Keeping track

The last weekend post of 2023!
New Year’s Resolutions

Eat more bacon;
Bake bread;
Win a lottery.

More resolutions below.
First, thanks for the cards, greetings, and messages. I will use this as a response because I do the posting each week and am too lazy to add cards to my schedule – such as it is. Here on the Naneum Fan I am getting dreary weather – El Niño induced. So far the coldest temperature was 18°F in October, but mostly it has been a little below and a little above freezing. The most snow was about 5 inches, all gone; now there is about an inch that fell late on Christmas Day. Usually, Washington State doesn’t experience extreme weather during an El Niño pattern.
I went to the White Heron Winery for Christmas lunch – actually the home of Phyllis and Cameron. There were five of us. I was home before the snow started. New Years Eve I will stay home and listen to neighbors make loud noises with guns and fireworks. Me? I’ll watch flames in the wood stove.

The next 4-part image does show some of my intended projects as 2024 unfolds.
In addition, there will be vine pruning starting in a few weeks.
Top right of the image shows a couple of old pallets. I got pallets at a CWU surplus sale – about 65 of them – many years ago. People gave us some and we gave some away using a “free” site that Nancy watched for many years. Some were never in good shape and some developed broken and rotted parts as I used, or didn’t use them.
So, one project is to store good ones and cut the others up. There are a lot of screw-type nails that do not come out. The slats are mostly good – make fine pieces for the wood stove.

The lower right shows some of the pallet wood and part of a load of old barn/shed wood I brought from across the road – an old dairy with most of its structures build in the 1950s. The clean-up produces some (maybe) useful boards and the family is getting those stacked under cover. I bring the rest home and have been cutting it into 16″ pieces. Most I can cut on a radial-arm saw.
On the bottom left the image shows an attempt to dismantle the large trusses that came from the big brown shed. The main pieces are held together with multiple nails that were bent over. Those are the dark spots. Although there are other shapes, all the splices are multi-nailed and not salvageable. Most of the wood will be be used in the stove. A few boards of odd lengths will be worth saving. One never knows. Anyway, this is a time consuming and frustrating chore with little gain. The trusses do need to be dealt with.
The upper left photo is of an old (mid-1970s) motor home. This is the most difficult thing I have to remove from the face of the earth. It is trash, having been outside in snow, rain, wind, and sun for 30 years; unused for the last 25. I have investigated ways of having it taken away, but no one wants it. One place estimated a cost of $5,000 to bring equipment and dumpsters to break it up and cart it off. That was 18 months ago.
I intend to take it apart as I did with a pickup camper. Much will then go into a landfill, and the iron and other metals can be sold for pennies per pound. It has a 28 ft frame and a large V-8 motor so there are things I will need help with. Perhaps the US Air Force could drop a bunker busting bomb on it. Then I could just pick up the scrap.

There being no rush to complete any of these four projects, I guess I’ll start with the bacon, bread, and buying a lottery ticket.
Perhaps you have heard the joke about the fellow, Dave, that pleads to God to win a lottery. After many dire events in Dave’s life and another pleading there is suddenly a flash of light, and a deep voice says – “Dave, meet me halfway, buy a ticket.”

The house isn’t warm enough to properly make bread. I made some anyway, but it is too dense. I intend to build a box with a small light bulb inside. With a bit of experimentation I hope to provide a steady 110°F for the little yeasts to start and then about 75-78 degrees for the rising.

I’m just going to make the yeast happy. You are own your own.
Happy 2024.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

I’m spending Christmas Eve with three cats, many quail and small birds eating various seeds, mostly sunflower, and a varying number of Mule Deer. Often there are 5. As darkness comes, one or more Great Horned Owls will call – repeatedly.
The deer don’t talk, but they are very aware. While I moved around to get the photo, they kept watch. The one in front is an older female and likely the mother of the other two. Her face and ears are narrower than the others. That will change by next fall. {The orange in the upper right is a cluster of fruit hanging on a Mountain Ash tree.}

I thought about making a large wreath to hang on the driveway gate. I have lots of needle-leaf trees, pine cones the size of baseballs, and there is that hanging colorful fruit. What I don’t have is material for making a large bow.
I looked on the web for ideas and came away with a question. If I had a bow, where should it go? There is the top, the bottom, a side, or none at all. I’m in favor of the one on the side, space 3 below.

Maybe next year I will start about November 1st and make one of each.

