The color of When?

Normally we see fields of grain and the basalt walls of Hells Canyon. I titled this photo “The color of prairie” when I took it on a beautiful morning last October.

This is essentially the same view, but with forest fire smoke. According to our local newspaper, the smoke could clear tomorrow–if (a) sufficient rain falls tonight; and (b) wind of sufficient velocity blows in from the right direction.

Such suspense!

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Effie: “Smoked in, and boy am I hissed!”

Grrr. . .I’d rather be romping in my Effieland place! But my Mom had to go and call the vet and ask whether it was safe for me to go outside. The office has been instructed to recommend that pets be kept indoors. Smoke from the forest fires is worse than ever. My Mom and Dad were talking about it being declared unhealthy for everybody, not just sick people.

But my Mom loves me and we play with toys, and she combs me, and makes bread that smells really good in the oven. She promised she would stay home with me all day, too! She doesn’t do well with the smoke–she gets dizzy. She usually goes out to get groceries on this day of the human week, but Dad’s going to take her tonight instead. They probably think the smoke will go away by then.

I wish I could be out romping in my beloved Effieland, but there aren’t even any birds out, and not even any bugs, either! Mom’s going to clean a bunch of things today, like the refrigerator and the upholstered chairs and my window perch, and the insides of the windows where I leave my adorable little prints of my nose and my toes.

I have also made plans to take lots of baths and naps.

Bounty of the vines

This evening we picked nearly nine pounds of grapes from two of our twelve vines in under half an hour. The variety of colors and flavors is amazing–all beautiful, and all delicious. Flame Seedless and Swenson Red are represented here, and we also picked and nibbled a few ripe Canadice as well. After rinsing the grapes, we loaded them into zip-lock freezer bags and put them in the freezer. We have just a few bags left from last year, and the newly picked grapes, and all the ripening grapes we will soon pick, will supply us for at least another year.

Westerly greetings

These sunflowers beam their cheery golden brightness into a west-facing window.

Effie among Grapes

Special Guest Star Halvor basks in the welcome sunshine on the patio. . . .

Effie enjoys a bit of shade near a chair.

Effie checks out a blackberry branch. She probably doesn’t mind that the blackberries have all been picked. Behind her are ripening Flame grapes.

Happy girl in a pleasant garden!

A pair of pears

My husband planted this pear tree four years ago. It was only a foot tall! Now it’s seven feet tall and we celebrate its first year bearing fruit.

Our plums are on their way, and we hope for ripe fruit late in July.

 

This summer’s first gaillardias

Summer

I love gaillardias. More will follow and provide a large patch of vibrancy, as they have each year since we planted them. They outlast the sunflowers, and display their sunny brightness at the edge of our driveway.