An older acquaintance of mine died last month, after a long and fruitful life. She was, imo, a ‘saint’ of a human being; so I thought I’d share her loving #Obit here for all to see. In my part of #SouthernOregon Joyce Hailicka was a legend, the queen of Butte Falls, OR - a small rural town nestled in the Cascade Mountains. Joyce was responsible for just about everything good that happened in that town for the decades she lived there with her husband Ron. But she didn’t stop there, no… she spearheaded county, regional and state programs that yielded real results. Her presence and impact were immense and she will be missed. #RIP#ButteFalls#JacksonCounty#Oregon
It’s mid-winter and here in #SouthernOregon I have doors and windows open airing out the house. It’s a very, very unseasonable 64 degrees F outside. Windy buy mild with the sun peaking through the usual clouds. Normally would be mid-40s, cold and gray this time of year. I guess I should have expected it coming off the hottest year in recorded history and with an El Niño happening.
I was up early this morning, before sunrise. El Ranchito (aka our hobby farm) was above the clouds filling the #RogueValley looking down. It’s a great look that I love. Treetops penetrating the low-lying clouds looking like small island archipelagos. Just so sweet. Shooting photos is one method I use to deal with chronic issues that might otherwise be preoccupying. #SouthernOregon has a number of beautiful spots, we overlook a very pretty valley and in the distance, the convergence of the Siskiyou and Cascade Mt. ranges (very rare indeed when two mountain ranges join in a summit like we have).
Spent the day foraging for Fall Chanterelles in the forest. Wildcrafting is such a satisfying pastime, and we’ll cook up our almost three pound bounty tonight and freeze most of them for later. They’ll last all winter. Best #mushrooms ever imo. Better than Shiitake or Matsusakis. #Chanterelles are the filet mignon steak of edible fungi, meaty, aromatic and delicious. #WildCrafting#Foraging#ForestBounty#SouthernOregon#Oregon#Fall
This fugitive saga must be so embarrassing for the various law enforcement agencies and police forces involved: Escaped murderer on the run in Pennsylvania has changed appearance and slipped out of search areas - Ten days and the authorities have not caught him. Is the guy that good? Or are the cops that bad? Here in #SouthernOregon the #Ashland police department still has not identified or detained the killer of a young man who was beheaded with a samurai sword in broad daylight in the city limits. That happened about ten years ago. Cops are good a showing up, and sometimes that’s good enough. But in many cases, what happens after they show up is no so good, effective or competent. #policing#Cops#LawEnforcement#Failhttps://apnews.com/article/a729fb5d39251c2c1c336513e9f5a324
Cabernet grapes on the vine on our grape arbor in the deer fenced garden. We made wine for years with our small vineyard, but I no longer drink alcohol and my partner is content to buy from one of our many local wineries. So now, we have just the arbor left and most of that goes to our many birds, including our small flock of chickens. #Garden#GrapesOnTheVine#SouthernOregon#RogueValley
Well, hell… the power is out and the regional power co. says it may not be back on for six hours. Good thing we’d just finished baking the fresh peach pie, AND, our stove is propane powered so dinner is ON. So dinner and pie by candlelight, not so bad. #FridayFeeling#SouthernOregon#PowerOutage#RogueValley#CentralPoint
There is so much smoke in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley where I live that visibility is about 200 ft (61 meters) at best. Impossible to go outside without a mask, and still dangerous at that. US Highway 199 between Oregon and California is closed, and in outlying areas evacuations are underway. Regrettably not unusual for August in this new climate reality - but very nasty. #Wildfires all around us. #SouthernOregon#Oregon#ClimateChange
We’re clipping two or three bundles a day from our Lavender hedge, slowly harvesting to ensure plenty is left for the many bubble bees that hang out on the flowers. So cute, they regularly nap hanging on to a flower. Never, ever been stung and we walk by this hedge multiple times/day. We love our pollinators and keep our garden full of flowers they prefer. The Tansy is next (second pic). The bundles hang upside down against our large kitchen/diner window until dry, then the actual flower bits go into sachets for our linen and my T-shirt drawers. #garden#Gardening#Flowers#Lavender#pollinators#SouthernOregon#RogueValley
A favorite spot in our garden. My partner Lupe’s rock garden, with a cement bench next to the opening into our Lilac hedge. A very special place. Easy to imagine a hobbit or cute furry emerging from the lilacs to rest on the bench. That’s Thyme growing in between the pavers. #garden#gardening#GardenersOfMastodon#rockgarden#Oregon#RogueValley#SouthernOregon
Gonna be in the 90’s this weekend here in #SouthernOregon so that will turn all the remaining lilacs brown for sure. Spring flowers come in waves, so on to the next bloom. #garden#gardening#SpringFlowers
Here’s a pano view of Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley from my back veranda. Easy to see why I spend a lot of time hanging out there. You should see it at night. #Oregon#SouthernOregon#RogueValley#view#outlook