In search of heat

Our search for a weekend warm up lead us to the Yakima Valley in search of the perfect peppers. Yes, I know, last week we were escaping the heat at the Oregon Coast, but this weekend we were escaping the grey drizzle here at home. In 2008, we took a very warm respite across the mountains with our friend Lisa. Then, the temp was 109 degrees and I was melting! This time, a nice comfortable 77-84 greeted us on the Eastern side.
Here's the proof of the peppers. The new string of peppers (2010) on top of the old (2008). The Yakima Sunday Market is famous for its wide array of peppers. I purchased 12 different kinds to spice up our dishes. We also found wonderful heirloom tomatoes, squash, spice mixes, jellies, honey, apples, peaches, and purselaine. What's that last one you might ask? A shrubby succulent herby edible that delicious for both humans and chickens alike. Feeding it to the cluckers increases the omega-3 in their eggs by ten times.

Grapes at the Bonair Winery. This is always our first vineyard destination.

These are Chardonnay grapes. We bought a bottle of their reserve Chardonnay after tasting, delish with buttery overtones.

One more of the grapes. We also liked the Bonair Riesling and took home a bottle of the reserve Merlot for David.

A lovely lily on the pond at Bonair.

The wine from Bonair.

We first met this turkey on the lane to the Bonair Winery. It was hanging out with two dogs and a few chickens in the front yard of a home. On the way out of the winery, we encountered him again, this time on guard patrol. He didn't let us by for awhile. When we did nudge forward, he gobbled loudly and attacked the front of Lisa's Mazda. Eventually, he let us by. The poor soul in the vehicle behind us decided to stop, get out of his car, and attempt to take pictures, up close and personal. We didn't stay to see the result, but were laughing all the way out of there.

Alex and Ari at the Silver Lakes Winery in the Rattle Snake Hills. We didn't see any rattlers, but did see lots of magpies around the wineries and osprey in the Yakima Valley.

Lisa taking a picture of us on the Silver Lake Lawn. Bar-be-que was cooking, wine was being poured, awesome live music was playing, and the sun was shining.

Alex and Ari sitting on the winery's wall.

A view down the hills. I sampled the Pinot Gris in the new line for wine loving chicks called Girly Girl wine (honest to goodness!). It was good!

Finally, a flower photo (I just couldn't resist).

Day Tripping

Today, Alex, Ari, and I went day tripping to the Port Townsend area

with our friend, Lisa. We had a delicious lunch in town, and then headed out to Fort Warden to explore.
The old batteries are full of stairways

doorways,

nooks and crannies.

Captivity.

Freedom.

Who can be found in a repurposed circle?

Ari and Alex.

And who is hiding behind the patina door?

Demon boy!

And a special treat way up in the tree.

Bald eagle in big nest!

Fall Festivals

Guess who came to dinner? Our friend Lisa. Hey Lisa, look out where you put your hand!

Something creepy this way comes!

Our Halloween dinner! A stuffed pumpkin stew, with chips, fresh salsa, guacamole, pumpkin brew, and a Halloween cake. Delish!

Alex showing his costume. He's being a loser! (Must be that Yankee's t-shirt!)

Anni as a cheerful pumpkin!

David as the Phantom of the opera. Ari thinks he's hysterical!

and because this is the fall festival post...

Another creepy crawlie. This is a giant bird eating tarantula!

Bikes, Bites, and Yikes! Random thoughts from a busy day

Here's our friend Lisa in the middle of her 100K bike ride for charity. She's arriving at a rest stop, 2/3's of the way through. She looks great and is still upright!

Here she is waving by at the stop.
And she's off again!

The raspberries are ripening.

So are the blackberries that are snaking their way over into my yard.

Tuesday's garden harvest; a winter squash (already!), celery, zucchini (of course), tomatoes, and herbs.

Thursday's harvest: acorn squash, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, tomatillos, kale, lots of beans, and herbs.

Today's harvest: Zucchini, tomatoes, beans, carrots, kale, and herbs.

We also went to the farmer's market today. We always find wonderful local foods there. Today we found locally made sustainable Italian sausage, hazelnut oil, locally caught tuna, potatoes, lettuce, onions, apples, and hot peppers. Yum!

And finally a wise face from our zoo trip last week. This gorilla was watching all the folks watching her.

Out to another farm!

Yesterday, we took a trip out to Jones Creek Farm with our friend Lisa. The farm is located near Sedro-Woolly, along Highway 20, by milepost 75.

The farm was having its garlic fest. We tasted several types of garlic, ranging from mild to zippy!

Here's the farmer, looking ferocious. "Try the garlic or else!" But seriously, he and his wife are really nice folks with awesome garlic, tomatoes, and tons of fruit.

Here's a pic of the ginormous peaches! We came home and baked 2 peach crisps! Not pictured are the golden plum trees. We picked about 10 pounds of these and then made 12 jars of jam!

Here a pic of the apples! Jones Creek farm grows over 60 varieties of apples and all of them are delicious. We'll be heading back up to pick apples (can you say pie?) in a few weeks.

Check out their awesome website at http://www.SkagitValleyFruit.com.

I buy tomato starts each year from Jones Creek and have never been disappointed (did you see the photos from the last post?). The future funny farmers love apple sampling once all the apple varieties are in season.

It was also farmers market day yesterday. I snagged the last of the black currents for black current syrup. Guess who's having pancakes for breakfast?

Y of U?

Can you guess where we went on our urban adventure today? Here's a piece of a tree (cactus? succulent?) we found lying on the ground.

Alex entrapped by the strange downed plant. Note the buildings in the background.

Time to get your ducks in a row if your guessing.

This fountain is an enormous clue.

These roses ring the fountain.

Lots of roses.

Lots and lots of roses.Even more!
Lisa and Mary among the roses.

Cone flowers down in the gardens.

Another cool flower.

A fuzzy flannel bush flower.

Artichoke ginormous!

And finally a hollyhock. Note the background.

Did you guess?

Here are a few more clues:

The buildings behind Alex lead to the Quad. The fountain with its rose gardens are iconic, and the botany green houses peek out behind the hollyhock.

And the answer is the U of W.

We went to the grounds of the University of Washington with Lisa and her niece, Mary. We visited the Burke Museum and then had lunch on the Ave which sadly to say has suffered significant decline and decay since the opening of a large snazzy shopping center nearby. Almost all the cute little shops and eateries are gone!

We finished up our trip with to Archie McPhees, Seattle's own superstore of the wild, weird, and funtastic. Here you can find boxing nun puppets, a bacon belt, rubber chickens, devil duckies, and life size inflatable aliens. The teenagers had a blast exploring the store. (ok, ok, so did us adults!).

And the fun was not over yet... After we dropped off Lisa and Mary, we took a nap (much needed) and then went to the Kirkland Crit Bike Races where brave souls race their bikes around a small circuit of downtown at breakneck speeds! It was very exciting!!!

We ended the day with David taking the kids for pizza while I went to a movie. Phew! I need a weekend to recover from the weekend!