Winter Sunshine

Winter Sunshine
Winter Sunshine in the Desert

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Summer Solstice

The longest day of the year, the shortest night, the beginning of summer, time to celebrate. I love to celebrate the turning of the seasons, the changing of the light. I ring bells at Winter Solstice, with that wonderful feeling that winter light will be lengthening and summer returning.  In the midst of the summer solstice is the thought that already the sun is turning away.  Strange thought when summer has only just begun to warm the forest here and the trees are only now fully leafing out. The weather on this first day of summer did not disappoint us, with the hottest temperatures of the year so far.  It was a gorgeous, crystal clear, beautiful, 80 plus degrees today, and I think I could see the tomatoes growing taller as I watched them.

the maple has leafed out all the way for the Solsticeclose enough to the house to make bringing out the food easyWe didn’t do a Solstice party, but we did have a bonfire last Sunday night. With the formal notification of the beginning of fire season, the last day for outdoor burning was June 20, so we invited the neighbors and built the last big outdoor fire of the season.  Wes and Gayle live most of the time in Arizona, relocated there after many years in Oregon.  Their place here is a lovely mountain homeGalye and Wes James come to Rocky Point for the summer from Arizona, just across the road from our house, and it’s nice when they return for the summer. They waited a bit this year because of our cool temperatures, so we were glad to see them come back in time for some neighborly visits before we leave for Alaska.  Of course, it’s also nice that they are here since Wes is our resident summer lawn mowing person  and house care-giver while we are gone. Wes has no grass to mow next door and seems to get a kick out of riding around on Mo’s mower.  At least that is what he says.  Personally, I just think he is a truly kind and generous neighbor! Gayle has treated us to many lovely meals, both here in Oregon and when we have visited them in Arizona in the winter.

I cleaned the tines first, really, they make a great hot dog cooker if they don't fall offWhen I invited them over, I said to come for hot dogs and a meal composed entirely of non-home-cooked food.  Most of the time I love to cook, but lately with the extra work weeks taking most of my time, not so much.  Our get-together was more about a chance to have a fire and enjoy the outdoors than it was about eating. We did have a good time, in spite of the store bought picnic, and the hot dogs roasted over the fire on a pitchfork hit the spot.  I even found humongous marshmallows, big as a fist, labeled appropriately “campfire marshmallows”. did you ever have to eat a sticky marshmallow with a fork and put it on a plate? I laughed so hard when we tried to eat them, they were HUGE and sticky and Gayle needed a fork and a plate to deal with just one.

In the past couple of weeks we had 7 cords of juniper delivered, huge rounds that Mo splits with the hydraulic splitter.  It’s a hard, hot, and nasty job, and this time she has avoided huge divots in her legs created by flying chunks of wood with the soccer shin guards I got her for Christmas. Mo does all the splitting and we share the stacking chores.  The loads come 3.5 cords at a time, and it took us three days to do the first load.  Today we DSC_0008started on the second. The juniper is reasonably priced firewood, but it is full of huge knots, one of the reasons it looks so beautiful in woodcrafts. Juniper is encroaching on the native grasslands in Oregon, and the juniper eradication program is making an attempt to take it back a notch.  The result is lots of big, dry juniper, needing a home for the winter.  We are happy to oblige.  I love it.  see that thing sitting in the chair? Wes is still slapping mosquitosIt crackles and snaps, not a problem in our enclosed stove, and it burns hot and long.  Mo loves it less, see previous entry regarding shin divots. Today she said something to the effect that we had enough juniper for a couple of years and next time we were going to order it split.  She thinks the cost of split wood might not be as much as a busted splitter.

Mo fed our campfire with some of the huge rounds that were impossible to split to a reasonable size. I brought out the fancy Thermocell mosquito repellent device, along with the Off Clip-On device and tried to keep the biting monsters at bay.  Wes was about ready to head back for Arizona, since even with the fire smoke and all the devices, the mosquitoes still were trying to have us for dinner.  Must have something to do with the nice days warming up and everything is hatching beautifully.

Maryruth visits (8)The weekend of the 12th was the big graduation weekend in Klamath, and town was filled to the brim with celebrants, including my niece Savannah.  My granddaughter Hillary will also be graduating in a few weeks from Klamath Union High School. Hard to believe that little baby girl is through with high school.

