Planting & Planting & Planting!

Most every day this week has been gray.  Cloudy & gray & cool.  I've been working in the timber.  Raking the ground clutter, broken glass pieces & picking up wind blown pieces of brittle plastic from a neighbor's green house.  My goal, was to get all this done before things started growing.  Tuesday, I received a text from my friend & neighbor Clara, asking if I'd like to help dig up plant starts?

My starts!

 I wasn't quite ready, but I couldn't turn down such a super offer!  Clara had already been doing a lot of digging, I helped with the bigger root balls.  I brought home two wheel barrows full of plants!  I started planting Tue., then spent the day Wed. planting the rest & watering them in.  Thursday, Clara called again & I brought home another full barrow!  Several varieties of hosta's, sedums, bleeding hearts, other various flowers & a few bulbs too.  My saw-zaw is an excellent tool for cutting through those root balls like butter!  Much easier than the butcher knife!

SW toward the creek~

By late in the day Thursday, the sun appeared.  It was sudden!  From slate gray & heavy clouds, to sunshine & blue skies within minutes!

Looking down the hill from the Cabin~

With all the honeysuckle below now gone, I can hardly wait to see what this year will bring.  I've planted hosta's around almost all of the trees.  A new variety of Rhododendron - is now planted along the creek trail.

4-15-2019 Last year - 

 I was digging in the hillside behind the cabin to make room for more sedums & hosta's.  It's on a steep little hill & I was digging deep when I saw something green.  A little Avon frog decanter from the 70's! 

My find!

 I still plan to visit the county to see what photos they might have of the two manufactured homes previously on the Cabin property.  Neighbors tell me they were in total disrepair.  Whatever contractor did the work, just bulldozed debris down the convenient hillside & semi-buried it with dirt.  I did get three big pieces of rusted metal sheeting dug out!  The ground is still so soft.

Sun to the west~

It's been 22-years, since we'd hosted our walk in the Homestead Woods.  The land there had been pristine, no trash & no one had ever lived in those woods.  Removing invasive's was the biggest task.

Butch came home & we sat out on the swing enjoying the incredibly beautiful afternoon.  Our days are lengthening!  With clear skies, sunset is after seven p.m.  I've found this timbered area more challenging, but it's also given me the opportunity to learn what it takes - here - to make a woodland garden~

Thanksgiving - Washington to Iowa~

It was 2015 & our last Thanksgiving on the Homestead.  We still had no idea that we'd be making changes - anytime soon - or that it would be our last there...  We all know though - how quickly things can change.  When the holiday's roll around - I have those times when I miss so much - being closer to the kids & grandkids.   I even miss the soggy wet days occasionally. 

11-15-2025 The Cottage~

Now, I won't miss the Cottage as much, since we have the Cabin!  Most of our friends think we're a little strange now.  Why would we want to be out there - when we have a nice warm house?  I have no explanation - except to say it's what we've always done.  I'm happy we made the decision to place it closer to the house on cold nights!

11-15-15 From the Cottage porch - south

  The view above, from the Cottage porch, was after 25-years of clearing, cleaning & planting.  The Cabin view will be different too; we're adding a sliding door.

From the Cabin - south

I worked to clean up the west edge of the timber last year, taking out dead limbs, trash, grape & Greenbriar vines.  My plan is to improve this view too.

Main trail Inland Isle Ave.

I'm working on trails again.  We were so lucky to find a place in town, tucked away in a corner where I can still work in the woods. There we had woods - here a treed lot is usually - timber.

Main trail 11-21-18

 It took a while to figure out where I wanted the trail to start, but it was a logical place.  It works fine, just behind where we put the Cabin.  As the photo shows, there's plenty of trash to be hauled away.

Merlin's Grove

The green glass gazing ball has found a new home.  Surrounded by marigolds in the summer, rather than Western Red Cedars.  I do miss the ferns though!  Finding a ground cover that works in the Timber will be a challenge, let alone getting it started.

