Unloaded

Life here keeps getting better and better. I'm delighted to be keeping a record so I can remember all the great things that are going on as we settle in. Today's major accomplishment: unloading our entire storage box. Something to be thankful for: moving everything in to this house was so much easier than moving in or out of our little yellow house in Juneau. Even moving the 700lb metal lathe out of the box and into the downstairs area was simple, quick, and easy instead of the all day, all hands, massive undertaking it was to get it in and out of the shop before. Instead of weeks of detailed planning, we used some scraps of wood and a few bolts to make ourselves a dolly, then slid the whole thing down the ramp and rolled it across the threshold. The living room is now bursting with piles of things, so hopefully downstairs will be finished soon and we can move things in and get organized. Until then, we are moving forward with all the other exciting happenings. I set up our baby chick nursery in preparation for their arrival any day now. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day I can get started on adding windows to the hen house and giving the inside a thorough cleaning.

Also tomorrow, our friend Ray is moving on to the next stop on her adventures - boarding a plane to fly towards Japan. It's great to have visitors to share our magnificent island with. While we were up visiting our neighbor the pony again, Ray pointed out another interesting, beautiful type of mushroom which she says consumes itself to create and spread its spores.

Tim has been busy today sharpening blades and researching our "lawn tractor" and doing plenty of cuddling with Tilly.

New friends

 It's beginning to look and feel like fall around here. This morning was my favorite kind of weather - lightly misting and sunny, though it turned more windy, cloudy and rainy later in the day.

The garden seems to appreciate this weather too, as my beansprouts are taking off. It's the perfect combination of a sprinkle light enough not to harm the new greens, but sufficient to keep the top of the soil and the little seeds moist.

I've been noticing so many different species of mushrooms everywhere on our property. I think some of them must be delicious, but as it's our first fall here, we have yet to find a trustworthy guide to the fungus world. Unfortunately, little puppies aren't supposed to have mushrooms so it is a constant challenge to watch as Tilly tries to eat our wild mushrooms, grass, dirt, rocks, and deer poop. 

She is beginning to get on board with the idea of walking, and I've found some safe places to let go of the leash and let her trot along behind without stopping every six feet. We've been walking around Honeymoon Lake, keeping an eye out for our friend Nancy's new house - and today we went exploring up another loop off of the lake road to admire gardens and avoid cars. 

On our walks, we made our first new friend of the day - across the street and up the hill from us is a tiny pony about three or four feet tall. When the pony saw me, she started to walk away until Tilly drew attention to herself and I sat down in the grass to calm the gremlin; then the horse came trotting right over. It didn't want anything to do with me but seemed entranced by Tilly. The two stood nose to nose, touching and smelling for several minutes. Anytime I put my hand in range, they would try to bite at me, but the tiny pony didn't see fit to chomp at Tilly, thank goodness.  

After our walk it was time for some unpacking. Tim and I each had a key to our storage box and then... sometime between May and now we both lost them. Though we were delighted to have our things at long last, all our useful tools were locked inside the big orange box. A trip to the hardware store made short work of removing the lock and soon we were in. So far things seem to have made it in good shape, though we only got through the first layer of unpacking before the rain and wind started up and we decided it was more of a time for a movie. The weather picked up so much that Ray's ferry from Port Townsend back to Whidbey was canceled for a few hours. As I write this, lightning is beginning to strike outside the window. I was wondering how Tilly would do in her first storm - both her and Tim seem happily asleep.

While we were unloading our box, we had some surprise visitors stop by. The previous owners of the house came with a card and some old aerial photos of the property and were very kind and friendly as we sat and chatted about life on Whidbey and the beautiful gardens courtesy in part from the Seattle Arboretum. It was amazing to see the photos of how much work those women put into the house!

 The "lawn tractor" came easily out of the back of the truck with supplies from the basement, even with only the two of us to guide it down. Tim fired it up and road up the hill to meet some more visitors: Bill and Julie, friends of Tim's family from when he lived in Seattle.

