Cruise to Colville

The open road awaits

Sidelined from hiking by an inflamed knee, I turned to four wheels to
propel me to points of adventure for the weekend. A dear friend was having a birthday on Halloween so what better time to join the party! As our calendars coincided with open space, a friend and I loaded up on car snacks and beverages, suitable entertainment should the conversation lag (which it didn't), clothes for the occasion and headed for the open road. Destination: Colville, Washington in the northeast corner of the state.

The Portland weather made it easy to leave, gray clouds and raindrops threatening overhead. The long journey of seven or more hours prompted us to leave ahead of traffic at 6:30 in the morning. Windshield wipers screeching, we navigated our way slowly eastward, riding the early wave of morning traffic. Once across the river, we began to sail along, chatting in a catch-up manner about our lives and loved ones. The Columbia River Gorge, always an impressive stretch of the drive, was lined with colorful trees, enlarging waterfalls cascading down the basalt cliffs of the southern side of the river and the oft-present wind.

Magic happens at MP 59 when the air dries out a bit, the clouds evaporate and blue sky runs to the horizon as you enter the Hood River area. The trees change from Doulas fir to pine, the green hills become brown with grass and rock as their only covering and the road opens to fewer and fewer vehicles. Towns diminish in size as the traveler passes The Dalles with acres of hilltop wind machines, pulp trees and green irrigation circles covering the flat, open landscape.

Aged fencing lines property

Turning north towards Umatilla and the Tri-Cities on 395 brought
memories rushing back as trips to college flashed through my mind. It wasn't so populated then, and with the city traffic picking up we decided to skirt west around Richmond and Spokane by taking 231 into Colville. This brought us onto a two lane country road, mostly untraveled but newly paved and smooth, gentle curves and hills taking us through Palouse country, some of the most fertile farmland in the United States. The crops had already been harvested, but the stubble remained like a kid's newly buzzed blonde head, soft and even. Aging wooden fencing, barbed wire attached, leaned tiredly along property lines, suggesting vast stretches of land ownership.

Golden tamaracks amid the pines

Arriving in Colville at mid-afternoon we were greeted by pine-clad hills dotted with golden tamaracks, those quirky needled conifers that turn color and drop their needles in the winter only to re-green in the spring. The air was chilly and hinted of snow to the nostrils. The town has an interesting history linked to the Hudson Bay Trading Company of the late 1800's. We were greeted by our lovely birthday lady and proceded to settle in for the duration of the weekend, getting acquainted with the cat and dog and watching the deer gather for their sunset feeding in the pasture below the house.

 Morning-feeding quail, deer and a stovepipe captive starling greeted us as we sipped our fresh coffee and spooned apple crisp into our mouths. The cat was riveted on the wood stove  by the scratching sounds of yet another hapless starling that mysteriously and shall I say stupidly plummeted down the cold stovepipe to rest on the damper shelf. A sigh of resignation emitted from our hostess as she prepared for the routine of freeing the bird, a messy process at best. Corralling the cat first, she donned heavy gloves, opened the stove door and removed the damper shelf, waiting for the bird to crash into the ashes and make a blackened escape. We tried to help by holding up a sheet to direct the escapee to the open door to freedom, but in the excitement of our first escape experience we dropped the sheet just as the bird flew up and towards the picture window. Crash! Vases on the windowsill rattled as the frazzled bird attempted to fly through the pane. Experienced hands grabbed the bird carefully and tossed it out the door. Just another busy morning in Colville.

Hapless starling awaiting release

 Shopping and lunching our way through downtown  took up our afternoon as well as a trip to the local library with its basement book sale. Our hostess, a retired librarian, loaded us up with boxes of good reads at a bargain. Happy with our acquisitions, we headed home for a steak dinner as only a transplanted Texan can prepare it. Conversation filled every crack of time as we swapped stories of all kinds and traded recipes and foodie experiences.

Rainbow

Quick weather change

Winter fuel

Bunker

Morning snow warning

Princess

 Evening movies rounded out the visit, complimented with popcorn and jammies. Farewells exchanged in the morning, we headed for the reverse of the trip, noting the sprinkling of snow on the hills warning of the deeper stuff to come. We chose a few alternate routes to explore as we made our way along country byways with their occasional outbuildings, farm equipment groupings, baled hay and bright red barns standing in sharp contrast to the beige fields.

The sun provided a spectacular setting as we crossed the mighty Columbia once again. Those familiar rain clouds darkened the horizon as we drew closer to home. A happy birthday weekend of shared joy and encouragement was the outcome of our travels as well as captivating views of the eastern side of the state. It is a journey for the traveler with time to stop and explore little towns, side roads and in the summer, farms with produce stands. Enjoy a little get-away to Colville and take your passport so you can jump into Canada for an afternoon exploring our northern neighbor.

The mighty Columbia River

Garden Sharing

Suplus boxwood

The excitement of a fresh plot of garden space or an entire yard for that matter makes it irresistible to receiving new plantings. My theory of gardening is "no dirt showing" and to that end I built my gardens from the ground up with offerings from my mother-in-law's garden, friends' yards and plant sales. Through the years, the yard's bareness began to fill in until it hit the jungle phase. That was when the plants and trees were competing for space and not thriving at their optimum.

A young friend with a new yard to fill asked for some starts and I gave her free rein to dig through the yard. She filled a pickup bed with samples from many of the plants. When she left, the garden seemed barely touched and as spring came the plants seemed to thrive once again, making up for their lost pieces with renewed strength!

Preparing to dig

A period of several years of inattention gave the garden an unbridled opportunity to overpower this gardener and become an uncivilized mass of overgrown plants, mossy bricks, Johnson grass and unpruned trees. The balance of control versus nature tipped to a riotous mass of greenery that one person could only struggle with to keep from totally returning to nature. A merciful and talented gardening friend spent two entire days hacking, digging, pruning back the jungle as well as pulling out a fair share of plants for her garden and subsequently returned my yard to me in a manageable state.

When some fallen trees opened up the yard to more sun, I decided to share once again so that I could reclaim a kitchen garden space. A call went out to anyone wanting free boxwood and other plant starts. One friend came to claim a few shrubs and the digging kept the wheelbarrow filled with other garden delights: Siberian iris, Japanese anemone, hostas to name a few.

Another friend plans to come and dig more boxwood and then case the garden for other useable starts for her new yard.  As I gaze about my own yard my eyes catch reminders of friends and fellow gardeners via the plants they have shared with me over the years. Thanks Vicki for the variegated hydrangea, mom for the hostas, my mother for the roses and calla lilies, grandmother for the Cecil Brunner climbing rose via my uncle, Mike and Holly for the dahlias, Tammy for the yellow loosestrife that crept under the fence, to mention a few.  Private plant sales, end-of-season grocery store sales, nursery close-outs, the local community college horticulture sales and the occasional splurge for a coveted hardy geranium or peony. So many wonderful memories!

Room for vegies now!

 When you have plenty, think of others who are just starting or starting over and share the bounty with them. It can only serve to stimulate your own garden to spread in healthy growth, making endless ways to continue the gardener's practice of sharing the wealth! Contact me for starts. I have a jungle waiting to sprout!

Come fill  your trunk from my garden