Happy Thanksgiving...

...from Nuthatch Hill.

Gobble, gobble.

Logging on the Hill

A big monster came to our Hill and wreaked havoc. It started 3 days ago and it's still busy up there.

This big dozer cut a huge logging road above our house. We can see it working from the office window.

We think this is the delimber. All the branches from the trees are stripped off and sitting in a HUGE slash pile.

Piles of logs on either side of Hubby and Cali. Mostly pines, but there are a few firs in the mix. It smells good. That's about the only positive thing I have to say about this mess. Also, I suppose it mitigates fire danger.

Total devastation. We think this is a helipad. I can hear the helicopter while I'm typing this. So much for peace and quiet on Nuthatch Hill.

Big buck

I hope he makes it through next weekend.

Drink, anyone?

Our Hill's namesake and just about the only avian life we see this time of year.

moonset, sunset

Sometimes it's really pretty here. This was the start and end of yesterday, Nov. 14, 2008.

while the cat's away...

Hubby has been gone for a week visiting his best bud in Tulsa. Cali has taken over his side of the bed and even his pillow isn't off limits. All this bedding is now in the wash. I'm still allergic to dogs (despite the 2 years of shots and daily antihistamines) and this is allergen overload, so she's being taught to sleep at the foot of the bed or on the floor. Unfortunately, she has a mind of her own.

stinkhorn

These have to be the oddest looking in the mushroom world. They are in the family Phallaceae. Cali found this one on our morning walk. The top of the mushroom has a foul odor to attract flies, beetles, anything that will carry the spores away. I remember learning about these in Botany sitting next to my best friend. We thought they were quite hilarious, but then we thought everything was hilarious. Actually, I still think they are funny.

dreary day

It's nice to be above the valley fog even on a rainy day like this. The entire Clark Fork River Valley is covered with a blanket of fog, but I can see for miles.

work from the garden continues

We froze about 40 pounds of tomatoes for future use. Yesterday we started to make tomato sauce. Next year we will skin them before we freeze them. It's easier than holding a frozen tomato and trying to skin it.

Here they are bubbling away with some chopped onion, garlic and garden peppers.

This is the next day. It's now ready for canning. You can see it has boiled down by one third.
This is all we got out of about 25-30 pounds. There are still a few bags in the freezer for another time.