Merry Christmas
from the Naneum Fan
John

File under: “There is always something”

My new ceiling light – an LED oval – in the “dim” mode. When the light is turned on it is very bright, that is the inner oval. Turn it off with the wall switch and then back on within a few seconds and the center goes dark and the rim lights with an orange glow.

The photo used flash so walls and ceilings appear well lit. Actually, the room is darker and the wood walls have a nice “warm” glow from the orange oval. Neat.
However, I have a cheap ($25.00) AM/FM radio that conks out when the light is turned out. A smaller round light in the hallway has a similar effect, and I have an 18″ round one coming next week. The house is full of LED lights installed last year. They haven’t affected the radio. A better radio (older) with disk and tape players and external speakers is not affected.
Suggestions on the web are not helpful. Although putting the radio in a Faraday Cage might work. That’s a shield to block electromagnetic fields.
Think of taking the metal from a screen door and wrapping it around the item needing shielded. I may try such a thing, but not with the screen of the door. Alternatively, I could buy a better radio.
The next photo is of some of the mail I’ve gotten in December, minus a few Christmas cars and regular business letters.

The large envelope on the upper right – is the second such mailing from Boy’s Town I’ve received this fall. The contents differed. The enveloped has “John, I need your help” and one of the papers inside is a Certificate of Acknowledgment. I don’t recall having sent anything to Boy’s Town – ever. Maybe 40 years ago. I assume they have recently bought my name, insofar as it is addressed to just me.
Most of the letters are from well-known charities. A funny mailing came from the local Fred Meyer store. It claims a “Grand Opening”. The store has been in EBRG for about 10 years. They moved a few things around inside but I seldom go there so only have noticed they moved the shoe section about two months ago. The check-out lanes and help-counter, and nearly everything is as before. Further, they never closed the store to do this, so the idea of a “grand opening” or re-opening is as false as inflatable Santas and Frosty.

An early
Happy Christmas and New Years
from the Naneum Fan

John

The western parts of the area have received rain and the mountains snow & rain. Nothing much happening here and the snow that had been here has 99% gone. I let the wood stove burn out – takes 3 days – so the heat pump worked frequently, even with the outside temperature, mostly, above freezing. Friday afternoon I cleaned out the ashes and restarted a fire.

I’ve had the phone ring multiple times this week, several about 6:30 am. None of these do I answer. Two people did start a message and I talked to them. No problem.
I’ve had a dozen mailings from charities asking for donation. Getting more mail is as easy as sending $10 to the Salvation Army or some such. They will sell your name to others, and soon you will get letters, often with address labels, note pads, and calendars. A place called Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home has sent two large envelopes this fall. The first one had Christmassy socks – kid size. This week’s package was different, but still large, with multiple items. I mostly stay local for such giving.
I did get in touch with the Cascades Carnivore Project – this is a small group doing research in the Cascades regarding Wolverines, Lynx, and Red Fox.
One of my first outings with Washington Trails Association was a 3-day session near Mt. St. Helens. The hike-in trail to the work took us to 4,250 feet elevation. Because of the explosion (May 1980) the area was devoid of trees, so we were able to see long distances. There were elk, but one lone small Red Fox crossed in front of us. I didn’t learn until this year that these small foxes are very rare and come in colors other than red. See photos here:
https://www.cascadescarnivore.org/

A photo of the black one was used in the Smithsonian Magazine; p.90, July/Aug 2022.
I sent enough of a donation to “adopt” a fox and to get a small plush one. They claim I have adopted “MICA” – but because I will never get to cuddle Mica nor even see her/him (?), the fuzzy toy will have to do. I’ll have to send a bit more money because the postage for this was $6.25 and the credit card donation takes a fee.

Speaking of money – going into a local store this week there were several sorts of Christmas decorations. One sign said “garland” but that would normally be a long greenery to extend 6 to 20 feet. Nor were they wreaths. And if there was Ceder in the mix, I didn’t recognize it.
These are called “swags” – a term with other uses. The $24.99 (plus tax) swag on the top shelf consisted of 6 or 7 short branches held together with a wire. One branch in each was Juniper with its characteristic berries. A few had a couple of pine cones.
I had cut enough limbs from Ponderosa Pines to make 100 of these things. Maybe I should carry one up to the road and tie it to the fence along with a ribbon.
I sent the photo to Kathy. I gave her a 5-gallon bucket of cones last year for a decoration she made for her church.
She sent a photo in return showing the thinning of trees on the small island in their pond. She used some of her branches for in-house decorations.
In the background of my photo there are small plastic-wrapped bundles of fire wood. These too, are expensive, but did not have a price on them. Elsewhere they are about $5 for 7 pieces of wood. Likely, I would go through a half-dozen per day. I’m curious who buys these things.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan

John

I helped Dale and Kathy with their slow cleanup of his parent’s house and grounds. I brought some wood home, both old boards and tree parts. The latter are still in the back of the truck. Most of it is green, so not to be used until, maybe, 2025. The old wood is likely 50 to 70 years old and catches fire easily. I use the radial arm saw to cut it to proper lengths.

