By Joanna Bastian Cloud cover and fog are groovy mood changers for two days, but utterly depressing when blue sky turns gray for over a week. Looking for a mood lift, I went up valley for an exercise class. The room was packed. It was a bit of a challenge to stretch, twist and turn […]
Methow
Oct. 23, 2013
By Joanna Smith I took a roundtrip train trip from Wenatchee to Seattle last weekend and if it is not something you have done before, I would highly suggest adding it to your bucket list. There is only one train and it leaves excruciatingly early at 5:30 every morning from Wenatchee. Arrival at King Street […]
Oct. 23, 2013
By Joanna Smith I took a roundtrip train trip from Wenatchee to Seattle last weekend and if it is not something you have done before, I would highly suggest adding it to your bucket list. There is only one train and it leaves excruciatingly early at 5:30 every morning from Wenatchee. Arrival at King Street […]
Methow: Oct. 9, 2013
By Joanna Bastian Fall smells like ripening fruit and the color of “turning:” the earthy scent of chlorophyll draining from leaves and the remaining glucose turning from yellow to orange, red and brown. The “turning” scent mixed with the chill in the air coaxes sweaters to emerge from storage box hibernation. Herbal teas line the […]
Methow: Sept. 25, 2013
By Joanna Bastian Katie Haven met me just outside her rambling fenceline. Romney sheep in varying shades of reddish brown, white and gray quietly grazed in a back pasture while three large Maremma sheepdogs stood guard. Stacks of beehives hummed under shade trees. Katie led me to a small farmhouse hidden behind a tangled jungle […]
Methow: Sept. 11, 2013
By Joanna Bastian Nothing happened this week in Methow. Lightening ripped the sky to the tune of crashing thunder, igniting a fire above our home. Small planes roared above the columns of smoke, dropping lines of reddish pink retardant. An airborne bucket brigade deposited repeated deluges, dampening the flames. Luckily, nothing happened. Looking all over […]
Methow: August 28, 2013
By Joanna Bastian Vicious wasps took our mailbox hostage last week. Our brave postal lady continued to deliver the mail despite the hostile takeover by stinging insects. I looked in three different shops to find bare shelves above any sticker stamped with the words, “wasp repellant.” Apparently my mailbox was not the only victim in […]
Methow: Aug. 14, 2013
Last weekend I found the perfect motivation to take up running. Even though I know a regular jogging schedule has many positive health benefits, I have always struggled with finding a reason to run. A couple of times a year, I start to run with the good intention of repeating the exercise several times a […]
Methow: July 24, 2013
By JOANNA BASTIAN I tried to get an interesting story for you this week. I really did. But everyone in the lower valley is busy mowing hay. People spoke with such gusto about “making hay” that I was intrigued – jealous, even. Everyone seemed to be having a bale of a good time. This “making […]
July 10, 2013
BY JOANNA BASTIAN Summertime swimming holes and fishing poles – that is what makes a lazy summer afternoon. Do you know where your local swimming hole is? You probably have several, as do I, so let’s swap swimming hole stories. I’ll tell you all the ones that I know of in the lower valley, and […]
