Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge: A Gem in the Rough of Northeastern Washington

The Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. The refuge is over 40,000 acres in size and is 13 miles southeast of Colville, Washington in Stevens County. We had traveled there once before, but when the temperatures hit the 90's today, we decided it might be a road trip that would be a bit cooler. We loaded up dogs, chairs, a cooler, maps, and cameras for an afternoon road trip. It is easy to find and the roads are well marked. Our first point of interest was McDowell Lake. We didn't find it last time we toured through the refuge. Once we found it we understood why. You drive above the lake to an overlook and can only get down to the shoreline by hiking. Motorized boats are not allowed. We also learned today that swimming in not allowed in any of the lakes in the refuge. I just took pictures from the overlook. The trails down the steep bank were a bit intimidating. I was stunned by the beauty of the lake. I felt like I had stumbled back in time to a place people had not inhabited. There was an island and a tree-lined lake shore. Next we found Potter's Pond and Bayley Lake. Bayley Lake had dried up considerably from the last time we were there. It said no swimming, but we couldn't have reached water if we wanted. Potter's Pond is set up with a wildlife viewing place. We didn't hang around because of the dogs. Others were there viewing and probably didn't want the wildlife to take off because of two leashed, but excited dogs. All along the refuge there are primitive campgrounds. They are each set up with a fire pit and a clearning, but that is about it. We rested across from Potter's Pond at this campsite. The landscape changed. It was cooler as we set up our chairs next to the cedar grove. JEJ found a good place to rest. As I hiked in to the cedar grove to take pictures it was like an enchanted forest. The nice part of the whole day is how few people we encountered. After spending time in this quiet retreat among the cedars we decided to return tomorrow for a camping trip. I can smell the cedar again already! To learn more about the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge you can go here.

Rekindling the Light

Picking Honeysuckle by Sophie Anderson

" Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light." Albert Schweitzer

I am blessed by an amazing group of friends I have met through blogging. This is a circle of friends I have never met, yet feel I know as well as friends I chat with after church on Sunday. I didn't expect this to happen through blogging. There have been many days when my light has been rekindled by reading a blog post, looking at a beautiful photograph, reading a newly composed poem. receiving a surprise in the mail, hearing about an award, or even winning a giveaway!
The surprise in the mail came from my friend Marcy at My Knitting & Other Stuff. I had gotten an email from her saying she was sending me a gift she saw at a church bazaar and as soon as she looked at it, it said "inland empire girl" to her. The gift was a beautiful book called A Victorian Posy : Penhaligon's Scented Treasury of Verse and Prose. The book is full of lovely Victorian pictures including the one above. It is also filled with poems and prose about the four seasons of the year and.... the book is scented. Every time you turn a page the scent of your grandmother's garden surrounds you. Thanks again Marcy. Here is a verse from "The Autumn":

Go sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them-
The summer flowers depart-
Sit still- as all transformed to stone,
except your musing heart.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
This colorful award helped rekindled the light also. Rosanne at Firefly Nights bestowed it upon me. This is part of what she said about my blog. " Since I have many fond memories of state park camping trips in a Coleman pop-up, I enjoy reading about her outings in the family’s Jayco. She always tells us some of the history of the regions she travels through in addition to sharing many photos. " She did make my day and thanks for the award.

My last rekindling of the light came when I won a giveaway. I had won a handmade sampler last year from my friend La Tea Dah, but this was a photo giveaway from Rebecca at Rambling by Reba. You can go here and see the photo I won. It is the first one of the yellow leaf. I will have my own framed print to enjoy myself. Thanks again Rebecca for doing such a fun giveaway.

Go visit these blogs and you will see why they rekindle my light. Again, thanks to each of you.

Warm Wishes to Marmite Toasty

You can never have too many red geraniums. I wanted to send warm wishes to my blog friend Marmite Toasty across the pond. I just didn't have the white picket fence Marmite! If you haven't visited her Twaddle of Everyday Rubbish go here and read about nippers, her lads, and Janet, and neighborhood tales. It is bloody brill I tell you.

Monday, Monday: GPS, DISH, and Loading Up the Logs

We have had an ongoing problem that has involved our satellite dish for a few weeks. Fortunately it only effected local channels on one TV. When the first very nice technician came the power had just gone off. He did what he could, but it was fruitless if his adjusting did anything, because we couldn't turn the T.V. on. It took until today for another technician to be scheduled.
Early this morning I got a call from a polite sounding man about the repair trip.
"Your house does not show up on my GPS tracker. Are you sure that is your house address?"
I explained about rural addresses. He then inquired, "How far is it from Post Falls, Idaho to Kettle Falls, Washington?"
I explained about two and a half hours, then he filled me in that he was flown in from California to do work in my area. He was given a GPS tracker and hoped he could find the way. I asked if he had a map, but he assured me that he had GPS.
I suggested he call if he got lost. I also tried to explain that I really didn't live in the Kettle Falls, but across Lake Roosevelt, in a different county, and up a state highway, and through some county roads that weren't very well marked.
About two and a half hours went by and I got another call from the technician. He was concerned because the GPS showed that the wildlife refuge road was closed. I once again gave him directions to get him closer. I gathered up the animals and watched the driveway for him to arrive. He called three more times. He had missed our road and ended up taking a beautiful scenic drive south on Lake Roosevelt. I sent my own GPS tracker JEJ after him and after a few more bumps in the road, his van arrived escorted by my husband's pick-up. Now we only live one street off the county road, but to a guy from a city in California that was subjected to rural northeastern Washington, it was a struggle.