Progress!

Yesterday our good man George and his electrician came by for a tour of the house to make their plan of action. Today, the electrician was busy at work consulting with Tim and detailing our new wiring for the downstairs. Hopefully we will have our new living space in just a little longer.

 This morning Tilly, Ray, and I headed up to Greenbank farm for a little exploring. As always, Tilly was busy at work making friends and meeting neighbors. One of our neighbors who is an artist at the farm said every spring we will be able to sit out on the porch and watch wales swim by in the bay. I'm looking forward to seeing that and it will bring a little piece of Alaska down here.

After dropping Ray off in Port Townsend for her friends wedding, Tim and I booked it south on a long and twisty road to fetch a riding mower from Olympia before heading back up the road at top speeds to pick up the last of our things from U-Haul before closing time. Our load rivaled what Mum and Dad picked up on their trips.

Deer in the morning, two trucks fixed, goodbye to Joe, hello Ray!

A week into puppy parenting, Tim gave me the day off (mostly) by taking on the little one.

Of course, I still got the 6am walk - Tim can be a night owl and I will be the morning bird; but most of the day Tim and Tilly played and I got to cook myself lunch and make a great quiche for dinner from all the leftover frozen foods Mum and Dad bought while they were here. Ray gave us a custom decorated pie plate for our wedding, so I figured now is the time for pie, and what better pie than leftovers quiche!

Today... while the blossoms still cling to the vine...

Have I mentioned that Tilly loves eating flowers? Especially when they are on long stems that let the bright heads bob back and forth as she mouths at them. We went to town today and our little bundle of wiggles was thoroughly adored by everyone we came across and she basked in it. We've been meeting neighbors and the couple a few doors down who also have a dog assured us that in a year, we will know everyone in town - which is how they feel after moving up from California last year. Sure enough, we went out to lunch and another neighbor we had met was our server and recognized Tilly right away. A little puppy is a pretty good way to start meeting people.

Thank goodness she is growing up fast and won't be quite such a handful forever. A little less than three weeks until she gets her shots and can start playing with other dogs! Thank goodness. Tim did great working with her walking on the leash, though she would still rather run home to her toys, food, and naps, then go for a stroll. It seems singing to her while walking helps a little, and new places are much easier than our street. Unfortunately our street is just one long road with highway at either end, so taking a different path every time isn't an option like in a grid neighborhood - though she'd probably figure that out pretty quick too.

In other news, while taking Tilly down to the beach, I found we have a USGS marker on our property/beach. 

Also, while taking the chopped branches from the yard up the hill to the wood pile with a little dog chasing me back and forth and Tim busily fixing up our truck, I found this massive, strange bug. It was over two inches long and waving its large, sharp tail about.

Still no sign of the sheetrocker, electrician, or insulator getting the downstairs apartment finished, so until then we are cozy in our little room upstairs. Our friend Ray is coming for a visit tomorrow which I'm sure Tilly will be extra excited for. I've been trying to figure out the best schedule for the little beast. When she gets sleepy, she starts grumbling and nipping - I suppose like babies, puppies need a ton of sleep. Even full grown dogs are supposed to sleep an average of about 14 hours a day.

Working dog, Sleeping dog, Beach dog, Trick dog.

Tim's first day of work today - back on his dad's boat getting things fixed up. He came home super jazzed and proud of all the good things he got done. Tilly was a good girl and let me actually get a little work done as well at home. She diligently followed and watched as I moved armloads of wood up from the limbed tree to the wood pile, and took nice long naps or chewed on her toys while I started back on my Masters of Teaching schoolwork. We spent some time down on the beach where she seemed too in awe to move. It's good for the reminder to sit and watch and appreciate. She is quickly taking to her tricks and is getting good at sit, come, high five, down, crawl, heel... working on stay but that one is pretty hard to communicate to an eager puppy. My latest strategy for walks is to carry her 10 minutes away from the house, then let her walk home - which she is so much better at than walking away from all her toys and food. Today was the first time she had an acedent in the house since my parents left (her first day home) though this time I caught her after the first drop and the rest made it outside. Win.