Supposedly the Cascades are having a major snow storm. So far the snow is causing accidents and the winds (NW Oregon and SW Wash) knocked power out for thousands of folks. No problems here. Five inches of snow, and now some rain – for a week.
Significant rain will start soon in Oregon and Washington. Flooding on the west side of the Mountains is expected. We’ll see.

Friday I had lunch in CWU’s Theatre Arts building, with the Chair of the department providing the “scholarship” lunch. Afterwards, Christina gave us a backstage tour. The stage was set for a performance of A Christmas Carol. While intrigued, I still didn’t go to the actual performance. The drive to town costs me $5 and the price of admission is $20. With nasty weather and being “cheap”, I stayed home.

Three of the 5 lights I’ve ordered have arrived. They are a modern design to replace the 1970’s look. They are also the LED type and ought to last longer than I do.
The same can be said for the new WA driver’s license I had to get. This one is good for 8 years. I don’t expect I’ll be doing highway driving in 2032. That’s a scary thought.
Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

Monday and Tuesday I went across to the old dairy where Dale and Kathy were cleaning up some of the fallen sheds and trees. I got lunch and firewood for my efforts. Most of the wood is fresh-cut, so won’t be used for a year or two. I only brought the smaller stuff. The trunks, even cut in 16″ lengths, are too heavy to lift – half water. I’ll likely bring those home next fall.
The old sheds yield 80 to 100 year-old boards of various sizes. Most I can cut into proper lengths with a radial-arm saw – less than 3″ thick. Others need a different saw. I intend to get more of these boards Sunday afternoon when the temperature is expected to climb above freezing.

The low this morning was 18°F {-8°C}. By next Sunday the low is expected to be higher than today’s high. We’ll see.

Thanksgiving is a time for baking, so I made Blueberry Pies and roasted pork-ribs. A few years ago, before I learned Washington State’s harvest of Blueberries is one of the largest in the world, I bought two 3-pound bags. Long past their best-buy date it is time for them to become pies.

I notice on the internet that a lot of frozen Blueberries are labeled as “Wild.” A friend’s favorite saying is: “I don’t know about that.” I’ll guess the “wild” part refers to the native (small plant, small berry) type, but not hard to find like a Badger or a Bobcat – or Huckleberries such as are found in the mountains of Washington. Larger bushes and berries were developed and are known as Highbush Blueberries. That story is here:
https://blueberry.org/about-blueberries/history-of-blueberries/

I still have a second bag in the freezer. Christmas, I think, will see that bag become pies. I suppose the “healthy” aspects of the blue fruits has caused the growth of commercial harvests. In the USA, we get fresh blueberries from Chili and Peru in winter.

Saturday, five us dined on left-over turkey and salmon at Phyllis’s table. I pulled some wine from my stash – 20+ years old. The new trap-door still needs a handle, so I had to improvise. I have a temporary fix, so if I have to get down there again it will be easy.

I emptied ashes from the wood stove and cleaned up there. This afternoon (Sunday) I started it again. It was to the point that I could only get a half-load in it, so burn time was shortened. It takes about 4 days to burn out and cool enough to dispose of the ashes. An inventor should work on this issue.

Monday morning will be near 20°F. I’ll have to do something inside until about 11 AM.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

My wood stove has a glass window. There are numerous interesting things that happen when various types and shapes of wood burn. I noticed a new one this week.
I have much brush that I continue to cut and pile out of the way, or I cut many pieces into proper length for the stove. The image on the top right here shows one such piece. Along the main stem are nodes where shoots (or branches) appear. On this piece only one small branch is still there. Others have been cut or fallen off. The arrangement of the branches around the circumference varies. The length between these nodes varies by plant, but are similar in any one plant. Here the inter-node distance is about one inch. A branch like this one is shown burning in the photo taken through the glass window of the stove.

