I never thought I would get tired of snow and cold, but this is getting monotonous. We live in the desert part of Washington state that few people know exist. Most people think of Washington as the Evergreen State because they only go to the Seattle area. But cross the mountains that is a giant rain shadow and you have 1/3 of the state in a "semi arid plateau". This is where the mighty Columbia river joins forces with the Snake and Yakima rivers. When left to itself this area is mostly sage, tumbleweeds and coyotes. But with the miracle of irrigation this is one of the most productive farmlands in America. We have vast orchards of apples, peaches, cherries, and plums. The melons of this area are famous In fact an apple and cherry orchard was right next door to where I grew up and we children often "harvested" cherries illegally. Sorry Mr. Farmer!
Vineyards now are as common as the orchards and some are turning out quite good wine so I hear. Wheat, potatoes, onions, peas, alfalfa, and asparagus are also grown in great quantity. We get tons of sun and few rainy days. Temperatures in the summer stay up in the 90's and snow in winter is a treat.
But this year we had our first white Thanksgiving in my memory and snow has been on the ground almost all winter. We have had more days in the single digits than I can remember. So much for Global Warming!
So to cheer up I have decided to put up some pictures I have taken of last summer. Oh the days of sun and heat!
My volunteer Pansies
My plum jelly lit up by the sun
A tuckered out pig at fair
Am I the only one that thinks pigs are fascinating creatures?
An old Homestead out on the 'semi arid plateau"
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