Fun Find

While taking the scenic route home the other day, I happened upon this entry gate. The land is beautiful this time of year - very green and lush and inviting. Apparently the size of the place isn't quite satisfactory to the owners. If they'd rather not be so sad about their lack of a "real" ranch, they can trade me places. I'd love to live here!

Tour of the Back Roads 5

It recently snowed a bit in the valley. Just a little bit, with the deepest spots boasting approximately 2 1/2-3 inches. But it was enough to freeze the valley, causing residents to drag out the gloves and hats again. Many fields pepper the valley; in the spring it's colourful and fresh, but in the winter, everything is brown...unless it snows, and then everything is white! For some reason, occasionally farmers (or the farm hands?) will allow the sprinklers to run even in the dead of winter. I'm not sure why, because it seems bad for the pipes to be pumping water through in freezing weather. The sprinkler heads coat with ice and then can't move. Whatever the reason, it happens, and when it does, it actually creates a beautiful sparkling field of ice. Such as the one pictured above. They are trees lining a field on the back roads, and they are completely covered in ice. Tomorrow we'll take a closer look and see what else this fantastic mistake has created.

Tour of the Back Roads 2

This week we are touring the back country roads between MF and WW/CP. Yesterday was the beginning of the tour, so check yesterday's post for more information and the first stop. Today's stop is another typical scene along the back roads: livestock. This is a farming community, after all, and animals are crucial to successful farms. Perhaps not as much so as 100 years ago, but most farms still have at least a couple of horses, some cows, and perhaps chickens, goats, or sheep. This horse was huddled behind a large tree, procuring some shelter from the chilly winter breeze blowing snow all around the valley. Check back tomorrow for the next stop on our back roads tour.

Tour of the Back Roads 1

Welcome to the tour of the back roads! This week we're going to see what the countryside between M-F and WW/CP is like. Make sure you bring a hot drink...it's gonna be a cold drive.

When you leave Milton-Freewater and head north toward College Place and Walla Walla, there is the direct route, which takes approximately 7-10 minutes, and there is the much more interesting route, which can take half an hour to an hour or more, if you do it "right." There are plenty of back roads surrounding the cities in the WWV, and most are very fun and interesting to drive. Since I like taking photos, and my sister does, as well, we decided on Sunday to go for a drive on the back roads with our cameras. Husband drove, and we sat staring out the windows, eager for a good shot at anything, really. Because the roads were a little iffy (the snow and ice made stopping suddenly pretty much impossible), some of our shots were taken while the car was still moving. Such is the case with this photo of a typical WWV orchard in the winter. I'm not sure what these trees grow...perhaps apples, or maybe pears. I suppose this summer we will find out!