We’ve seen the Firewise USA® sign upon entrance to the Wilson Ranch community, which includes the Freestone Inn; but, what it took to meet the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) criteria is the back-story of dedicated community members with the tireless leadership of Jim Gregg, longtime manager of Wilson Ranch and chair of the Firewise […]
VALLEY LIFE
Winthrop: September 30, 2020
When Outward Bound announced its suspension of summer programming, dozens of staff who had been counting on Outward Bound for their summer employment had to scramble to find different jobs. A few found work with other outdoor leadership organizations, teaching two- and three-month expeditions in self-contained groups. Others responded to a sudden need in the […]
Mazama: September 30, 2020
She’s full of life and has had a full life, thus far. Welcome to Mazama for the next chapter! I first met Tani Erickson at a small “dance” party in the lobby of the TwispWorks building that houses our local radio station, KTRT. My three sons – who used to DJ in Seattle as Snap, […]
Lower Valley: September 23, 2020
When we evacuate, if there is time, I grab an irreplaceable family heirloom: a small doll with a crude button face, a dress made of tartan rags wrapped about a body formed by the wishbone of a hen. A small card tied about her neck bears a handwritten poem. In the tiny box with the […]
Twisp: September 23, 2020
As they say, American as apple pie. Applesauce, apple cake, apple pancakes, apple-slaw, apples in smoothies, apple cider, and just plain yummy crunchy, juicy apples to eat. An abundance of apples has blessed our house thanks to many young hands from Saint Genevieve’s Catholic Church that picked hundreds of pounds of Honey Crisps from an […]
Winthrop: September 23, 2020
We sling that air quality data like statisticians, the numbers tumbling from our armchair-meteorologist mouths: “113 in Mazama, headed up there for a quick run,” or “261 this morning; I wore an N95 to harvest carrots in the garden.” The smoke, immaterial for most of us most of the year, was once again thrust to […]
Mazama: September 23, 2020
My research this week was to watch Walt Disney’s “Bambi.” You probably wonder, “How is that?” With the distress of the wildfires raging across our beautiful Western states, I couldn’t help but think, not only of the devastation dealt to so many humans in lives and property lost, but also our animal friends. Here in […]
Lower Valley: September 16, 2020
Conversations overheard at the bakery: Him: We should probably get something for them. Her: Honey, they don’t eat like us, not remotely anything like what we eat. Him: You’re right, something with lots of seeds, then… Also overheard at the bakery: Him: I think we should get one of everything. Her: We were sent here […]
Twisp: September 16, 2020
Labor Day ended in tragedies still unraveling as hundreds in neighboring communities are left evacuated or homeless. Today, we woke up to the first day of school to find the smoke that was forecasted to clear out by midday. That meteorologists made a mistake is nothing new or anything to scorn. A constant coping mantra: […]
Winthrop: September 16, 2020
You may have noticed that the byline of the Methow Valley News’s other Ashley, Ashley Ahearn, has been missing from the newspaper’s pages lately. That’s because Ahearn — or Ashley 2, as I like to think of her — has been busy stalking the Greater Sage-Grouse, which lives exclusively in the sagebrush steppe of the west. The sage-grouse is […]
