After an extremely busy Spring in Tahoe, when the Education Center where I work was slammed with end-of-the-year field trips, things have definitely slowed down. I feel that, with the snow melting, the wildflowers blooming, and the amount of time that I have been able to get off from work, I’m finally getting to do the things I dreamed about doing here in the Sierra Nevada.

It was sad to see Rob leave, and all of the friends he made while here have missed having him around. But we know he’s off to other adventures, so life is good. Luckily Rob and Atom and I were able to pull off some fun trips before Rob had to leave, including a bike ride around Lake Tahoe (~80 miles), a weekend bike trip down to Reno, where we mingled with the Reno biking/art scene, and a ski/snowboard run down Mt. Tallac, easily the most recognizable and visible mountain around the Lake. I’ve put up some photos from these and other trips below:

These trips were really important because they kicked off the Spring. They were our first defiance of fickle weather, and set the tone for “getting after it” even after Rob left.

Still, all this happened last April! So it’s hardly relevant to post. I will post a second part of Spring/Summer in Tahoe, that describes what I’ve been up to more recently.

Martin

Turns out, neither of us have any idea what we’re doing. I got a bunch of books from the library, but only one thing stuck in my head: You can’t grow an avocado tree from a pit for some reason. The plants are always unwieldy and hardly ever produce actual avocados. We decided the best plan of attack was to just dive in.

After checking out a few nurseries in the area, we finally, with decidedly heavy hearts, decided that our best selection for stuff we could afford was Home Depot. (I know, I know, I can actually hear you all rolling your eyes at us, from states away!) One recent Saturday found us pushing one of those huge orange carts around, gathering up the essentials. $70 later, we had: potting soil for some succulents in pots that needed to be refreshed, two strawberry plants, a butternut squash, an acorn squash, a zucchini, five tomato plants, a bell pepper (orange!), six corn plants (hey, ya never know…), a rosemary bush, starters for yellow onions, and a shovel. Not bad!

Of course, the first key ingredient was something we did already have cooking for several months. Rob and Marty had helped us build a compost pile, don’t forget. (Well, ‘helped’ is a strong word since they did all of it.) The moment I was inspired to grab my camera on that first gardening afternoon, actually, was when Erik started digging down into it. That was some pretty gorgeous compost, if I do say so myself. Check it out:

I don’t know if you can tell, but that is some good-looking compost.

Our backyard has a nice long strip down it, between the walkway and the tall fence. We’ve watched it throughout the day, and it gets solid light from early/mid morning (either early or mid, depending on if you are on Mom/Dad time or Emily time) until 2 or 3. Perfect. As we got our new little babes home and laid them out in formation, the only question we had was: Do we have to dig up ALL of the grass for the garden patch? Or can we just clear enough away for the plants? Hmmm…

As you will soon see, we ended up with the latter. We did some quick googling and could only find that people get rid of the grass for the aesthetic of a perfect, soiled garden bed. It was actually a Victory Garden online Q & A that pointed out to us that the grass might actually keep weeds down. We decided to try ‘mowing’ the grass with some clippers… It’s entirely likely that we’ll end up digging all of the grass out at some point, but that one afternoon’s main goal was more easily met by skipping it: Those babies got in the ground. Here’s a long shot of it, looking from our back porch (with the famed compost in the background):

(This photo is too small for you to be able to see, but over the back fence is a neighbor’s yard in which he plants… banana trees. Tons of ‘em. Oh, California!)

We also threw in some surprises along the fence (on the left, not along the back fence). I’ll wait until they show themselves to tell you what they are. The pots on the sidewalk are some succulents and dragon fruit plants that Erik got me for Valentine’s Day! We have plans for a better home for them, which we’ll get around to one of those days.

I was out of town over the weekend, and I swear these guys have gotten taller since I’ve left. Here’s a view of the garden from the other direction:

From left to right, back to front: Basil and rosemary, bell pepper, tomatoes, and then hiding just behind the dragon fruit plants are the strawberries. Here is the second half:

The tomatoes are the four plants on the left, and the winter and summer squash are the three in the middle. The corn are on the right!

