Packwood Lake Family Backpack Trip

At last, our first family backpack trip! Elliott has been asking to go on an adventure since he has watched Adam pack and leave for 6 or so trips this summer. I prepped him about the commitment it would require and he agreed to the terms. Elliott insists he will make it to the top of Rainier soon. Adam is proud of this desire and tempted to oblige (we read that the youngest person to summit Rainier was a 4 year old. It took 7 days, but he made it).

On our way to the trail head, we had a lovely view of Mt. Rainier (somewhat in the clouds). Adam has summited twice and enjoyed sharing some of his love for the mountain with us.

 Adam had recently been on the trail to Packwood Lake on the SE corner of Mount Rainier and remembered it to be very moderate and doable for our current "combined ability level." After packing all morning (first day of Paternity Leave!!!), we drove away at 2 pm and began hiking at 5:30 pm! Luckily, we made it the 4 1/2 miles to the lake by about 7:30 pm - just as it was getting dark. Elliott did great on the trail. He rode his bike on the relatively flat places which meant fast hiking, and he walked on more steep areas while we carried his bike. He carried his own backpack with snacks, jacket, headlamp the entire trip. As i said, he wanted to go on this trip, so he never thought to complain about anything.

 Adam carried all our gear and helped motor Elliott. I carried Arlin on my front and all our food on my back :)

 On uphill trails, Adam would give Elliott a "motor" with his hiking pole.

 I kept a bored and squashed Arlin placated by slipping him a red mountain huckleberry every couple seconds. He must have eaten 100+ berries over the trip.

  Blister care...Adam was recovering from Mt. Rainier the week before.

 We made it to Packwood Lake:

 View from the eating area of our camp:

 Adam kindly set up the tent  (I was near useless as far as camp stuff went because I was holding a mobile and rambunctious Arlin) then we feasted on smoked salmon, incredible Gina Marie cream cheese in adorable packaging, and crackers.

 Best camp food. Was supposed to be our idyllic lunch picnic, but we got a late start.

 Tent doggies:

Lost Lake day hike photos coming soon....

Corning and Shay's house

A trip to Ithaca, NY is not complete for us without a visit to Corning, where Adam's brother lives.

Corning is a cute town with picturesque churches and many Victorian style homes.

We saw my niece in a children's theater play then walked around the downtown area.

I loved this yellow and black storefront for rent:

close up of the oak leaf stencil in front window:

Adam's brother travels extensively to Asia for work, and has lived abroad 3 different times, so his house is full of lovely, exotic treasures.

And many beautiful textiles like this indigo batik.

 I learned a lot about silk rugs from India:

Antique moon cake moulds:

We got to spend a casual day with their family, playing with toys and doing yard clean up projects.

Arlin and Darwin:

A walk through their beautiful oak woodland yielded many mushroom photos:

 Monotropa uniflora, a parasitic plant!

 Oak gall:

 A Russula pushing up leaves:

 Amanita pantherina (?)

 Black Chanterelles

 Then we closed out the night with s'mores around the fire pit.

Thank you, Shay and Tirzah for a great visit.

Birthday Yardwork

For my 28th Birthday last week, Adam and I and some friends fixed up our yard!
Before (actually, during):

After:

I was tired of looking at the giant yard debris heap built up from last year (below),

and wanted more flat, usable space in our slightly sloping backyard...so, I decided to use the logs and sticks as walls for terraces, supported by re-bar. It worked quite well. We used every scrap in the debris heap to build and shape the terraces. Now I just need to finish the top with plant-able soil/compost and we are in business!

In just 2 hours, we made 2 "terraces" on the right side (above); and then Adam and I spent the rest of the day making  one on the left side (below); making a compost area using a pallet; and washed the Argosy. It was amazing.

Thank you, friends! We could not have done it without you!

We (Cydney) also found a secret egg nest of 16 eggs! we water tested them and they were all good :)

 Elliott had the time of his life running around with our friend's daughter, digging in the mud with shovels, and eating jelly beans.

I love how it turned out; you wouldn't guess how drastically it has improved my quality of life...and the chickens'.

Garden Bed

I am so excited about this garden bed I built for $2**.

This is NOT quality workmanship, but it is functional. Both these beds and the chicken coop I'm working on have been satisfying, utilitarian projects.

After building and painting the garden bed, I lined the inside with old coffee bags (available at garden stores). I followed the advice of my friend, Micah, on how to layer straw, alfalfa, manure, and compost for the soil.

The bags are beautiful and even had a few hidden unroasted coffee beans inside.

Elliott became enamored with the hammer and nails, so I let him play with the smaller indoor use hammer while I used the larger one.

homestead boy:

**Well, the frame was $2 (50 cents for each corner post) and a lot of the growing material was free (leftovers from my friend), but I did spend $11 on steer manure and compost. I even painted it with nearly free paint! The wood I used for the side walls were free scraps I picked up from BMC in Issaquah while getting our ducks.