A Trip to MOHAI and Ballard

We got the chores done quickly this morning and headed to Seattle.  We met up with my dad and Mo to check out the Kickstands Up! 125 Years of Motorcycling in the PNW at MOHAI.  It ends April 26 so I would suggest you see it if you can.  Here are the motorcycles that I liked.

There was this amazing story of Gladys Dawson Buroker.  She has an autobiography that I may try to find.

Then there was the story of Slim Williams and John Logan on their trip to Alaska on motorcycle before there was a road.  It look like you can view their movies on You Tube.  I do mean to check them out.

More motorcycles:

They had a tribute to movies about the rebellious side of motorcycles.  They had video clips of the Rainier Beer commercial and On Any Sunday which we enjoyed.

More motorcycles:

This police bike is not all that different than my bike.

Then we headed to Ballard.  This is us going over the Ballard Bridge. It has been a while since I have been on this bridge.

We went to King’s Hardware.  It is a bar that Mo’s granddaughter manages.  We had very tasty lunches there.  Unfortunately for us (not for her) it was her day off, but we enjoyed our visit.

Mo and I did have cocktails called No Ice that were really good.  Proceeds are going to families affected by ICE and the organizations that support them.

The Ballard Farmers Market was happening outside so we checked it out.  There were quite a few Skagit farms represented there which was nice to see.

We stopped by Scandinavian Specialties store in Ballard for reasons you will find out about next weekend then we headed home.  En route back home we stopped at Acacia Memorial Park.  I brought some of our forsythia and decorated the graves of my great grandparents in the mausoleum and my gramma in the cemetery.  I know my Gramma liked forsythia.  I didn’t know my great-grandparents (although I did meet my great grandfather before he died ) so cannot comment on their fondness for it.  But it’s a Swedish color so I thought it was appropriate.

Posted in History, Trips | 2 Comments

Rainy Farm and Fibers

On Monday I took pity on the cows out in the nasty rainy weather.  I moved them into the barn, and Sonja quickly laid down on the hay I was trying to feed her.  I think she appreciated the comforts of the barn.

I also noticed that Summer’s udder and teats seem to be filling up a little.  It was hard to get a photo though.

That evening I caught both cats on the table with Tom.  They are never on the same piece of furniture.  Wally was leaving though as I took the photo.

Since I had to work St. Patrick’s Day, I made my Irish themed dinner on Monday.  It was a Guinness Pie.  And it was amazing!  I will definitely make this again.  Better than Corned Beef and Cabbage, for sure.

When I resumed farming after 2 days of work, the rain gauge told me the story.  It has been raining a lot.

But I didn’t need the gauge to tell me this.  Here is our vegetable garden.  It will be a while before planting at this rate.  Usually I try to get the peas in the ground on St. Patrick’s Day.  Not this year.

The sheep seem to appreciate the hay barn that I made into a sheep shelter.  So far it hasn’t flooded inside this year.  I am hoping it stays that way.

A row of sandbags is still in front of the main barn.  They are starting to sprout which is something I haven’t seen before.

In the barn I noticed that Cocky-Locky (check out video starting at 15:00) is starting to get some white feathers.  I did not expect that, but I like it.

So I went to check out Lake Brad across the road.  It is quite full.

But I noticed that it is draining into the ditch across the road from our house further adding to its burden.

And that ditch is combining with the ditch coming from the east further adding to the burden.  Just grateful that the culverts and ditches are flowing with the tremendous amount of rainwater they are dealing with.

On a more positive note, there are signs of spring, in addition to the fact that the rain is. little warmer than in winter.  The forsythia is blooming nicely.

The magnolia buds are developing, and some are almost blooming.

The irises I planted by Shorty’s grave are blooming, but it looks like someone is eating them.  I suspect rabbits.

The camellia my mother suggested I plant is blooming for the first time!

Back to the mud.  Here is the donkey pen.  It is a sad mess.  I am trying to keep their shelter reasonable for them.

Because the cows are in the barn now, the goats are relegated to a pen in the barn.  But it is warm and dry.  They do not go outside much anyway.  They are weather wimps.

Yesterday we headed north to go to the funeral of a cousin of Tom’s. The Nooksack is high, flowing hard, and large amounts of debris is evident.  It took us 2 hours to go to Ferndale with I-5 northbound being closed by landslides.

On the way home we were able to see the traffic backup northbound due to the closure.  It stretched for miles.

Today the cows are still content in the barn.  They really do appear to be enjoying it.