While playing on her towel with all her toys, she grabbed a corner and took off running!

Tricks, seeds, and fish stew.

Today I finally managed to plant my herbs in a 5th garden bed. They are vaguely in the shape of a sunshine and I aimed to plant strong scents like lavender, mint, onions and garlic around the outside so as to discourage deer and become a perennial green fence. There are already deer tracks through my nice, soft, freshly dug and planted beds! Hunting season starts in a few days... or maybe the herbs will work. 

Tilly is such a smart puppy and so eager to learn and work. Today she is 9 weeks old and almost instantly learned "come", "sit", (lay) "down", "high five" (paw), and we are working on "heel", "spin", and maybe tomorrow we will start on "stay". "No" and "yes" seem to be getting through as well, she's doing better at walking on a leash, though she knows where we live so she fusses about leaving and is overly eager to come back. So far, only peed in the hose twice and it was before I knew better on the first night and morning. Since then, she has been excellent about waiting and doing all her business outside in some appropriate place. Tonight she got to spend time with us on Tim's dad's boat up in Oak Harbor, though she thought it was more fun to curl up on a mountain of toys in her kennel and pass out. What a happy dog and a great puppy we have!

Tilly defeats the ferocious apple

I promise, in a few weeks, there will be chickens and I will write about things other than Tilly again, but for now, I feel I may never sleep again as my little defender protects me from purple squeaky toys and ferocious apples.

This morning, long before light and after Tilly had decided walks were not for her, we came in and spent some time playing in the kitchen. I thought, rattles, ropes, and squeakers are okay, but what a dog really needs is a ball. And I remembered the apple. I rolled one out for her, and she trembled. She growled, she barked. She watched in shock, awe, and horror as this new beast flew across the floor. I tried peanut butter. I tried holding them both together. I waited. Slowly she concord the apple. Slowly working up her courage, slowly pouncing closer and closer. All morning has been filled with the entertainment of her happily chewing on her apple until it suddenly escapes and flies across the floor again, or springs to life as she tries to carry it over an obstacle and it gets away! She took it in the bedroom and watched with curiosity as she lifted and dropped it with only a thunk as the carpet kept it from rolling. What a silly puppy.

Puppy

Go for a walk, eat, go for a walk, play, go for a walk, nap.
Go for a walk, eat, go for a walk, play, go for a walk, nap.
Visit Greenbank farm with Ariel, Tilly, Mom, and Grandpa.
Go for a walk, do tricks, go for a walk, play, go for a walk, nap.
Say goodbye to Mom, Dad, and Grandpa.
Go for a walk, eat, go for a walk, nap, go for a walk, nap, go for a walk, nap, go for a walk, nap...

Can't think about anything but puppy stretches.

Our farm dog is learning the ropes and being a good girl. Big walks, big naps. This morning, when it was finally light at 6:30 after playing for an hour, we walked to Honeymoon Lake and met a big airedale, though Tilly dosen't get any nose-time with dogs until she has a few more shots.

She wasn't ready for bed when we were ready to go out, so she was spoiled and got to come with... with her whole kennel in the back seat ready for naps. We stopped by our first farmers market and saw why Whidbey is famous for dogs - everyone had a dog! Tilly will be so well socialized in a few more weeks. I also met a young woman who recognized me from my bicycle-in-the grocery-store adventures two days ago. Hopefully we will start making friends as our life settles down.

After our stop at the market, Tilly went back in the kennel for naps while we visited a sheep-dairy farm where we bought meat and cheese.

