It's different here

It has been really different trying to get used to the idea of planning my internet time.  On the other hand, it's very pleasant sitting under the roofed picnic area, looking across the shaded grass to the Thompson Falls dam and little island populated by Canada geese and a swan.  It's hard to ignore a large white bird twice the size of the geese.

 

 

And talk about a bumper crop of Canada geese - we saw these adults shepherding a gaggle of goslings across a back street to the water

Each trip to town we carry the computer so we can check out email, pay bills, do a little research, and so on.  So far, we get back to the "rancho" only to realize there was one more thing (at least) that we meant to do online.  It hasn't yet been anything major or serious, but it is a bit frustrating.

It's been hot here - in the mid 90s with medium to high humidity, so it feels hotter than it is.  And being from Grand Lake, it feels worse because we're not used to the 90s and 100s (we'll see some of that later this summer).  But, it really cools down at night.  We got from air conditioning & fans during the day to blankets and sometimes heat in the early morning hours before the sun starts warming things up again.

And the days are really long.  While it isn't really daylight at 5 in the morning, it is light enough outside to distinguish details, and when we go to bed at 10 or 10:30 it's still fairly light out.  It sort of reminds me of the trip to Anchorage several years ago.

We've got a little bit of gardening started, some lettuce, green onions, radishes, zucchini and tomatoes, and I've put some herbs in a window box on the porch rail. 

To give you an idea of the country around here, these photos were taken between Thompson Falls and the "rancho"

 

 

 

 

So, that's it for now.

 

Stay tuned!

Bye Bye Dandelions

A week or two ago, on Facebook I saw a recipe for "weed be gone".  After a while I looked it up for additional information, then tried it.

The recipe was:
1 gallon vinegar
2 cups Epsom salts
1/4 cup Dawn (original blue formula)

I worked out a 2-cup reduced size recipe for use in a regular hand spray bottle (like window cleaner, etc.)
2 cups vinegar
1/4 cup Epsom salts
1/2 teaspoon Dawn

I went out yesterday morning while the sun was out for a change.  I squirted all the dandelions I could with what I'd mixed.  Within 2-3 hours it started to rain & snow again.  So, I figured it wouldn't have a chance to do much of anything.  This morning, Tom told me it had worked.

This afternoon I got a gallon of vinegar and mixed up a bigger batch for the garden sprayer (1-gallon capacity).  I had just finished mixing it, stepped out on the deck to pump it up and the rain & hail started again.  Once it let up I sprayed every dandelion I could, until I ran out.  I'm hoping the next squall will hold off long enough for the stuff to work.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Here are a couple of the ones I sprayed yesterday morning.