measure just HOW much you’ll have, and then you can cut/chop the rest of the ingredients to match what you need.

Garlics….about 6-8 in each batch:

Onions: about 4 cups in each batch get pulsed in the blender:

Seasonings:

*Oregano – our own from this years garden…recently finished drying
***that little container holds: DRIED Serranos from last year…..yes, a few of those flakes go into THIS year’s salsa…
*Cumin – no, can’t grow that here
*salt
*pepper
*lemon juice

All’s combined, brought to a boil, then slowed to a bitty simmer for 20 minutes, poured into the jars, and here we have the finish of yesterday’s salsa:

WHILE THAT was happening, I gathered some of the tomatoes laying around. Here gettin’ em ready to work:

CUT them in halves, coated them with a bit of Olive Oil, and placed into the roasting pan:

Into the oven at a low 300 for 2 1/2 hours, cooled, and soon they’re in little storage units for freezing….

But THAT’s not all…..won’t those roasted tomatoes need some pesto for that sauce? THE BASIL was READY for harvest!

We ONLY have two plants, but the Genovese variety truly holds on all summer, smells luscious, and here’s what I’m ready to clean and blend:

INTO the processor with a bit of lemon, olive oil, salt and soon the pesto is scooped onto the cookie sheet then frozen:

***Tomorrow morning, I’ll put the frozen nuggets into baggies and save ‘em for cold dark days. YUM.

WHAT a GREAT LATE SUMMER we’ve ended up with! MORE tomatoes tomorrow! (AND WATERING…..whew! this heat’s drying us up).

I missed the gathering a couple weeks ago of the cousins Workman and all their families…. High in the southern Blue Mountain Range of Eastern Oregon they were…. there to spread ashes of their beloved sister and our beloved 1st cousin Nancy P. My other beloved “Nancy”, Nancy Minor spent many summers with Nancy P (Workman) either in Vale or up in the forested logging country of Bates…….

Nancy is here with us, and Nancy Minor, all of us pickling…..She is wearing the earrings.

She wrote this poetic tribute about nancy and recited it at the gathering:
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To Nancy

Ichiro is slumping this year.
In Seattle, Spring struck out completely.
Summer balked on delivery until nearly August.
You would have been furious with all of them.
I can see you now,pacing the room,
gesturing at the television, venting your disgust.
“We need a new manager,” you’d say.

But Nancy, remember when Jr. came back in 2009?
Remember the joy he brought?
How he made Ichiro laugh?
How he made them a team again?
How he brought the mojo with him?

You took our mojo, Nancy, and
this whole damn team’s in a slump.
The pickles needed extra peppers.
The flowers needed to be reminded to bloom.
Your sisters pick up the phone to call, then choke on the memory.
Your brothers listen for a voice
they will no longer hear.
Bruce and J must relearn how to live
in a world without you in it.

But it’s August now.
The Mariners have always slumped
in August
And every August you looked ahead.
“Wait ‘til next year,” you would say.
Grief, too, has a season.
Somehow time softens the ragged edges
like an alchemist turning lead into gold,
and pain becomes remembering.

Till then we’ll wait, Nancy,
and hold one another in this
quiet meadow,
and remember:
How you made us laugh
How you knitted this team together
How you brought the mojo with you.

I can hear you yelling now,
“Get your heads back in the game!”
Oh, Nancy, we will.
Just not right now, not today.
Wait ‘til next year.

–Nancy Minor

I SO wish I could write as beautifully as Nancy and Elissa. We sure miss our cousin.