October 27, 2002 - Lake Retreat 2, Continued
Happy Daylight Savings Time to all those not living in AZ. And frankly, it's a bit gloomy in the Pacific Northwest today, and it's making me have fond thoughts of AZ! But back to the story:
On a day that was well organized and the harvest was essentially done by noon, Barb took off with Kay and Audrey and went to meeting of a quilters club which featured a "show and tell." Since I wasn't there, I'm going to let her tell you about these pictures. Top right is a crazy quilt, not produced by either of the ladies holding it (Kay's eyes on the left; don't know the lady's name on the right).
A close-up of the crazy quilt. Colorful, nicely put together, beautiful accents, and gorgeous. Crazy quilts, as I understand, are made from every and any type of left-over fabric, cut in any size, in any color (matching or not), assembled ad hoc, with incredibly successful results every time! Kay is a quilter herself and had a greater appreciation for all the unique work shown at the "show and tell" (photos following). Not being a quilter, a had an immense admiration for all these beautiful works of art and the work involved in creating them.
On the left, one of the beautiful quilts made by a club member. On the right, one excited lady! She's new a making quilts and showed three small pieces she made for practice--totally finished. I guess many new quilters don't bother with the practice part. She was very excited about her accomplishments, and, I might add, rightly so. In any event her enthusiasm was electric!
On the left, one I thought especially beautiful as the designs are symbols which tell a story of a Norwegian family's immigration to this country. I hope I got that right; if I didn't, the quilt does tell a story in any event. On the right is something different--it's called a holy sheet, because it has strategically placed holes, not because it has spiritual significance (in a church environment, this could be interpreted in many ways), and Audrey is showing it. She belongs to a Lutheran quilting club that produces about 100 quilts a year which, typically, are shipped to third-world countries around the world. The quilts produced have to be a certain size, so Audrey designed a shortcut (the holy sheet) to one of the finishing touches--the part where ties are applied to the quilt to reinforce the stability of the quilt's layers. As it turns out, the Catholics also have a quilting club that does a similar thing, and Audrey captured their attention with her holy sheet. Then showed them how to make one for their use.
(Back to Dave.) I'm hunkered down so Barb can get a shot of the beaters as we're cleaning them, and Allen and Audrey are behind me. We've seen several pictures of that trailer in the background, but I never did ask about it. Wonder whose it is. On the right is a pretty special part of that spreader that Ray was showing to Barb in some previous pictures. See that pipe with the black nozzle hanging down? Well, Allen developed a way to know where he'd been as he was driving through the bog by laying down a foam trail! There is a tank on the spreader with a pump that makes foam, and this boom/arm releases it so he can tell where he's already laid down whatever it is he's working with. I was absolutely blown away with this gadget! What a clever, easy, automatic way to leave a path that can be seen!
Jim and Ray looking at the elevator. It had thrown one of the chain protecting boards during the harvest, and had to be repaired. And then look there! A first-year guy driving a beater! I really lucked out. Salvador had to leave, and Jim had gone home, and Allen gave me one of the biggest compliments of my life by asking me if I wanted to drive the beater.
Can you see that grin from here? As it turned out, there wasn't enough water to keep the beater blades from bouncing, so we postponed beating until the next morning. I met Allen at 7:15 in the chilly misty morning, and we finished beating by the time the crowd had gathered to harvest the last field. And then some shots of Allen and Audrey's back yard. While these pictures don't show it well, they're right on the water front (which is not very visible in the distance). Audrey loves flowers, and space on their new back deck is well used by them. These are hanging pots of fuchsias. The water is to the west, and the sun was setting, so there's some flare here and there.
While dinner was getting prepared, Allen was showing Ray and me some pictures he had of a Coast Guard boat being tossed around in the surf at the Columbia Bar. Scary stuff! And there's Audrey, bless her!, hard at work fixing our dinner.
Their home from the middle of the back yard, and then a turnaround shot of the water. Ray and Kay have their motorhome parked under the trees on the right, and have one of the best views any motorhome could ever hope to have. We're jealous, of course.
The home was built by Allen's grandfather in the early 1900's, and the grandfather's brother built one next door. The workmanship in both houses reflects the old world craftsmanship we admire so much. The fact that both men were seafaring men is obvious as well. On the left is a view of the north side, and on the right is a view of the front of the house. These pictures don't do justice to the intricate detail, so you'll have to use your imagination a little.
C'mon, Kay (Ray too). Smile for us. Somehow this picture managed to miss her ever-present smile. What a view! And see how the deck space is used? That house in the picture was built for Allen's mom, and after she passed on, they use if as a rental for the Coasties (members of the U.S. Coast Guard).
On the left, loading the beaters to deliver to George who will be using them next, and on the right unloading them. You can see one of George's fields in the background. Very sandy soil, and I'm driving the beater off the trailer and walking along side it at the same time so it won't sink in the sand any further than it already has. I really like the way Allen and his neighbors have used the hydraulic systems on so much of the equipment.
George knows a fellow who has access to offshore imports. This green engine is built in India. It's a single cylinder diesel engine using technology from the early 1900's, and yet it's brand new. As a kid I used to go to sleep to the sound of these engines with their distinct rhythm at one of my uncle's homes. And there's Kay and Audrey cleaning the trash out of a bunch of berries that they (and others) will do amazing things with in their kitchens. Kay is almost all dry by now, too, from her little excursion into the ditch I mentioned earlier.
The fun never stops. We're building a sprayer for a friend of Allen's. The friend's wife bought the sprayer as a birthday present, and asked Allen to assemble it. Fat chance Allen had of assembling much of anything with Ray and me there! Both Ray and I drool on Allen's shop/garage/barn. He keeps it in real good shape, and it's easy to find tools and stuff which adds to the pleasure of working there. Every day the floor got swept from the residue of wet, muddy waders; and there are boot racks on the back wall to hang "volunteer" waders of various sizes just for people like us.
From Barb: All of the cranberry harvest story has been told--with one exception. We took home some souvenirs--ladybugs! Apparently, when we were there, the ladybugs were gathering to settle in for the winter and were everywhere. They came in when we opened the door and we brought them in on our clothes. Before we left, we were emptying our home of 10-12 of these every day. The ones we didn't unload thought they were settling in southwest Washington, but ended up about 140 miles north--on Lake Retreat. We never killed any, just caught them in a cup and launched them outdoors. Believe it or not, we're still launching them, 10 days after we left (three more today). If ladybugs are good luck as believed, we're in for a great future!
The ladybug infestation may have resulted from the incredibly warm weather we experienced during the entire harvest. It was sunny every day, from mid-60's to mid-70's. I had to put sunscreen on several days for protection. Such weather during harvest is apparently unusual; we wouldn't have enjoyed it near as much with rain, wind, and cold which has been the case in many prior harvests. We were grateful for great weather, great company, great food, and a great experience! Thank you Johnsons and Ray & Kay through whom we learned of the opportunity! What a team!!!
And that's about the end of the cranberry harvest story. We've taken some pictures of our one week as volunteers here at Lake Retreat and will post them later.