Flower Farm!

We love going to the U-pick flower farm in Pullman, Sunshine Farms!  It is one of our absolute favorite places to go in the summer!  From June to September, rows of beautiful flowers, and a good way to spend a lazy hour!  It is also amazing how many flowers one can get in a "child's sand bucket" portion!  Oh, would that my beds looked this lovely all the time!

 

Palouse Solstice

To say I love the Palouse in the early summer is a bit of an understatement.

 

 

Moscow Mountain Morning

This morning I loaded my mountain bike onto the truck (with a lot of instruction from my husband) and headed up to Moscow Mountain with two friends and a dog for a morning of riding. It had rained the night before, and it was very pretty.  I hadn't been to this area in the summer, though I'm pretty sure I've skied it. 


I need to bike more often, as in, at least once a week.  Climbing is tough, but it's the downhills that scare me.  I admit I walked the whoop-de-doos.  I want to be a better bike handler, and a better climber, and a better descender.  Ok, I need to improve pretty much everywhere. Good thing I have friends who are similarly motivated!


But I did feel really hard core driving home in the truck with the bike on the roof!

 

 

 

 

Lake Chelan

We took a family roadtrip this past weekend.  My husband participated in the Echo Valley Mountain Bike Race, part of the Northwest Epic Series.  The race was in Chelan, WA, therefore, roadtrip!

On the way, we were caught in a summer thundershower. It was spectacular.

  We should have stopped, but the boy was asleep so we didn't wake him.  
We just took in the sights as my camera clicked away.

We drove in and out of showers for the entire trip.  

These power lines run from Grand Coulee dam.   Hydropower, friend or foe?  

The jury is still out on that one, at least in my mind.

I highly recommend taking the back roads through north central Washington.  Unexpectedly stunning views seem to crop up occasionally!

 Of course the bugs on the window detract a bit!

Chelan was beautiful too, but I'm not sure the reality lived up to the reputation.  My husband and I would like to go back one day, and take the boat to Stehekin, where it is truly remote.  Chelan seemed too touristy, too showy, and too posh.  

They do have an absolutely wonderful bookstore (Riverwalk Books) and an equally wonderful yarn shop (Warehouse Woolery), both of whom have very nice proprietors and a friendly, inviting atmosphere.  Chelan also has beautiful public spaces.  Perhaps I am being a little too hard on the town, but our family likes the quiet spaces more.

The bike race was fun.  My husband was pleased with his results, and I was pleased with the atmosphere and collegiality of the riders.  I hope for many more similar road trips this summer! 

 I am hoping the California poppies I planted in my front bed one day 

look as lovely as these!

Million Dollar Rains

In a dryland ag region, June rains are million dollar rains.  Rain in June can turn a good wheat harvest into a great wheat harvest.  It can help you replace old and outdated equipment.  And it isn't so bad for the garden, either!

I am so pleased with my kitchen garden this year!  I have never had so many plants in the ground and sprouting by the first of June.  

We had a rockin' barbeque here last night.  Now the only remnants are the croquet set, left out over night.