Here is the sun rising beyond the sheep.  The grass was glistening with the sunlight which was really pretty.  Of course, the sheep are pretty too.

Henny Penny was pretty in the morning sun too, although the photo doesn’t do it justice.

I got up early to do the chores because there was a weaving sale on Samish Island near us.  The seller’s mother in law had died, and she was weaver.  I thought I showed some restraint but did purchased yarns, mostly flax cones that I can use for warp on my loom.  There is a cone of woolen yarn and a skein of red wool yarn for knitting.  The yard stick is really cool.

The zoom spinning group I have been involved with has started up again which has been amazing.  Plus it is at a different time that means I can spin in it for longer.  I got some plying done this week with 3 skeins from my long deceased sheep to show for my efforts.

In other fiber news, this came across my Facebook feed recently.  I would love to have one of these dragons.  (I hope this isn’t A.I.)

Jeanne had asked me for a photo of the bracelet that Piper had made for me.  I sent it to her but thought I would share it here.  It is adorable.

I finished another book thanks to listening to audiobooks in the car.  I signed up for Everand and finished this book that has been popular in knitting social media groups.  It is fiction which is not my usual jam.  But I enjoyed it.

Finally, in huge news, I purchased a new lap top!  My old one died, and I wasn’t going to get another.  I even looked into getting a iPad, but I would need a keyboard.  But then Apple announced they were coming out with the MacBook Neo for a better price.  It is less than the iPad with keyboard I was looking at.  I am happily typing on it right now.  So happy with it so far!

Posted in Farm, NYT Cooking recipe | 5 Comments

Baby Fish and Grandkids Visit

My loom still is a cat sleeping spot while the Paralympics happened.  But I really enjoyed watching the athletes are their amazing abilities during the games, even though I couldn’t weave.

I figured out that I think the hen that was eaten by the bald eagle is a New Hampshire that looks like this one that we still have.  Unfortunately I think it was the mate to Bluey, my favorite rooster.  He no longer goes outside much. So that is sad.  Trying to keep the rest of the chickens alive.

I am having baby fish show up in one of my aquariums.  They are the cherry barbs.  I got behind in cleaning the tanks which usually involves cleaning the gravel and noticed a little speck.  Well they are growing up, and it is fun to watch.  The most I have counted is 4, but the grandkids think they have counted 8.

On an impulse I bought some Robin Eggs well before Easter.  I just love them.

I also bought an Operation game in anticipation of the grandkids visiting.  They re-added the sound again which is great.  It was fun playing with William.  Piper is not a fan.

But she did make this picture of Dad’s cabin in a snowstorm.  I love it!

Here she is with Wally.  I did have the Paralympics on as well.

Piper and William made a fort in our backyard.  They cleared out some tree branches and have a private place in amongst the trees.  They seem to like it.

I took the beagle out back and noticed the grass is starting to grow despite the cold weather we have been having.  I am hoping to start rotational grazing soon.

William was riding his quad out back.  In the first video he is going slower because the beagle and I are nearby.  The second video is closer to his normal speed.  It is still quite muddy.

Because it was Pi Day on Saturday, I made chicken pot pies for dinner.  The kids didn’t want them so had Mac n Cheese instead.  But they did eat some leftover pie crust bake with cinnamon sugar one top.  William really liked that, but Piper not so much.

Sunday for breakfast I made colorful waffles.  The green ones were peanut butter, the yellow banana, red was raspberry and blue was blueberry.  The kids enjoyed them.

This is our living room table after one day of grandkids.

Piper was making beaded bracelets.  She made me a gorgeous one.

I left to travel to Fir Island.  En route I saw these blooming daffodils.

And these Snow Geese.  I really do live in a beautiful place.

I was going to Skagit City School to hear the first of three lectures on the Equality Colony.  This colony has been a fascination of mine since moving to the area in the 1990s.  I listened to this author discuss his research and book on the topic.  I did purchase the book and look forward to reading it.  I also look forward to the next two lectures.

So that was my week.  We shall see what this next one will bring.

P.S.  I wanted to mention again that I keep the recipes that I have made and liked in a Pinterest board.  Quite a few are from NYT Cooking which you have to pay to access, but a lot are from free sites as well.  This was  suggestion from my sister-in-law quite a while ago, and I am glad I have kept this up.  It helps me find my recipes.  Plus the other day I was admiring all the pretty photos of yummy foods.

Posted in Farm, History, other recipes | 2 Comments