When a piece of wood is added to the fire the heat causes gases to leave and burn – the flame. When all the gases are expelled, the flaming stops and the red glow of a solid remains.
On this occasion the flames appear to be coming at equal intervals along the stem. I suppose this is at each of the nodes. However, I did not watch as this pattern developed. It looked like this when I first noticed. I’ll have to introduce a few more pieces and watch to see how it develops.
Research is such hard work.
I need to rest.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan

John

North of me 15 miles is Mission Peak. Near there and facing northeast is a ski area. I can see the Mountain’s Peak, but not the ski slopes. They have just started up web cameras. Not a big surprise, but I have never been there. To get there I would have to go 70 miles to Wenatchee and then back south – about a 2 hour trip. See here – click – scroll down:

Mountain Report

40 miles to the northwest of Mission Peak there is also snow as shown in the highway camera at Stevens Pass:

Saturday morning I had 27 (?) turkeys wander through. They came past four deer that were feeding under my cherry trees along the driveway. I have seen turkeys numerous times in the past three months, while usually they might be around for a week. Also, this is the most I have seen at one time. The flock seems to be growing.

I had a flu shot in September. Recently got the latest Covid shot, and Saturday the RSV shot. Peggy says this is called the alphabet shot. The actual name is respiratory syncytial virus, thus, RSV.

Our government claims “Adults 50 years and older should get two doses of Shingrix, separated by 2 to 6 months.”
I had the prior shingles shot, called Zostavax, but that is no longer used in the USA. The term of protection of that is under about 4 years. I can’t remember when I got that, but likely in 2008 or ’09.
Peggy was told the newer 2-dose Shingrix wasn’t being recommended for folks over 80. She is, I’m not – or not yet. A bit more inquiry is in order.

I’ve not had reactions to shots of any sort. Still I don’t get but one at a time. That way, should I have a reaction, I will know which thing caused it.
I go to the grocery pharmacy, so it is not an inconvenience to get them separately.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan

John

I attended a presentation on Thursday evening and then went to CWU Friday for a luncheon. There are groups from CWU staff that pay and host ($60/year) lunch organized by Ruth Harrington – wife of a deceased former professor. I became a occasional member of the group Nancy was in. When Nancy first got involved the lunch fee was $3, now it is $6. I missed last month, but managed this one, several others missed. We visit and share news.
The chairs at the table were mates to the ones I got at CWU surplus for 50¢ (mentioned in an earlier post, Sept 9th) and wonder of wonders there was one with a missing back cover, just as I have.

The previous evening I learned about the Columbia Basin (to my northeast) population of Pygmy Rabbits. The locations are quite close to White Heron Winery, so we know about the bunnies, but not much.
This was an opportunity to learn from one of the State’s biologists.

Habitat loss and fragmentation led to the near extirpation of the Columbian Basin Pygmy Rabbit. In 2001, only 16 individuals remained on Washington’s landscape. In 2003 they were officially recognized by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as an endangered species.

Flash forward 20 years and there are currently 2 populations of pygmy rabbits each with approximately 150 individuals. Katherine’s presentation explained how this was brought about.

Katherine Soltysiak with a captured rabbit. Below the habitat is dense sagebrush that provides food, cover and shade. Pregnant ones are the heaviest – just over a pound. The average weight is under a pound. Sage is about 80% of their diet. The bunny in the photo below is up on a branch, and when there is snow they will tunnel through the snow and can get higher if there are drifts.

The region is prone to fast moving fires through the grass and sage, but this rabbit unlike all others digs borrows and can survive the fire. But then, in many cases there is no food. In the next photo folks are collecting rabbits chased into their borrows. After care, they will be released in a suitable location, then fed and watered in an enclosure until they have dug burrows and call the place home.
When it was first realized the rabbits were endangered, the local population was small and inbred. Related pygmies were brought from Idaho and three organizations received small numbers of locals and the new ones. Thus, the Central Washington population is recovering, but not pure genetically. Below is a link to the Oregon Zoo’s part in this, with nice photo.

https://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2012/07/oregon-zoos-12-year-effort-to-save-endangered-pygmy-rabbits.html

This week has been one of the coldest ends of October in the State and east, and into Canada. Saturday morning the temperature was just 18°F. I loaded the wood stove on Thursday morning and have had a fire going since then. This coming Tuesday should have a minimum temperature of over 40° so I can, maybe, go back to using the heat pump to mid-November.
Here is one of the better photos to appear this week. I haven’t tracked down the source.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan

John