No, I'm still on the move -- this week at my son's new house across the Clarkfork River from Thompson Falls, Montana -- looking out the window at tall Douglas fir and Ponderosa Pine trees. A group of deer are bedded down in the grass not far away, and an exotic donkey just ran through the yard. This is open range, don't forget. All my belongings are currently stored in my son's garage, under a tarp, while I housesit (and dog, cat, yard sit) while my son and his little family are on vacation. They are visiting his father -- who I was married to briefly several decades ago -- in Michigan. Casey the black lab dog and I are having a great time. The orange cat is okay, too, although Scoobey looks like a special needs cat. The yard is another creature altogether. Besides the herd of deer I have learned from the neighbors that we are situated smack dab on top a gravel bar. Landscaping -- or rather trying to keep trees alive during the drought -- is how lots of people while away their retirement years here. And I'm supposed to be writing, but I have become yard-obsessed too. I took the lawnmower in for a tuneup and I am oh so excited to get it tomorrow so I can mow the front yard. It has to be set up as high as possible to mow OVER the donkey droppings and pinecones and rocks.
Did you know that white vinegar will kill spotted knapweed, just like Roundup will? That's what a neighbor tells me. And deer will not eat herbs or plants with aromatic leaves -- or that everywhere shrub, the potentilla. Isn't that interesting?
Today I ordered a pair of Talon binoculars. The guy asked, what kind of birds do you look for. Well, there are little gray birds and there are big flappy birds, and I like the big ones best. Mostly I want to look into a moose's eyeball at a safe distance, see if there's a reflection. I want to hike high into a cirque basin and look at the rocks walls -- like I'm in an art gallery.
The temperature was up to 100 degrees a couple days ago, and now it is about 45. When it warms up again, after I mow the front yard, I'll load up my kayak and drive up to Fishtrap Lake -- high in the mountains northeast of here. I won't have my binos yet, but I will take my sketch materials and lunch and spend the day. There is a hiking trail around the lake too. And a free Forest Service campground.
Yesterday I drove into Thompson Falls and poked my nose into a pottery shop called Mud Magic. The shop owner, named Eric, looked like he just crawled off a Harley motorcycle but was really nice. He does workshops, hosts art and writing events, sells art supplies -- and coffee roasting devices, green Fair Trade coffee beans, and of course his lovely pottery. I didn't even know I wanted a coffee roaster -- although I adore good coffee -- and I bought one, a Fresh Roast + 8 Coffee Bean Roaster. For $79.95 I got the roaster, a lb. of coffee beans and the most wonderful pint-sized off white mug with a lid that doubles as a coaster. Eric showed me how to roast beans, but I haven't worked up to doing it myself. My son has a satellite TV, which I am unable to operate, hard as I've tried to follow instructions. So I can't bear the thought of failing with the coffee roaster quite yet. I'm researching sources for green beans, learning all about coffee roasting, even learned today that you can roast coffee beans in an air popcorn popper just fine. Imagine that! Why don't more people KNOW about this -- and actually DO it. They would drink far superior coffee and save money too (unless they prefer Folgers). I wonder how many other things I don't yet know about -- like this "alternative" way of dealing with coffee -- that is better and cheaper and more fun to do? Like using white vinegar to kill spotted knapweed.
I will insert photos when I get set up in Bellingham, WA, where I'm moving to the week of June 18. I will also post pictures and information about my books.
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