Next, we continued our "Whidbey Farm Tour Day" at a "found fiber" farm of rescued/non-breeding, mostly female, fiber animals and a very busy farmer woman crafting to keep the animals fed.

While Mom, Grandpa, Tilly, and I were out and about, Tim and Dad were busy finishing the drain system project - digging holes, clearing tubes, and putting everything back together again.

Perfect puppy, perfect day

Too much excitement, too much busyness, too many good things!

 It seems the more we repel the spiders and bugs, the closer they came. We woke up to find a giant spider web attached to our dining table and a wasp nest by the front door - both new as of last night, and both now removed. I vow to defend our future visitors from unwanted insect company to the best of my ability and think it will be better in the winter and as we continue to solidify our presence in the house and seal entry points.

My mum is absolutely adorable and went to the thrift store this morning to find appropriate, fun, fashionable clothes for staining the deck.

Tilly's things are all ready for her arrival tomorrow! In 12 hours we will be driving on our way to the airport to pick her up from her long flight from Chicago. Thankfully her current caretakers are driving her and her sister all the way so they can have non-stop flights to their new homes.

Tim, Dad, Mom, and even Grandpa got busy and finished sanding and staining all the decks! I wish I would have gotten a picture of Grandpa out there with a roller in one hand and a brush in the other crawling around in his socks getting the edges of the decks stained! They were at it from early this morning until after dark. I planted peppers, peas, onions, did some cleaning inside, and cooked dinner for the family. I am so proud of them and grateful. Sanding porches is not my greatest strength.

I also went on a bike adventure to town this morning in an effort to relax before Tilly arrives and on a mission to pick up some items on my list. I found this excellent and official sign. Thank you Whidbey Island! I also found the veterinary office, though it was closed for lunch, and made a stop at the grocery store to make Tilly a toy. When I got to the check out stand with my bicycle in a very narrow isle, I remembered I was still waiting for a new card in my new name! I gave the poor woman a check with my name and address both crossed out and re-written. At least I had that.

Tim and I went on an adventure of South Whidbey in a largely unsuccessful attempt to run errands, though very successful for relaxing during these whirlwind times.  

Spring time in September

Maybe we're being fooled, but it's half way through September and feels like spring. Everything is alive and fresh and new. We are planting the gardens in the hot sun and rejuvenating a house that has been waiting for a family for so long.

This morning, a large spider web completely blocked the doorway to the house. Tim armed me with a long stick and I made my way around the property clearing webs and checking on the gardens. While the rest of the family continued sanding the decks, I set to work clearing the remaining branches that were limbed yesterday and adding them to the chipper pile. After every few armloads, I got to climb on top of the pile as tall as me and jump on the springy limbs to compact them back to a reasonable size. When it was time to head in, I picked as many spiders out of my hair as I could. Moving to my dream farm and cutting my hair have greatly decreased my arachnophobia; between scooping up armloads of branches still happily crawling with spiders, to clambering up and bouncing on this spider-habitat as spiders drop into my hair from the tree above, or no longer having long hair to blame the sensation of webs on my face on... They're just spiders. Not too many bites yet!

I also tilled another sun beam in my front garden and am ready to plant it in the morning. Still so much to do tomorrow before our darling puppy arrives the following day! 

Filling days with Roxaboxen

Days fill up so fast; with six of us (mostly a certain 4) each making plans that require cooperation and collaboration. With each of us starting on a different project every day and also needing to finish yesterdays. So much excitement. So much hard work, together as a family. I feel a bit like I am making my own Roxaboxen - dragging logs to make paths on the beach, arranging rocks to outline and protect my first garden, stomping paths in patterns around that first small patch of dirt, fixing up and cleaning my barn, staking out where the compost will be, and piling branches and wood up high enough to be a house. Instead of building an imaginary home, I am building the home I've been imagining all my life. Instead of doing it with the bossy girl from across the street and the shy one from next door, I am working along side my family; my husband, parents, uncles, and grandpa as we all tackle what we can.

