National Cat Day

 

"If she had seen you, 

I should never have seen you again, that is all,"

replied Mamma.

There are most likely mice and pack rats in the orchard's several old outbuildings. How could there not be?  

 

Farmers once considered a good ratter/mouser the most valuable animal in the barn. Breed is a factor, but kitty temperament and upbringing (as in no spoliing) is more important in the making of a good hungry barn cat. 

Too late for that here. The family cats, "Georgia" and "Millie" are in for a rude moving surprise. 

 

As we know, cats hate change, and these butterballs are just settling in for their usual winter semi-hibernation in front of the wood stove. But I have a feeling the Russian stove will do nicely. 

In good weather, both cats do a little light mousing around the yard, but a whole new wild world awaits these city slickers.  Coyotes are common (yikes) and a black bear seen in the orchard recently. The property is adjacent to the wilderness Golden Doe Wildlife Unit, with cougars, moose and plenty of mule deer. 

We've  hiked in the beautiful place several times. Now, we can walk in from the back of the orchard.

 

Home sweet farm

 

The orchard with almost three acres of trees, and not just pears. Get out the canner.

 Tom contemplating kitchen painting projects...

 

And getting right to work outside...

Maya in front of the beautiful Russian wood stove...

(Going to be a learning curve there.) 

 Tom and Amanda in the sweet dining room...

Pears, pears, pears...

And Nica, already a country dog. 

Wishing them a safe and quick move to the new home. They need to be completely out of their old one by November 15th for the renter. 

 

Back to the city

 

When we return in November, the view will be full on winter-- the leaves down and the ground blanketed with snow. 

Our house is neat as a pin and ready for another long winter, which is closing in fast. Yesterday morning the hills around town had the first dusting of snow. 

  

 

I walked up the familiar street to Amanda and Tom's house for dinner one last time, something I've enjoyed over the years and frankly, will miss. I sat on the porch looking at the same view of Mill Hill that captivated me when we first came to Twisp about 18 years ago. That long!

And now a new and exciting chapter begins for all of us. I saw their new home for the first time yesterday. The old farmhouse is dripping with charm, and the orchard a wild and wonderful thing to behold. 

I don't have time to sort through all the pictures this morning, but here's a teaser:

 And we will never need to buy pears again.

On the town

 

While everyone is at work and school, I've been having a good time with my friend and neighbor Karen. Last week we went to an art show at Lost River Winery in Winthrop, and yesterday an orange wine tasting at Glover Street Market, the gourmet grocery store here in Twisp.

In case you are wondering, orange wine is a "skin contact wine," made by fermenting the juice in contact with the grape skins, which gives it color. 

The pours were a bit strange, including a "natural" Gewurztraminer from a Washington winery called "Savage Grace." 

Gewurztraminer is an extremely aromatic grape that can be quite delicious, but they managed to turn it into something that looked and tasted like unfiltered vinegar. Savage, indeed! The Germans would be horrified at what goes on with their grape out here on the frontier.  

But all in good fun-- the company you're with, as always, makes the excursion.

And it hasn't been just boozy excursions!  

Methow at Home organized an outing at the Shafer Historical Museum in Winthrop. 

The museum is closed for the season, but our group of seniors got a behind the scenes tour of the offices and archives.

 

The textile storage room, and a nicely done item inventory with photographs. 

And something near and dear to my heart: finding aids. These documents are the key to the archives, describing in detail the various collections. 

Almost all the work at Shafer is done by local volunteers and historians. Much of the museum's collection of photographs and documents is scanned, cataloged and available online through their website. Impressive.

My dear friend in front the North Cascades topological map her husband Bruce carved for the museum some years ago. 

Amanda and Tom's new home is set to close on Monday, and they had a walk through yesterday with the owners. It was the first time they've been inside the house since that sunny day in August, and there's still much to discover. They are excited and of course overwhelmed. I'll see it for the first time today. 

So a new adventure begins just as winter is closing in fast here. They're moving everything (including 12 chickens, 2 cats and a dog) over the next 2 weeks. 

 

The Dress

 

 

This is the homecoming dress I've been talking about. Whew, alterations complete. I'd post a picture of Nova wearing it, but it might crash the Internet. Ha!  She is growing up to be a lovely person. 

And as the saying goes:

 

Red sky in morning

 

 

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor take warning."

The first atmospheric river of the season is poised to hit the Northwest coast tomorrow. The storm is potent enough to bring rain over to central Washington this weekend and snow in the mountains. 

How much snow and at what pass level is the question, but the first snow always seems to catch people off guard. A bad time to be out on the highways. I'll keep a close eye on the pass reports for the drive home next week.  

In the meantime, I'm in no hurry to leave the cozy house, and enjoying the last few autumn like days, with the valley covered in golden foliage. All too soon, the leaves will be down and the ground covered in snow until spring. 

What a dramatic sunrise this morning. The sun climbs over the eastern hills about 8, although that will soon be an hour earlier, as we go back off daylight savings time. Why oh why, we ask ourselves twice a year. 

Today I have a dress to finish,and will make dinner for the crazy busy family tonight. Curry.