Now I know it looks a bit silly to have grass between these plants. But think it’ll work? So far, so good: We’ve had more rain than average, and we also have a sprinkler. It’s only been a few weeks, so the grass hasn’t grown too high yet. Is there anything we should look out for? Or should we just suck it up and hack away at that grass when we have a little time? I’d love your opinions; as I said, we know next to nothing about this!

Next up: Looking to plant some beans, and more herbs, and Brussels sprouts! We also want tons of onions and garlic, but I think we’ll have to wait until much later in the year to get them in the ground. And I’m having visions of bouganvilla all along the fence on the other side of the yard… That is the plant that ate LA, I swear — it’s everywhere! I want some of it for my own!

We acquired the cherry tree in 1997.  It had belonged to my Uncle Clarence.  I have lost several aunts and uncles in the past  year, but Uncle Clarence passed away 14 years ago this date.  He was a Lutheran pastor and taught many lessons on faith, but I remember him more for his teachings on nature, the two topics dove-tail wonderfully into one other.  He was the kind of man who would take a bunch of us out hiking on a nature preserve and give lectures on whatever flora and fauna we might encounter.  He was a beekeeper and taught us about the amazing life of bees…humans have so  much to learn about life from bees!  He also was a member of NAFEX…North American Fruit Explorers.  He actually grew kiwi in his backyard in Kirkwood, MO.  He grew them on a trellis that he would lay down on the ground in the winter and cover up with bags of leaves for insulation.  I have a vivid memory of him (standing precariously with a walker) collecting magnolia seed pods to see if he could get them to germinate, nevermind that he may not live to see a tree grow from those seeds.  He was passionate about grafting and he had an orchard.  Evidently, he also had a cherry tree in a bucket that had yet to be planted when he died on this date back in 1997.  Aunt Mickey gifted us with the cherry tree.  We planted it in a half barrel and set it out on the brick patio.  We always intended to take it out to our farm to plant it permanently but 14 years and life in general passed by.

Last year when we sold our home, we told the new owners that the tree on the patio would not be left behind.  We planned to wait until winter when it would be a better time to move a tree.  They agreed for us to come later to claim the tree.  In our private conversations, we wondered about the tree.  How had it managed all this time so happily in a half barrel?  Perhaps the barrel bottom had rotted out and the roots had grown down through the morter between the bricks?  Would it survive a move? Should we leave it behind or risk uprooting it?

In the end, we decided that we could not bear to leave it behind.  Late in February we went back to the old place.  We had a saw and a two wheel cart and a bunch of bungie cords.  Once the barrel was tipped over, it completely fell apart.  The roots had indeed grown down in between the bricks.  They were sawed off and what remained of the root ball and tree was scooped up and loaded into the van.  We planted it the next day, a late gray Saturday in February.  I trimmed all the branches off to give the roots less tree to support.  Then it was left up to faith and hope to survive.

This weekend is a fitting time to check on the progess of the tree. 

What we are left with is faith and hope.

But today I just signed paperwork at Alpine Meadows, where I get a free lift pass for working in the rental shop on weekends. Pretty soon, I’ll be hitting the slopes!

We’ve lived in this house for the last 21 years, but now it is time to move on, time to downsize, reduce the footprint, clean out the closets.  We are leaving our house, but taking the memories.  One more time all together.  Just the six pack. Yes, all of us from all our timezones are here.  After going through the closets and drawers we threw all the extraneous stuff on the driveway.  We advertised a garage sale in the paper and on Craig’s list.  Then us six went to a bonfire at my cousin’s farm.

Bright and early the next morning the shoppers came.  It seemed a little embarrassing that we had so much junk!  It was fun to let folks cart off the superfluous stuff.  The garage sale over, now time to party!

