Little Ann Living Up to Her Name

a quiet morning before the action started

When I bought my springer spaniel she came from registered parents Steptoe's Dante and Ms. Pauleen of Bishop Hollow. I had never had a registered dog so I decided this puppy needed a famous or dignified name to match her parents. I brainstormed place names, girl names, dogs I remembered from books, and went to baby names online. At that same time JEJ was reading Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. The dogs in that book are hounds, but I remembered how Little Ann was a strong female dog character in that book. Even though my puppy was a spaniel the name had been decided. Her registered name became Little Ann of Bloomfield Farm. We just call her Annie.
This week-end Where the Red Fern Grows came up again. My niece Z2 was visiting and had the novel in a lit book to read over the week-end. It led to conversations about the power of that book with children, when we first had it read aloud to us, or when we sat down and read it to outselves. Mom inquired if students of mine still read it. Raymond Pert had never read it again after fifth grade and wondered if it would be as emotional now. " It was for me," I explained to him, remembering sitting down one afternoon to read that classic one more time and not being able to put it down. I also had kleenex ready as I cried through the end of the book.

(If you are not familiar with this classic children's book, the boy and the hounds romp the Ozarks hunting for raccoon. He enters a hunting contest with his dogs also.)

I was awakened this morning with JEJ coming in to get a flashlight. " There is an animal under the deck," he muttered as he headed for the back of the house. By the time I got out of bed and shook the cobwebs from my brain the animal had headed up a tree.
look closely to see the raccoon


Annie lived up to her name. Little Ann of Bloomfield Farm treed a raccoon. It was a young raccoon that could climb very well. Annie just sat under the tree obsessed with the raccoon. Once we got the dogs contained, the raccoon found safety.

How often do events occur like this? From naming your dog, to Where the Red Fern Grows, to Little Ann living up to her name. I love it when these connections just happen in the course of week-end. By the way, if you haven't read this book, add it to your list of must-reads. It is a classic favorite!
Shelby, our Australian Cattle Dog helped with herding the raccoon from under the deck, but then watched her sister Annie in puzzlement from a chair. She was thinking," Is this what herding is in England...just standing under a tree? In Australia we herd our animals around the corral!"

Sunday Scribblings: Simple Pleasures

Today's Sunday Scribblings prompt is simple. You can find other posts here.

What immediately came to mind when I saw the prompt was simple pleasures. I look forward to week-ends when my family is able to visit. Friday I hit the jackpot! Silver Valley Girl and two of my nieces ( yes Princess....we miss you and your dad) drove up from Kellogg and brought my mom with them. Saturday Raymond Pert arrived after spending a few days in Kellogg. I couldn't think of a better way to spend Memorial Day week-end.

All of our lives have been very busy lately. I have struggled with a terrible cold bug. My niece Z2 was also feeling under the weather when she arrived and was worn out from a full week at middle school. Raymond Pert was able to take a deserved break from student papers and teaching at LCC , Mom had been watering, planting, cooking, and organizing to get ready to come, and Silver Valley Girl just tries to keep her head above water with the the business of raising three daughters, working, writing, performing, and fund raising. I decided we needed a retreat week-end. I purposely didn't do my usual event planning making sure we had excursions, activities, and a schedule to follow. Instead I have sat back and enjoyed the simple pleasures of having many of the people I love at my home for three days. Kiki Aru did a good great job of reminding me not to forget the plan "Spoons" and JEJ was a grand garden tour guide and kept peace with the dogs, cats, and family members! The picture above is a simple pleasure. The rhubarb that had gone to seed in the evening sun just before everyone arrived. Other simple pleasures were:having our first peonies opening up to greet our visitors, serving locally roasted coffee in the morning (This is Meyer Falls Blend sold at a local organic market of the same name),and a geranium in full bloom after a winter in the greenhouse.
I love that my nieces are low maintenance and can create a makeshift bed just by rearranging furniture!


Another simple pleasure in the morning was having Silver Valley Girl make breakfast. She used her Pampered Chef (a little plug for the product) apple peeler, slicer, corer to do potatoes.
She has created this incredible potato recipe that I insisted she make while visiting. You can get the recipe here. It was one of the best breakfast potato dishes I have ever tasted. Everyone couldn't get enough of the breakfast of eggs, those Special Potatoes, lemon muffins, and melon. Actually, this may be considered more than a simple pleasure... perhaps a very complex pleasure! Here are some other simple pleasures the day created. Annie taking a rest with Z2.An evening that began with a traditional game of " Spoons" . Next we moved to a rousing game of Yahtzee which always includes chanting "Scratch My Yahtzee". Our dad used to shout that then immediately scratch him armpit. It was fun to teach my nieces the tradition. The evening was rounded out with Rice Krispie Treats and a hilarious game of Scattergories which pitted siblings, mom/grandma and nieces in a fun competition. It is a simple pleasure for me to play board games with the group. It always builds fond memories.

