Planting the Corrals

Yes, it's too early for annuals, perennials, veggies, herbs (tho my bulbs are coming up), but apparently it's too late to plant pasture seed in our corrals, about an acre each (I had pictures but for some reason, cannot retrieve them). 
Ted has a tractor, but it's too darned slow.  So we rented a seed spreader and hooked it up to the ATV which is pretty darned fast, and planted both corrals in about one hour.  It was a real blast!  Flying around the property, bouncing around, throwing seed this way and that!    Then we dragged the harrow to cover the seed a bit (and for this I do have pics) and called each other Farmer Ted and Farmer Carolyn.

Now the folks at the seed company told us we were too late to plant, that we should have planted between November and February (when the ground was frozen - huh?).  But since it started to snow on us before we finished, I turned to my beloved and said, "Well, for all this seed knows, it IS November" and we came inside for a coffee and brandy.
Well done.

Spring? Are you kidding?

It's spring again, the birds' on the wing again....  Baloney. Cole Porter has never lived in Central Oregon.
We moved here just about a year ago, and what the weather is doing to us now is the same thing I remember the weather doing in April of last year - snizzling.  That's a combination of snow and drizzle (thanks, Sue). 
I went for a walk around the "big loop" today with my neighbors and friends, and it snizzled on us the entire hour it took us to do the 3.8 mile loop.  Not that cold (not now that I'm acclimated, anyway) but wet.  Nasty.  My friends who came from western Oregon have taught me that if you don't go out in the cold and wet, then you don't get out at all in the "spring."  Just a week ago I wouldn't go out for a walk if it was under 40, and yesterday I was out in 28F.  It's that or stay inside doing the most outrageous things out of boredom.  Like ironing my linens, for the love of god....
Never will I forget going for my first pedicure in Oregon, on May 5, and watching it snow as I approached the salon in flip flops, thinking What.  The.  Hell.  I could have put that pedicure off for another two months.   Wiser this year.
On a happier note, planning with Daniel (he of the kick-my-ass-word game fame) and with Bill for the family summer get-together and rafting trip.  Last year we all got together shortly after Ted and I moved up here, and I thought it was wonderful having nine extra people in the house (and believe me, no one who knew me as a professional would think I would ever go for that), and I can hardly wait to see them all here again, cooking fabulous meals, seeing things, going places, hanging out at the house/acreage. 
My only concern is that in early June, it may still be cold.
It may still snizzle.
Fo' shizzle.

Once Upon A Time...

...a baby girl was born.

And, as babies do, she began to grow....

...and learn and discover things she liked and things she loved.  This little girl liked to dress up for Halloween,

...and perform at Christmas.

While she might not remember it, she also liked dolphins,

black sand beaches in Hawaii,

and wedding cake.

This little girl also loved her family.  She loved to help her grandma with maps

and on the swingset.

She loved her Papa

and her Nanny,

and of course, her baby sister.

But a funny thing happened to this little girl, and it happened almost overnight.  She grew up!!

One day it seems I woke up and she wasn't such a little girl anymore!

Anyway.
That little girl is my granddaughter Megan, and she and her boyfriend Emil just spent their spring break with us, which made us so happy.

They left this morning, which made us so sad, but we'll see them again this summer.  Love to you both, sweethearts!

Location, Location, Location

True in real estate, yes, but in gardening probably more so.  As cold as the evening gets here, I can plant something that wouldn't otherwise do well in, say, a southwestern location, a microclimate on our property.  Then there are the wonderful season extenders available, like Walls o Water (probably trademarked), row cover, etc., etc., which I will be employing for tomatoes this season.

True also for indoor plants.  I find here that I can't leave plants on windowsills because even though our home is well insulated, it still gets too cold for plants to be left near the windows.  Basil and thyme especially prefer to be further away from windows when indoors.

True for chicks.  I moved ours from the laundry room to the mechanical room in the garage, because I figured when the heater kicks on it will just add to the toasty atmosphere created by their little heat lamp, until they feather out and can move into the coop.  There was no where else outside the house where they could be kept warm enough, and when I checked on them this morning, they were at the just-right temp of 85 degrees.

True, finally, for word games.  I recently got handed a 50+ score for the placement of one tiny "X".  Curse you, Daniel!!

Growing Season

One of my biggest adjustments to living here has been the seriously shortened growing season.  Granted, in Las Vegas it was difficult to grow things, but it could be done, and it could be done almost year-round.  Here, the growing season is about nine months, tops.  I can't event start seeds indoors until next month because I can't plant them outdoors until late June!  I've learned in the Master Gardener classes (ongoing here in Oregon - I had already certified in Las Vegas) that there have only been about seven days in the entire calendar where a freeze had not been recorded in Central Oregon. 

Yes, growing is a challenge here but that didn't stop me from ordering a ton of seed in January.  Zinnias, herbs, hollyhocks, veggies.  My family built a little green house for me when we first moved here so I'm just going to try everything and, like most things in life, learn from my mistakes.

Well, why not?

Today my niece Jessica started a family blog, which I thought was a wonderful idea.   Wonderful enough that I decided to copy her (sincerest form of flattery, Jess)!  This blog will be my way to share musings on our new lives here in Central Oregon, our love for each other and family, and the challenges (and delights) we experience being in a climate and area so different from the one we've spent most of our lives in.