There’s been so many great gatherings here…birthday parties for 5 year olds, 10 year olds, 13 year olds, 40 year olds, 80 year olds and 90 year olds.  The Eggers Cousins Christmas sing-a-longs, Skating/Soup and Singing, Easter brunches, 4th of July Bar-B-Ques, Thanksgiving dinners, Confirmations, graduations, piano recitals, swim team luaus, cross country team carbo loading, cast parties, a toga party, a Halloween party with a 60′s decade theme (really scary!),  wine tasting, New Year’s Eves, a Farewell St. Louis brunch for Mickey and Farewell to Heaven for Vera and for Homer. Let’s celebrate one more time in this house.  I had found in one cabinet all the leftover paper napkins from many of the parties we’ve had here.  Why not use them for this Last Hurrah? 

Sauce:                                                                    Meatloaf

1/2 c. ketchup                                                   2 lbs. lean ground beef

1/3 c. brown sugar                                          2 eggs

1 1/2 t. mustard                                               1 c. cornflakes oatmeal

2 T. apple cider vinegar                                2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground nutmeg                                    1/2 t. pepper

                                                                                2 T. minced parsley

                                                                                1 onion, chopped

Combine meatloaf ingredients and add half of the sauce (which was mixed and heated for a few minutes).  Then press the meatloaf into a loaf pan and baked at 350 for about 45-60 minutes.  Spoon the remaining sauce over the meatloaf and continue baking for another 15 minutes until done. 

When Cousin Jane called Cousin Barb to tell her that Ruby had taken a turn for the worse, Barb told Jane that her mother, Aunt Mickey, had also taken the same turn.  Having lost Uncle Homer earlier this year made me think that he was up in heaven cheering for a ‘double header’ to be played.  A few days earlier Mickey had insisted that ‘Ruby was coming soon.’  How did she know from 2000 miles away?  Mickey had been wanting to go home for some time.  She was getting ready, but often said that she was going home to Farrar.  Well, it’s easy for me to see why Farrar could be mistaken for heaven.  In less than 36 hours after Aunt Ruby died, so did Aunt Mickey. 

Barb came to Aunt Ruby’s funeral.  We sang “Müde bin ich,” the German bedtime prayer.  What a comfort.  This song had been sung to all of us by our mothers.  No doubt Grandma sang it to them.  I wonder how many generations of our family learned this lullaby…

Müde bin ich, geh zur Ruh                               Tired I am, I go to rest,

Schlieβe meine Äuglein zu:                             close my eyes

Vater, laβ die Augen dein                                Father, let your eyes

Über meinem Bette sein                                   Always be over my bed

Barb and I were talking with Cousin Nancy about the song.  Nancy and I mentioned how we had a bit of trouble with the tempo that the organist played at the funeral service.  I guessed that the organist just wasn’t that familiar with this old German bedtime song, but Barb countered…”that is how it’s written!”  What?!  It was never in the old Lutheran Hymnal.  However, it is in the newer one.  Since I knew the song by heart, I never bothered to read the notes.  Barb pointed out the tempo in the new hymnal to Nancy and I.  She asked us each to sing it as we knew it.  Nancy and I took turns, but our result was the same..but different than written.  Then Emily came into the room.  Barb gave Emily the hymnal and challenged her to sing what was written…she couldn’t do it!  She had learned it “wrong” from me, as I had taught it to her orally since she was a small child.  Barb then told us that all five of her sibs sang it the way we did.  Evidently, this is the Eggers version.  Frankly, I like the wrong way.  It is slower and more soothing as  a lullaby. 

I wonder if I would like cornflakes in the meatloaf better too.

Paying homage to the Fluxus “Happenings,” FLUX BIKES rides, led by Rob Frye, invite group participation for an exploration of both the sonic possibilities of bicycles and a physical space.

With pre-recorded Flux Bikes loops emanating from Rob’s portable speaker, the group took off to explore Highland Park and jam along the Arroyo Seco and Rio de Los Angeles bike paths. Using contact mics, looping techniques, chimes, bongos, bells and honkers, the riders filled the city with bicycle music. Another stop was made at the Bike Oven, a local non-profit bicycle Co-op that provided materials for the wind chimes.

Video/Photos by Emily Frye and Colleen Rafferty
Edited by Rob Frye

 She called later from the train and left me a voice mail…”Hi Ellen…I’m doing alright…Having lot of fun…Tell Steve hi…I love you Ellen…Have a great day.”   Next stop, Penn Station.