heat, hatchets and bees

All this hot weather has been driving Miso nuts. It's exactly the same as when we get one of those big storm fronts that bring piles of rain for days on end. She wants to play, but the weather is not cooperating. So what am I doing at 6:30 a.m.? Throwing the ball for the dogs.

I guess it could be worse. This is the only time of day that I enjoy being outside when the weather is like this. The birds are chirping and making all sorts of noise, the insects hum, and there is even a light cool breeze. It's hotter indoors than outside right now since I turned off the AC in the middle of the night. That poor machine is really getting a workout! I don't remember when I last lived with AC. I'm not entirely certain I ever did (maybe when I was a little kid?).

This year, we have some unexpected guests visiting our hot tub. Apparently a local bee colony has found the "watering hole" the perfect spot for staying hydrated.

At any given moment, there are a couple dozen of bees buzzing about the rim of the hot tub. It's hard to see these little guys from my pictures (knowing my trouble with stings I kept a bit of a distance while snapping shots). If you click on the photo it'll get a bit bigger and you can get a closer look.

To stave off the heat we have been hanging out indoors. Liz and Biniam dropped by on their way to the airport. Cameron shared his tools with Biniam while Liz and I chatted about post-PhD life and her life in New Jersey.



I hope all of you without AC and suffering through the oppressive heat are finding fun ways to cool down. I'm looking forward to the 80+ degree weather promised for next week!

where have i been?

It's been too long since my last blog and I'm going to try and do a quick catch up on the latest and greatest. Let's see...you left your intrepid Eugenian in early July, when she was buried in berries from the garden and other outdoor tasks, not to mention a heaping pile of work....

We've been busy here at our little forested escape from the city. Summer is the time to travel and we have had visitors from near and far, and also made some time for reconnecting with friends here in town. A couple of weeks ago, our friend Ellen swept into Oregon on one of her whirlwind tours that combine work and pleasure as she tasted berries, visited farms, visited friends and family, and headed with us to the Oregon Country Fair. One evening of her visit, our dear friend Barbara was also in town. Cameron, Ellen, Barbara and I kept up constant conversation before, during, and after dinner, finding it hard to tear ourselves away as the night wound down.


I had an early night of it because I was doped up on Benedryl. It was my second yellow jacket encounter this year, which for me are always unfortunate. At least I don't go into shock, but I do swell up like the Pilsbury Dough Boy! Not only is it uncomfortable, but I also look pretty funny. A few weeks before I got stung right above my eyebrow and that gave me quite an uneven look. This last time it was behind my knee and my kneecap disappeared right before my eyes. Lovely. (Note the great sacrasm in my voice at this moment.)

Cameron, Ellen, and I got ourselves all gussied up for the Fair (i.e. costume-esque type of garb) and spent a lovely day wandering around. The weather was coolish and cloudy, so the crowds and the dust were both held at bay. We spent most of our time watching the vaudeville acts - jugglers, contortionists, and all that great stuff you find in Cirque du Soliel. By the evening it got quite chilly. We hung around visiting with some of Ellen's friends and then caught the last bus back to Eugene.

Here we are all gussied up....

While at the fair, we took note of the correct way to make a hula-hoop for an adult. Once we returned home, Cameron put one together and we've been reacquainting ourselves with the joys of the hula hoop. (So much that I've actually been able to make my sides sore/bruised from the pressure of the hoop! I didn't know you could do that!)

Around here, the garden keeps me busy. Lots of weeding, harvesting, and food processing. I've been making raspberry jam, cherry salsa, and pesto. We will probably soon launch in to potato-kale soup (which is Cameron's gig), before it all bolts. Broccoli is still coming on, but so are summer squash and tomatoes, making for lovely meals. This year we have enough water that I've also been able to keep the flowers watered. Our front yard is a cacophany of reds, pinks, oranges, purples, yellows, and white, surrounded by lush green leaves. Roses, grapes, and figs dangle about on long stems, while our herb garden is aiming to take over the world with it's ever spreading reach.

Right now we are all prepped for dealing with chickens and garden in the extreme heat that is coming our way. Now you Southerns won't bat an eyelash at our several days of 100+ weather heading our way, but for us Western Oregonians, that is no small thing. You see, since we don't have humidity and we don't usually get all that hot, most people don't have air conditioning. We don't have air conditioning in our car, for example. We are not acclimated, nor is most of our garden. The only respite is the fact that we still cool off to 60 degrees at night. So for now I am sitting at the picnic table in our yard, enjoying the morning sun, crisp air, and birds singing. The dogs are lounging in the sunshine. By afternoon you won't hear a peep except for the insects and we'll be hiding out in our home where we are fortunate enough to have air conditioning (this year, for the first time ever!).