On Friday, the 10th, my friend Maryruth ( we are getting close to 50 years of friendship) and her husband, son, and daughter-in-law returned from an Albany graduation via Rocky Point.  Mo and I turned over the big house bedrooms to them and spent the night in the guest cabin with Abby and Jeremy.  It was a great way to be sure that the cat didn’t do his friendly cat thing and scratch at the guest room door till they opened it and purr all night on Maryruth’s chest. The cabin is a real treat, with morning sunlight and a warm little wood stove for the night chill.

Maryruth visits (28)I cooked a real supper for them, no store bought stuff this time, plank grilled salmon with lemon hollandaise, fresh asparagus, and salad from our greenhouse garden.  I even made an old fashioned apple dump cake for dessert.  Yum.

One of the great old traditions of Rocky Point are the amazing little steamboats that come here every year. Not your average big boat, but beautifully built little water crafts that are operated by true wood-fired steam engines. We heard the toots from the house and decided we definitely needed to run down to the lake to check them out. We also wanted to check out the newly remodeled resort.  Rumor had it that there was a new bar adjacent to the existing restaurant, so we were happy to find out the rumor was correct. After walking along the dock to admire the steamboats, we enjoyed the beautiful view of Pelican Bay from the restaurant for just the price of a round of drinks. It’s wonderful to have friends stop in and visit. It’s also nice to have a special little place close by to have a nice dinner with a gorgeous view.  Note to self: dinner at Rocky Point Resort soon!

Maryruth visits (29)

 

14 comments:

  1. Good thing the days are long ... you guys need it with all that wood to split and stack. Not sure when you're getting on the road to AK, but since we leave on vacation a week from Thursday, I'll wish you safe travels now. Looking forward to reading your posts.

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  2. Good friends, hotdogs, a campfire, and really neat steamboats. Life is good isn’t it?! That little steamboat sure is attractive and very interesting.

    John
    relaxedrush.blogspot.com
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  3. I think I would be ordering all that Juniper wood split as well. I'm thinking that wood might have a nice aroma to it while burning. I have always wanted a nice little wood burning fireplace or stove. Just something about burning wood indoors that is very cozy, homey & special. With little potpouri simmering on the stove, some nice music & a good book, how does it get any better than that eh:))

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  4. Sounds like life is grand in Rocky Point! Except for the mosquitos, of course. How did the Off anti-mosquito thing work for you? We bought one at Costco, but when I read all the cautions on the back, I got scared and returned it. They sure don't mention on the TV ads that you aren't supposed to breathe it!! How they heck can you avoid breathing it if you are surrounded by it???

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  5. Answering Laurie: The Off Clip-on's work really great if you are sitting still. I use them when I am weeding, hanging one from my belt or even my shirt. I am old enough that the amount I will breathe won't kill me before I die of natural causes. The mosquitoes will definitely kill me before the Off thingy kills me! I haven't noticed even any fumes when using it, an it doesn't melt plastic or polyester the way that DEET does in a spray. I think it's much safer than sprays. Go get one again, Laurie.

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  6. That sure is a lot of wood to split and stack. Looks like you've made a great start to summer.

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  7. What a job, splitting all that wood. I think I'd order it already split, too.
    You live in such a beautiful area - I love the big fire you had. Should have made s'mores with those huge marshmallows. One would have been enough.

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  8. I really believe you need to make a book out of your blog. I totally get involved with it, and want it to just keep going. You have a real nack for it, and I am sure it would sell. Stay safe.

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  9. nothing like those big honkin' marshmallows toasted over a campfire!!!

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  10. We cut our fire wood from trees that have fallen on our property. Sometimes it is very hard to get up to the house, but we do it. Right now there are two trees down that will be easy to harvest. We usually go thru about three cords a year.

    Wood gathering will come later in the summer for us.

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  11. What a nice fire! That's even bigger than the ones I usually make.

    I graduated from KUHS om 1964. Yes, that does seem like a long time ago. I went on to Oregon State University, and got my BS degree there. Since I was full of it, I went into banking.

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  12. Had to laugh at the hot dogs on the pitchfork...that's one way to do it! Sure enjoyed the post and am so looking forward to your Alaska posts.

    What is the other mosquito thingy you mentioned? I have the clip on but need something that might help protect more than one person at a time.

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  13. Looks like a great, comfy, fun campfire! Love it!
    Nina

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  14. Great post! I love those huge marshmellows. I serve them with a wash cloth!

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