After all our incredble food Silver Valley Girl and I took a quiet walk at twilight to shed a few calories!

I had to end this with the picture above of the blooming Thanksgiving/Christmas/Valentine cactus. Now I guess we can call it the Memorial Day cactus... or perhaps the holiday cactus. Such a simple pleasure gathering around the table with family sharing good food, enjoying games, and gazing at this beautiful plant. I can't wait to see what Sunday will bring.

Sibling Assignment # 22: Remembering Grandma West

Our sibling assignment this week was to write about our Grandma West. We did an earlier piece on Grandma Woolum, so this was a request from our mother. Grandma lived in Orofino, Idaho and the family took a vacation trip to visit every year in August. Raymond Pert's is here. Silver Valley Girl's is here.

We didn’t get to see Grandma West as often as Grandma Woolum. In many ways the two were alike. They both raised their families without a husband present most of the time. They were close in age and were both were passionate about gardening, canning, cooking, family, and creating a comfortable home. The two women loved seeing each other. I remember one Christmas when we went to Orofino we took Grandma Woolum. I wished secretly that they would become close friends and see each other more. Because neither of them drove and the distance between Orofino and Spokane at that time seemed to family members like a “real journey” it didn’t happen very often.

Visiting Grandma West’s house was a contrast from our own home. Our home was crowded, noisy, and busy. Grandma’s house was quiet, orderly, and homespun. She always had an afghan on the back of the couch that she had crocheted. Doll clothes, hanger covers, and beautiful pillows were other items she carefully crafted. We shared a common love for the color lavender. It was the color commonly used in her threads and yarns.

Every afternoon while we visited she would come in to rest after working in her garden most of the morning. The house was cool. Grandma would sit in her rocking chair stitching or crocheting another project. I loved that time of the day. I could stretch out and read a book. It was a break from the hot sun outside. Grandma often dozed off a bit. I think I acquired that love for naps from her.

Mom was an excellent cook, but we still had stuff out of the box sometimes. At Grandma’s everything seemed fresh, wholesome, and homemade. Fresh picked raspberries were waiting in a bowl in the morning to go on our cereal. Cream from the Creamery a block away was always in the old refrigerator on the sun porch to pour on top. The family would sit on that sun porch for dinner ( even though it was very hot) and pass around home grown menu items that included a steaming bowl of fresh picked green beans, juicy slices of fresh tomatoes, and corn on the cob that had been picked that morning. Grandma always sliced her corn off the cob because she had false teeth. I wanted false teeth also because I loved to eat my corn just like Grandma did. She would also make pies ahead when it wasn’t so hot and have them waiting in the freezer in the basement. Then some evening for a treat out would come this amazing homemade apple pie and ice cream (also from the Creamery) .


As Grandma tended her garden I saw her exhibit patience, determination, and a love for beauty. As I stood in the sunroom in the morning I had a perfect view of her garden. I was in awe at the rows of brightly colored gladioli. Every time I see a gladiolus to this day I think of Grandma West. I never saw these flowers in Kellogg, but they always grew in Orofino. Grandma and my Autie Lila had blooms in every color. Once a week Grandma would tenderly harvest the glads, bring them in and place them in cool water, then arrange them for the Christian Church across the street and the Methodist Church she attended. She always enough left to place in a special vase that sat on a table by the front door. That table just seemed right for those glads. Grandma had other beautiful flowers, and a productive vegetable plot, but the glads are what I remember. I did discover as I grew older that these beautiful flowers did grow other places. My mom has grown them. I now have them in my garden each year.

Grandma left us in 1990 at the age of ninety-six. Tears streamed down my face at her funeral as I heard these words from the song “In the Garden”.
“And he walks with me
And he talks with me
And he tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.”

I am blessed to have known Grandma West. I certainly inherited her love for beauty which I have worked to weave into my garden. The fancy needlework will need to be carried on by somebody else, unless I get a sudden change in skill and craft patience!! I see Grandma West’s determination in my own mom when she gardens. She also works outside many hours in the morning sun, but then takes a rest in the cool of the house in the afternoon. Sometimes I think she may sneak in a nap also.

Spring Bouquet #8 and #9 and Tips for Prolonging the Life of Garden Flowers

This first bouquet is held in a beautiful window vase I received from a friend for Christmas. The silhouette of the bouquet sets off the clear aqua color of the vase.









The combination of spring flowers always makes for an exquisite bouquet in color and scent. With this combination of iris, dame's rockets, columbine, and cat mint you have the best of both color and scent.