Today' projects:
We finally utilized Drewslist and found the perfect kennel for little miss Tilly puppy who's arriving in just a few days. Stalking up on supplies: the food and water dishes, a giant bag of puppy kibble, and setting out the supplies I already have collected: leashes, collar, poop bags, is marking the reality of her imminent arrival. One more dream coming true.

When we came home from our puppy supply mission, Dad was up a tree. Tim sat down of the couch to write thank you letters and said, "Ariel, Ariel, come here! Your dad is up a tree. He's really far up that tree! Does he even have a harness on?? Joy wouldn't like this. Is he going to cut all those branches off? I hope he leaves enough to get down. Look how high up he is! Ariel, he's in the tree." I got the impression he was concerned. I took pictures and watched as the view and light opened up and the tree lost some serious weight.

Then of course it was our job to jump in and start hauling away the pile of cut limps. Dad chainsawed the big pieces up into firewood sized pieces, and the rest we started hauling into the chipper pile to turn into ground cover eventually. We worked until Tim, Dad, and I were all ready to collapse, then Tim and I volunteered to return the rented tools to have some sitting time and ice cream (all the hardware stores sell local ice cream bars in dozens of delicious flavors).

Other events of the day:
- Uncle Dan experimented with the bus system and bought Tim a bright orange bike.
- The seeds we planted in the chicken run are alive and doing fine.
- Our room went from a disaster zone to so clean I vacuumed.
- Almost all our thank you cards are assembled and addressed, but not quite.
- The enormous pile of leftovers from our open house are slowly diminishing.
- Yesterday, I think, Tim and Krista dropped off a trailer and motor scooter.
Who knows what else. Too busy to keep track of everything at once!

Garden Started!!

Woohoo! I dug, tilled, combed, and planted my first tree garden beds today! The center of the turn around in our driveway is now turning into a sunshine of garden beds. The center circle has Tiger's Eye Beans, Empress Beans, Amish Tomatoes, Cylindra beets and Early Blood Turnip beets. One ray has Strawberry Spinach which I am so excited for, Scarlet Nanties carrots, Salsifry which I am also delighted about, and some assorted lettuce. In the second ray, I planted the Dragon carrots, cabbage, Bloomsdale spinach, and the rest of the lettuce. Tomorrow I will try to plant the herbs, but I ran out of time today!

Yesterday there was thunder and lightning all around our house, which brought on a sudden and short lived flood of rain. While it was raining, we discovered our drain system was completely clogged, meaning the water formed a river and made a b-line for eroding our hillside. Today, Tim got as far as inflating our kayak before Dad arrived with a rented 100-foot, super sized, electric drain snake and Tim got busy digging and snaking. I left the property for the first time to buy more drain tubes, and an ice cream bar.

Tim dug down to the clogged drain tube

Then worked the snake up and down until the drain started to unclog in one direction, but the other direction was stuck.

Dad climbed up and down the hill to investigate.

Today was the day

Alice woke up and got busy shoveling my top soil out of the parking spot after spending all day yesterday cleaning the "arboretum". Everyone else have also been pitching in to get the house spic and span. From noon to dusk we had visitors to celebrate our new home and married life. Many aunts, uncles, friends and other relatives came by. Our mothers did a repeat of their united reading from our wedding ceremony, Tim and I made a second attempt at the whole cutting the cake business. Sister Krista found a way to get my veil to stay in my new short hair. Cousin Min Min excelled at running around the crowded room between chatting adults to deliver cake and was rewarded by licking all the pans. All-in-all a wonderful evening. From here on through the next week, things should quiet down significantly and get back towards the farming life before Little Miss Tilly Puppy arrives on Friday to be our super farm-dog. After opening gifts, we spend some time debating the best types of raised beds to build. It's hard to resist getting started before the fence is put in on the 27th, but it will be worth it to have the beds in the right place the first time and while I wait, I still have compost bins to finish building and a chicken house to clean, white-wash, and window.