The following  three photos were taken 2015 - Thanksgiving in WA~

Three Fingers Peak

 The view from behind the barn of Three Fingers was always changeable.  Friends used to say we should have built a house up here rather than the barn.  I always wanted to climb at least part way up this peak.

11-26-2015 Farah in her pasture~

Farah...  I hope Renee gives her extra carrots!  I'm so pleased she's comfortable & well cared for.  February can't come fast enough!

11-26-2015 Cassidy, Ben & Mason!

The best part of our Thanksgiving Day, any day for that matter, was when the girls' & their families drove in the gate!  Ben was up from Oregon visiting his dad, stepmother & sister Madi.  He came for dinner & to spend time with his cousins Cassidy & Mason.  These first three were so close in age with Ben born in 2000, Mason 2001 & Cassidy 2003.

11-18-18 - Skyla & Josie on their new trail!

 I was thrilled when Jentry sent photos of our two youngest Granddaughters working on a trail through their own woods!  Skyla was born in 2011 & Josie 2012!   All the kids are growing so fast! Faster, since it's now longer between visits.
Wishing you a Thanksgiving filled with family, friends & fellowship!

In The Sun~

Crossing the Long Bridge~

Our weather presented us with an unusual two days of gray - yesterday being a day so reminiscent of western Washington - I mentioned it to several friends.  The weather report did not disappoint though & today was a dazzler.  When I went to pick Farah up, the hill in her run was so slippery we both about fell.

Farah's favorite place along the trail~

If Waubonsie had been my only choice, I'm sure the trails there would have either been closed, or too slick to ride.  Wednesday's are the day the gun range at Pierce Creek is open, no fun going there.  Again, I was thankful we've discovered the Wabash.  Less than half the drive for double the saddle time, works for us.

Interesting~

I'll be sending in my check so I can attach a trail pass to my saddle...  I have to wonder if the mountain bike riders who are also allowed to use the horse trail have to do the same?  Are these fees in addition to the $1. per day or $12. for the annual pass posted on the sign at the trail-head? 

Through the invasive Honeysuckle bushes~

Even if it's Honeysuckle, it reminds me just a little of our old Washington trails where the Salmonberry grew thick & green along side.  The Honeysuckle seems to withstand the freezing nighttime temperatures better than most of the other shrubs.

Last of the Oak leaves in the Timber~

We have about two-miles of traffic noise to get to the 3+ miles of relative quiet.  Our favorite section is through the Timber.  One of my bucket list goals is to visit the some of the remaining stands of Timber in the Midwest. 

About the last mile to Margaretville is actually- almost - just - the pure sound of the countryside.  Quiet, even here - is something difficult to come by.  Having said that, we still enjoy a level of quiet I hadn't appreciated enough our first years on the Homestead.

That it is!

No one was around when we arrived for our lunch break.  I'd let Farah graze several times on the way down.  At most road crossings there's tall green grass & of course we spend time both on our way south & back north at the grassy field.

My good mare at the hitching post~

I walked back a way to check out the trail, too heavily overgrown to go any further, but Butch & I did some exploring last Sunday.  Butch is the one who said;  "If there's a hitching post here, then horses must have been able to access the trail further south."

Farah on-high~

We both have always loved high spots.  Here, high spots are at a premium.  Who can complain about territorial views like these?

Us~

The variety of the leaves on the ground only reinforce the variety of the trees in the Timber.  The oak, maple & others I've yet to recognize.  The sun is on our right side on our way out & at the end of the afternoon, on our left coming back.  Someone tossed in a couple good bucks today!  The wind was pretty fierce when we were returning.  An occasional hard gust put us both a little on edge.  Hearing the trees groan & creak is interesting too :-)

On the final leg~

Butch has promised me new shocks on the Bronco.  That will make a drive southeast to Pierce Creek much more pleasant.  I have to hope the weather holds for more riding, as the sun sets a little earlier each day.  Both daylight & temperatures in the low 50's will come at a premium, soon I'm sure!