Hmm, lots of other things have been happening too. Our biggest adventure was with a friend of ours... a very long story. But to make things short, we spent the entire day yesterday with his friends and family clearing out his house and putting his belongings into storage. Whew! I am always amazed at how much stuff one can accumulate over a short time. The bigger the home, the more you accumulate. Cam and I are exhausted from the long day in hot weather and looking forward to relaxing a bit today.

Sadly, our summer swing lessons are coming to an end. Cameron heads out for 8 days in the field and so we will miss our last class of July. August is full of travel as I head out to Vancouver, B.C. for a conference, then Rhode Island for a wedding celebration/reception, and New Hampshire to visit family. When we return, we hope to jump back in to classes.

On that same note, there is still a lot we haven't done yet that we had hoped to do this summer. For instance, we have done ZERO backpacking. So disappointing! I guess we have September (which is often the best time anyhow), but still, nothing like the once a month we were aiming for! Ah well, I hope ya'll are getting more time in the woods than we are (if you discount the fact that we live in the woods). Meanwhile, the A-Type personality in me is going to go check "blog" off my to-do list for this weekend. ;-P

cool day

After several days of toasty hot weather, I woke to cloudy skies and a cool breeze. I love it! And I love that it will only be in the 70's all week. I can get some baking done and prune back my roses... and maybe that next round of broccoli will keep growing before giving up.

I'm trying to stay focused on work this month, but it is certainly difficult. This is not my favorite part of the research process - surrounded by piles of papers and equations... trying to create a clear path through a myriad of unconnected lines. It is full of daily up's and down's:
"Ah-ha! I figured it out!"
Soon followed by:
"Crud, why doesn't that work?"
Then, again:
"Oh, that's it! Progress!"
And back to:
"But now why doesn't that look like it is supposed to?"
And on and on. I think you get the picture. By the end of a work day, my brain has been pulled in many directions and it feels like it didn't get put back in the right order.

Another unfortunate part of this process is that I am very easily distracted. I find myself contemplating life, the universe, and everything (and I don't mean the book). While I generally enjoy such wanderings, it does not make for a very productive day. This is especially troubling with deadlines lingering! So I must crack the whip for the month of July, because in August: I travel.

And I must crack the whip today, because this weekend: I play! Barbara and Ellen, each on their separate trips, will be swinging through Eugene at the end of the week. Yeah! I look forward to visiting with both of our friends. Maybe I'll be seeing some of you at the Fair?

buzz, buzz, busy

Yikes! It is July already! June was a pretty busy month. I started my new job and was busy helping with a big 10-year funding proposal. We had a solstice party. I raced to prepare for a conference...that turned out to be very poorly attended and not all that exciting (but at least I got a ton of work done). Then the poor, neglected garden needed some serious attending - I even had to "take a day off work" to just try and catch up. Whew!

Now here we are in the midst of a particularly warm heat wave. Cameron and I are excited to use our new window air conditioner...it is making life so much easier. For those of you who don't know - our poorly insulated cottage with windows from the dark ages heats up like you can't imagine. On these hot days, especially with several in a row, we are talking mid to upper 90's inside all through the evening and part of the night. We sleep outside where the air is cool. Now we can actually cook dinner and sleep in our bed.

The garden is cruising along. We've picked 11+ pints of raspberries already!! Besides having a gallon frozen, I think I've eaten a half a pint a day. And we aren't done yet - here's a pic from before the major onslaught.

And now the cherries are coming on full force. Yum! They are itsy-bitsy, but tasty. I took this picture before the solstice party meaning to blog about cherries, but as you can tell, that didn't happen.


The dogs are enjoying the lazy days of summer, just kicking it in the shade.


Meanwhile, Cameron has been playing with electricity. He spent some time trying to figure out what is going wrong with the lights on the bus. At one point we only had lights with brake lights, no turn signals, and then no lights, then no hazards, then... ah, I'm confused just thinking about it. Good thing he took pictures to remind him what goes where.


And we are going to try a washer and dryer again. I pleaded and complained and Cameron finally gave in. Then he found a pair for $20 on craigslist. The washer doesn't do a hot rinse and the dryer doesn't run on automatic turn-off cycle, but that is okay by us. Cameron had to bring a new wire in from the box in the house out through the barn and to the back room.


Hmm...another work picture. He needed a three-prong outlet vs. the newer four-prong, or something like that. Unfortunately, the dryer got shorted out in the process so it no longer has any heat. Guess it is back to craigslist for a dryer. Fortunately, that can wait until winter, when we have no room in the house to hang clothes. Summer is a perfect time not to have a dryer!

And so, another morning without getting much dissertation work done. But the garden is watered and ready for another day in the mid-90's. The chickens are fed and the dogs will be (yes Emma, I am almost done, please stop pacing!). And I finally got to the blog. I have many promised emails and phone calls I haven't gotten to, so sorry! Soon! I promise!!