A night off-farm

What better way to unwind after long days of getting ready for our open house/reception and visiting with family and friends than to drive up to the Skaget Speedway for the final races of the season, complete with fireworks!?

Their slogan is "Where families go to have fun" and indeed, it reminded us of the Juneau Folk Festival, the way children were running around in the (safe, fenced) grassy area (wearing ear and eye protection) while the parents hung out in the seats watching the show.

The whole place felt like a very friendly, supportive, tight knit community. Even my uncle who passed away this year was remembered by the announcer. There were signs about that reminded visitors to keep it family appropriate by refraining from swearing and fighting. There were other signs that had a different kind of warning. More along the lines of "beware of flying car parts".

Planting log

Beans: Tiger's Eye,
          Empress
Pea: Tom Thumb - I ordered a ton of these. Tiny plant, pig pea pods.
Carrot: Scarlet Nantes
          Dragon
Salsifry: Mammoth Sandwich Island - looks like carrot, tastes like oyster?
Herbs: Wormwood
          Cilantro
          Borage
          Lamb's Ears
          Cinnamon Bail
          Lemon Mint
          Stevia - sweet, sweet leaves.
          English Lavender
Spinach: Bloomsdale
          Strawberry - I am so curios how spinach grows berries.
Lettuce mix
Onion: Yellow of Prama
          Long Red Florence
Beet: Cylindra
          Early Blood Turnip
Cabbage: Premium Late Flat Dutch
Tomatoes - Seed Savers threw in a bonus seed packet!

I spent the morning planting 5 cups of each in little seed trays in the green house. I will plant the garden after all the commotion settles down next week... with Tilly, our new puppy here! But not yet.

Now our house is filled with Mom, Dad, Grandpa Ed, Uncle Dan, Uncle Joel, Brother Tim, Sister Krista, Mother Alice, Aunt Agnes, Cousin Minmin... Is that all? And Tim and I of course... oh! and Sancho, the small white pile of shedding and love! More to come today! I meant to take a picture of our spaghetti feast and full table yesterday but no luck. I will try again now that we have even more family in the house!

Transformation

Tim says bikes are the most efficient man-made method of transportation. I meant to look into this, and methods of stabilizing erosion on hill-sides and bee/wasp removal... but then the day got eaten up with all the other work to do! Last night, Tim and Dad slipped out after dark to strike the bees and wasps while they were sleeping in their nests. Evidently the spray they used is very safe for people, dogs, birds, but not cats or bees.

This morning, aside from my regular crass raking project, I legally changed my name at the DMV and bank! I now have a paper version of my Washington drivers licence while they mail me the permanent one. Strange how Alaska gives out the official versions of drivers licences and vehicle titles immediately and they are very beautiful, where as Washington has rather plain versions that have to come in the mail weeks later. I would expect the opposite.

Our afternoon was spent reuniting with the parents, back from the mainland with (hopefully) the last overflowing truck load. We have been organizing and cleaning all evening getting ready for our first open-house guests, arriving any minute now; Uncle Dan, Uncle Joel, and Grandpa Ed.

 The front porch complete with Chicken glider bench and mum flowers

 The kitchen and dining room all ready for visitors, coasters in place

 Giant rugs everywhere are the best

Some flowers hiding in the corner, past the rug we rescued from that mansion 

Warm, cozy, enormous living room slowly looking full and inhabited 

--not that we've had a chance to sit all week

The master bedroom ready for Grandpa with a giant TV in the corner 

Mom and Dad finally have a bed 

The "twin room" set up for my uncles

Eventually I plan to blog about things other than a list of everything we've done. Eventually we will be drying and canning food, planting and harvesting, caring for animals, and all the rest, but for now our days are full setting up the house. Our box of seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange came today and I walked them down to the greenhouse before the truck of food arrived and drew my attention other places.