I love having cut flowers for my own home, but I 've also sold them at farmer's market and provided bouquets for church, a friend's bed and breakfast, and casual celebrations. People often ask how I prolong the life of flowers from the garden. Part of it always depends on how mature the blooms are when they get to the bouquet. It is best to pick flowers when the bloom has just opened. This is easier said than done. If there is a beautiful rose in bloom I will add it to a bouquet even if it is mature. It just won't last as long.
Actually there is a debate on whether it is better to pick flowers in the morning or evening. The flowers will be less likely to wilt if cut in the morning. The evening is better for me. The plants have been photosynthesizing all day, the stems contain more carbs, which makes them last longer. It is best to wait until the air has cooled.
When you get the flowers inside fill a vase halfway with tepid water. Cut 1 inch from the stems and strip any foliage that will be underwater. Put the cut flowers immediately in water. To prolong vase life you can use this homemade flower preservative:
To 24 oz. of water, add 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and one crushed aspirin tablet. Change water as needed.
I think a bouquet of fresh flowers can bring the garden in to any room in the house. Even if I only have a few flowers blooming I get creative and look for interesting herb leaves, branches of shrubs, and tree leaves to add to a bouquet. The possibilities are endless.

Spinach Harvest and Another From the Recipe Box

Weeks ago the first harvest of rhubarb earned a post. I didn't celebrate our second harvest because the tiny radishes were gobbled up before a photo shoot could be done.

Today our third harvest was spinach. I have a hard time keeping track of when vegetables are ready. The veggies are JEJ's department. I didn't have all the ingredients to make my favorite spring spinach salad, but we enjoyed the tender leaves of spinach in a simple salad. The tomatoes and cucumber did come from the store folks! In this late spring time I love to harvest greens. They haven't bolted. They don't taste bitter. Spinach is still full of flavor and tender. When the heat comes this changes.

I have many spinach salad recipes, but the one below is a nice blend of June berries and vegetables. The recipe is from The Pacific Northwest: The Beautiful Cookbook.

Spinach Salad With Strawberries and Poppy Seed-Berry Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup canola or safflower oil

1/3 cup berry flavored vinegar

Salad:

2 bunches spinach, stemmed

2 cups strawberries, stemmed and quartered

1 cup thin-sliced fresh button mushrooms

1/2 cup thinly cut green onions

1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

To make the vinaigrette: Place the poppy seeds, mustard and honey in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the oil until all the oil is used and the mixture is the consistency of mayonnaise. Gradually whisk in the berry vinegar to thin the mixture to the consistency of heavy cream.

Place the leaves of spinach in a serving bowl. Toss with the strawberries, mushrooms, green onions, almonds and enough vinaigrette to moisten them. Pass around the extra vinaigrette.

Serves 6-8 Enjoy!

LOCKDOWN!

Today at school we got a call for a lockdown right before 1:00 p.m. I only had my boys in class. The girls were having a special celebration in another room with the counselor. I had just excused them and I asked a student to bring them back. Fortunately they had not left the hallway.

We had practiced where we would go and what we would do. Because I am away from the main building, we get a phone call for lockdown instead of hearing it on the intercom. As I pulled the drapes and locked the doors the boys moved quietly and swiftly to our designated "safety zone." I knew we were planning on having a drill , but that was supposed to be in a week. Was this real? I could see by their faces the boys were wondering the same thing.

I emailed my attendance and placed a green card under the door out to the hall that meant "all okay." I had leftover bottled water from another day so we passed it around and sat quietly in the dark, sipped water, and waited. I was surrounded by a group of young men that I had know since they were five years old. I had many of them for reading in summer school when they were in lower grades. I had watched them grow taller, heard some voices change, and groaned at their silly jokes. I had this mother hen protective feeling as we sat in close proximity on chairs or on the floor. I wanted everyone to be safe.

My mind moved back to Saturday and the shooting that occurred in Moscow, Idaho. I often teach at the university in the summer and know many people that lived in the area around that church. On Sunday my friend B emailed to say she had dropped off a friend close by the church fifteen minutes before the shots were fired . My other friend E was watching the news and thought somebody had lit firecrackers. It was hard for both of them to believe. Like me they were shocked.

As we continued to sit quietly I watched the classroom door. I also remembered Virginia Tech and all those students in classrooms that day. We knew there was an old fallout shelter through a trapdoor in the classroom closet. Could we all go down there if gunshots were heard?

When you sit in a lockdown the time seems to move slowly because of the unknown.The boys got restless and the air got stuffy. Just then the phone rang and we were informed that the drill was over. Relief. We had sat there about ten minutes.

We quietly gathered our things and went down the hall for a debriefing. The girls arrived and described what happened in the main building. They tried to get into one room, but it was locked. A teacher helped them into another room, then the girls heard screams, banging, and a bat slamming on the door. The principal allowed the middle school students to ask questions, talk about what they would have done if they were outside, what worked and what didn't.

The drill planned was for an angry parent to come through the building with a baseball bat. The parent (staged) yelled and tried to get in classrooms. The drill was also held at the end of high school lunch and passing time to see if students could get to safety if they were in the parking lot or heading to class in our building. I was caught off guard which made it very real.

School safety is important. We want to be prepared for all types of emergencies. I understand the purpose for drills, but when I am sitting side by side with a group of boys in a dark room during lockdown I silently pray that they will be protected from violence and the dark forces in our world.
I wanted everyone to be safe.