On Our Way to Oregon

This morning as we were getting ready to leave the Mountain Home, Idaho KOA, this critter showed up to bid us "Good "Morning!" We've been debating whether it was a Hairy Woodpecker or a Downy Woodpecker...

We've pretty much settled on it being a Hairy based on the straight line of its eye line black and the lack of bars on the outer tail feathers...

We drove a bit longer then we generally like to today in order to get as far as Pendleton, Oregon. We are at the Wild Horse Casino RV Park for the next two nights. We're planning to leave Auntie Violet here and take Toad II over the hill and the Washington border and pay a quick visit to Sister Sherry (we'd hoped to see Sister Dena as well, but sounds like she's not feeling well ;-( ) and the puppies at the Touchet farm.

We had been thinking we were going to go over to the Buffet at Wild Horse Casino for an anniversary dinner, but after the long drive today, we just decided to stay home and watch the baseball game. It is hard to believe that it's been 54 years together!

Meanwhile, Back to the Ranch...

After we did chores this morning -- fed the chickens and let them out, fed the llamas and the horses, and made sure the dogs were fed their morning bones -- we sat down for Dutch Babies (a raised baked pancake that is a favorite of our whole family) with fresh raspberries and blueberries. I had a last visit with my Sis and last hugs with the dogs and then loaded all my stuff back into Toad II to get ready to leave.

The weather forecast had told of strong wind gusts today and it was right on. Any of the dry leaves on the trees were gone and there were lots of branches down as well. The wind gusts made it tough to open and close the farm gate. It took both Sherry and I to get it shut again after I drove through.

I drove over to Touchet to get gas. That short stretch of road from the farm to Touchet was sort of tough driving what with all of the gusts, but after that it wasn't too bad.

I got back to the ranch about 2:30 this afternoon. It was very good to see Auntie Violet and even better to see Forry!

Journey to Touchet

This morning I packed my suitcase and my computer; loaded up assorted items I had picked up during the last year's travels; and fixed a bag with various groceries and headed for Touchet to spend a few days with my sister. As I drove down Highway 395, I realized that in all the years my sister had lived near Touchet, I had never driven there by myself!

I guess I have gotten rather lazy about driving. It is so easy to let Forry be my chauffeur. He likes to drive and it's not really my favorite thing to do, so it's just easy to let him drive. I'd much rather be checking in on Facebook or reading my Kindle or just watching the scenery as we go. It was actually a very pleasant drive. Toad II handles the road well and the Suzuki is very comfortable. I had bought some of Sherry Farmer's CDs last week, so I listened to them most of the way down.

One of the fun things about being at Sister Sherry's is cooking with her. My Brother Pat and his sons and his Brother-in-law Gary and his sons were going to be here for supper (deer hunting season starts tomorrow), so she had already made bread pudding and pumpkin bars. We ended up making hard sauce for the bread pudding and frosting for the bars. Then put a ham in the oven and made some scalloped potatoes (Patrick brought fresh potatoes from his garden).

It was fun to see the young men that Pat and Gary's sons have turned into. Nephew Nick went back to Walla Walla for the night (he'd already gotten his deer during the black-powder hunt.), but Nephew Jared and his cousins Matt and Mike are staying here along with their dads. They are planning to be out in the field by 6 AM, so they headed for bed quite early.

I had bought the largest collar they had at Margaritaville for my favorite mastiff Deacon, but it just barely fits. He is four years old now and though he's no taller, he's gotten much more massive through his chest and shoulders. I'll take some pictures tomorrow.

Back to Touchet...

After a wonderful inspiring worship service this morning, we headed back across the Blue Mountains into Washington and back to Sister Sherry's Touchet farm. The vet was out yesterday and gave Deacon a couple of antibiotic shots -- he was a changed dog today! He met us at the gate and was more his normal playful self. It was good to see him feeling better.



I've go an early conference call tomorrow morning; Forry needs to put a belt on Sherry's lawn mower; then we'll head back to Ritzville area and our ranch.

Off to Touchet!

This afternoon we drove down to Touchet, Washington to spend a couple of days with my Sister Sherry on our way to Nampa, Idaho for the Pacific NW Mennonite Conference Annual Meeting.

(Pronunciation: Two She by the locals; Touch It at the state basketball tournaments by the radio announcers; and of course, Two Shay by the Francophiles.)

Sherry has two mastiffs (one is just an 8 month old puppy) Deacon and Corinth; a Great Pyrenees sheep dog (Peekaboo) and a stray black dog (Maggie). Plus all of the assorted critters that share her ranch with her -- draft horses, miniature donkeys, miniature horses, geese, ducks, guinea hens, pea fowl, banty hens and lots of cats. Tomorrow I will try to get some pictures -- at least of the puppies.

Yesterday Forry spotted an interesting looking flower out in the flat when he was looking at birds. He wasn't sure what it was, so we walked out to take a look.

The blue is a bit washed out in the bright sun, but with the five petals and the color, I am pretty sure it is a variety of flax. There were several patches of it out in the flat.