His repair took ten minutes. I knew it would be simple. I said, "I hope you have other jobs up this way after making this long drive."
He did have lots of orders. Fortunately they were at apartments in the town of Kettle Falls. He left with a bright smile on his face and said he loved the lake, our view, and the area. What a positive guy!We thought after that whole ordeal our Monday would calm down. Not a chance. Next came the call from the guy who fell our trees last week. "We are on our way with the logging truck" . Would a logging truck even fit through our gate or through the driveway? We moved vehicles, once again gathered up animals just in time to hear the roar of the logging truck. He made it through the gate, got himself turned around, and I finally got to see just how they loaded big logs on a truck. I had to grab my camera and catch some photo images.
What a day. It was only 1:00! What else could happen? This is quite a bit of excitement for us country folks on a Monday in August. Usually the highlight of our day is when the mail lady comes or a different dog is barking down the road. Yikes!

Changing The Landscape, Part Two: Changes in the Wedding Garden

a new garden room without the weeds

When I first bought my place in 1996 I had no idea how to plan gardens and knew I had a lot to learn before I proceeded. I took a class, read numerous books, studied gardens, and talked to many seasoned gardeners. I found out what grew well in my climate zone and in sandy soil.
Here is how the yard in the front of the house looked that spring. I killed off the weeds and laid down bark. The tree to the left was all that was planted by the former owners. When JEJ and I were married in August of 1997 we knew we didn't need the usual wedding gifts as we were combining two households of "stuff". We asked people to contribute gifts for a wedding garden. It was a lovely collection of trees, flowers, pots, and roses that we received. We planted the garden that fall and by spring of 1998 the first bulbs bloomed and other trees and shrubs began to take off. It was a joy to watch that little garden grow more beautiful each year.By 2004 the wedding garden was a focal point in the yard. The Mountain Ash had grown quickly. Shrubs were filling out. The irises from EM were lovely every spring and JEJ added a new path around the garden. This picture was taken this last spring. Ground cover had gotten a bit out of control. Grass decided to take up residence around many of the plants. Some plants weren't doing as well because more shade had developed. There wasn't as much color in the summer. Neither one of us were ready to tackle this project .


Last week as we were changing the landscape by have trees removed, I tackled our sad wedding garden. I removed weeds, the old chair used to hold a big pot, pine needles, dying plants, and grass. I trimmed back shrubs and tree branches. There was still much that was good about it... it just needed a summer makeover.
Rather than finding new plants that would grow under the tree we decided we liked the space under the Mountain Ash as another place to rest in the garden.
Rather than redoing the weed barrier, I just put down a rug. We moved in some chairs and a table JEJ built and now just need to transplant some lavender and hostas when the weather is a bit cooler to finish it off. I love little garden rooms that call you for morning coffee or a rest after dinner.

Until I went through all the pictures, it was hard for me to believe the wedding garden was almost eleven years old. Many of the original plants are still there and some new ones will be added. I look forward to enjoying time actually sitting among my wedding gifts now while they mature for another eleven years.

Comfy, Colorful, Caught ,and Camera Critters

It had been a long time since we had gone to a garage sale. Friday R Gardens Company right up the road used part of their warehouse for a huge garage sale. We loaded up, stopped and picked up our neighbor and got there as soon as it opened. We found those items you can't resist at a garage sale... Christmas snowmen, a great cart on wheels, and lovely pitchers. I glanced at a chaise but lots of people were around it and it was heaped with bedspreads and pillows.

Later that day I starting thinking about the chaise again. It had looked so comfortable. I couldn't remember the color or the price. That evening I asked JEJ if we could return in the morning and check out that chaise. He figured it would have been sold. He wondered where we would put it.

Back we went to check out the chaise in the morning. It was there. It was in beautiful shape and oh so comfy! The price was more than I wanted to pay. The color did not match anything in the house... but I was so drawn to that chaise. I actually dickered with the owner for a lower price. We loaded up the 60.00 chaise and brought it home. After an extreme furniture moving makeover, we found a spot that worked for our new addition.The color is hard to describe. It is a bit of a '70s blend of avocado and gold. In the light it looks a bit more like a bright olive color. It really doesn't match anything else in the room.... but...
if you add a few pillows you can pull it together with the rest of the room....
and add a throw to blend the greens together a bit. It is certainly a perfect spot to blog, read, or rest. It will be a fine place for visiting nieces to sleep... or a visiting sibling to nap!
The chaise got the true test when Annie and Shelby decided to check it out to see how comfortable it really was.
Will we both fit on this with room to spare? Where is IEG and is it okay if we sit here? Oooops.....caught in the act! They both gave it the comfort seal of approval. Now I guess I will need to move the dogs, pillows, laptop, and throw so I can finally check it out while I "rest my eyes".

You can find other Camera Critters here.