Summer – Page 3 – Skelton Sketches

A few of my favorite…Summery Thingz

Posted on July 18, 2014April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

Mellow mornings when the sun slants through the blinds turning everything to gold…

Quiet afternoons spent out back reading in the sun, (or dappled shade). Hmm… I’m sure I heard a bear, but I can’t see him. Can you?
… or watering the jungle that my garden has become

Fresh cut flowers from my very own garden…especially the ones planted there from seed. Miracles of a sort.

Homegrown cherries! We got a handful this year from our young tree that dukes it out with the deer every spring. And another handful from the wild cherry tree that sprang up in the old compost pile…

Making Currant Jelly from our own bush…

to go on hot homemade bread from home ground wheat. Next time we’ll try grinding our own homegrown wheat!

We just discovered we could thresh it ourselves! (Thanks to Rachel’s perseverance!)

Getting to make one more childhood cake, for the 19 year old that loves teddy bears still…

Evening bike rides when the sun has simmered down and there’s no rush to be anywhere…or to beat any KOM’s (‘King of the Mountain’ on STRAVA). Time to stop at the wharf and strike up acquaintances while the ferry comes in over the shimmering sea…

And did I say FLOWERS?! more fresh cut flowers? brought inside to celebrate summer (and a birthday)?!!

Ahh and blueberries. I love picking blueberries, especially with daughters. It’s been extraordinarily and wonderfully SUNNY and HOT this month and the blueberries have loved it as much as I. So in record time this morning we had our gallons of berries (from a local U Pick)…

…and in just a little more time we had a pie!

We weren’t the only ones looking forward to a bite. As we were happily downing pie a la mode, who should we spy through the screen door, emerging from the woods out back, but a hungry bear. He must have sniffed it through the open door and come venturing to see if there was any for him!

He seems to have taken up residence in our little wood this year, but I generally yell and flail before I think to catch a picture. This time, before we scared him away, I popped out the door for a picture!

Fortunately, he was more afraid of me than I of him. I got my picture but he got no pie.

Ahh, the wonderful business of summer!

–LS

Amber waves of grain by tandem…

Posted on July 10, 2014April 28, 2017 by lindaskelton

The annual Northwest Tandem Rally was held in Pendleton, Oregon this year.

It was our first time at such a big event. Something like 170 teams turned out for three days of rides past rolling waves of grain. The ‘rollers’ were a challenge in the 90+ degree weather but the perks of good company, good food, and great scenery made it worth the while! We’re already signed up to do it again somewhere else next year!

For the pre-rally warm-up enroute, Jim thought we should try riding up Cypress Mountain in N.Vancouver. I mean why travel with a bike and miss such great opportunities to try it out?!

So up we went to the ski slopes, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics–

It took an hour and fourteen minutes to climb up there, but only 14 minutes to get down! What a hoot it is going 51mph on a bike.

Well, then we hit the road and made our way to Washington (by van!) for the night—and of course had to ride our bike out to eat, logging another 20 some miles but really enjoying dinner, (No eating’s as good as the eating you’ve worked for!) in the quaint little town of LaConner.

We arrived Pendleton, Oregon next afternoon after a rather HOT drive minus air-conditioning but PLUS ICE CUBES! They evaporate wonderfully on hot skin and do a fabulous job in dry climates ( :

We set up our tent right beside the rodeo grounds, within view of the big screen from which we kept track of the Bull-Riding event in the evenings… Homesick bulls serenaded us to sleep at night and bellowed us awake in the morning…

The three days of rides were fabulously scenic, and hot. Here are some highlights from the vantage point of the stoker (me!):

O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, for Amber Waves of Grain….

A welcome rest stop and watering hole!

The final ride was a delightful climb into pine-scented hills to a historic ranch, now owned by Calvary Chapel…

(Note: the ‘special effects’ on this photo are thanks to the sweat accumulating in my jersey pocket! Did I mention this was uphill?!)

Not only did we get lunch here but also a swim in a spring-fed pool…

It was a fine destination for a 95 degree day!

All that remained was to repeat the ride back down through the once-shady canyon, now baking in mid-day sun and out into the blow-dryer head-wind past the hot wheat fields set in endlessly rolling hills—back to our tentsite with the river running by. Here we jumped in and lolled about like happy seals till all the heat was soaked away…

…followed by eating watermelon– Nothing quite abates heat and thirst like watermelon!!!

And a rest!

It was a wonderful rally! We’re so grateful for the strength and health to do these things, and hope you’ve enjoyed the scenery through a stoker’s eyes…

–LS

(local graffiti)

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you!
Ps.145:10

[For more views of the rally, don’t miss the parade post…http://lindaskelton.blogspot.com/2014/07/small-town-usa-parade.html]

Heat, Blessed Heat!

Posted on July 25, 2013April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

It brings the garden to life. Nasturtiums tumble over themselves in spontaneous flaming festoons…

a palette of warm colors

glorying in morning sun….

This variation, a peachy cream, was a surprise!

Potatoes rush to bloom…

And the zucchini is outgrowing our ability to consume it! No sooner does one become a delicious meal of ‘Zucchini Wonder’, then another two are ready the next morning…We’ve got a backlog already and they’ve only just begun! (If you live in the vicinity, don’t hesitate to come by and pick up a zucchini for dinner!)

[And if you don’t live nearby, please share a recipe!!!]

All because of blessed heat! Oh, I love it, when I can shed wool socks and sweaters and leave doors and windows wide, and dare to dip in water!

These gi-normous bullfrog tadpoles love it too! And they know where to find the warmest water. So naturally, we had a swim together yesterday in a sheltered cove on Powell Lake.

My sympathies to those of you who must endure searing steering wheels and cannot relate to heat being a blessed thing. I was there once… But for this season of life, I just can’t get enough of summer’s blessed heat and all the good things it brings!

–LS