2009 Top Ten

Hip hip, hooray! It’s December’s last day! And wouldn’t you know – the sky is grey.

The drizzle may fall and the snow’s almost gone, but how the juncos flit along,

Through branches bare that drip with rain, like jewels (or bubbles of champagne).

A full year it’s been, with twists and turns, but that’s what makes each moment firm,

The memories and the days so clear — we welcome most the changing years.

Our Top 10 Highlights of 2009

10. Jack stopped digging like a fiend out on our ground. Must have been because Scott now watches over him and keeps him in line when the two are out there farming; when it was me, I’d just look the other way.

9. Scott got all the grass seed moved out of the camper. All 350 pounds. We seeded the vineyard rows with it, native grass, thank you very much. The camper (see picture on right, above) is the only structure we have on 160 acres. You can imagine how that thing gets used.

8. The cat is still grumpy. You’d think that with someone (me) staying home more now with her and the dog gone with Scott when he’s doing all the farming that she’d lighten up a little. But no. Since the day I found her at LaTourell Falls in the Columbia Gorge she’s been, well, herself. It’s like we could be sisters.

7. We put our 900 square foot house on the market. In one of the worst housing markets ever. Oh well. We’ll get a buyer. And a bigger house. Some day.

6. Fire! This one not as severe as the one below, just some unruly tumbleweed that decided to leave their burning pyre when the wind unexpectedly picked up. Scott used his watered-down bath towel to fight it, then dried off after the evening’s shower with a dish towel, so I am told.

5. (an even bigger) Fire! In the beginning of July, a “mysterious” fire swept across 100s of acres of fallow and planted wheat ground before the 6-foot flames jumped our road and came on into our vineyard. There was damage. Thankfully not much.

4. Resident kestrels. We put up kestrel homes and owl houses as an eco-friendly alternative to loud cannons, obnoxious distressed bird calls, and poison, to keep the pesky bird and rodent population down. A kestrel family moved in, with four young ones hatched this year. We don’t know if there are any owl tenants yet.

3. Song birds go bye-bye. At least for harvest. Last year these feathered friends consumed approximately one-quarter of our small crop. This year, none. Bird netting.

2. Our second harvest. Last year (2008) Scott had a two-month sabbatical from his paying job during harvest; this year it was vacation days he had been saving up. But he did it, and almost like he had been doing it his whole life. It’s that farm-kid in him coming back.

1. Samuel turned one. How thankful we are for this little boy.

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Happy New Year, to You and Yours, Our Dear Readers.

stephanie, scott, and samuel