Combine Ride: Harvest on the Palouse

I have lived in the Pullman-Moscow region, which borders the states of Washington and Idaho, for over thirty years now. I have watched the dust swirl up around me surrounding these fair towns as the farmers till and harvest the deep black soil of the Palouse, as the land is known. I have stopped behind them in their large farm vehicles, as they traverse our two-lane roads, halting traffic to make a cumbersome turn. I have traveled through the scenery they create in the fields that changes dramatically from green to golden yellow each year without fail. My husband and I have been privileged to meet and know only a few.

BARLEY (about a foot tall; wheat is much taller)

As a child I lived west of the Cascades, but sometimes took trips with a friend's family through Eastern Washington to Coeur d'Alene Lake. En route, we always passed the fields of wheat and other crops. One of our favorite things to do was to stop and sample a stalk of wheat. We would remove the chaff and chew the wheat kernel, as if it were the best snack in the world. And what did it taste like? Bland, salt free flour of course, but oh what a treat. Ever do that?

Barley up close at dusk (my camera lens was dirty from the harvest dust)

Big teeth!

So imagine my excitement yesterday when my husband and I were invited to ride in a combine harvester on the Ensley farm. They were busy harvesting their barley crop. 

"Frank"

I have to admit I thought of Pixar's movie, Cars, when I saw the big teeth of the combines up close. Remember the scene where Mater and Lightening McQueen scare the 'grazing' tractors and they go belly up in the field? Then Mater warns Lightening to watch out for Frank? Ha! Combine harvesters are huge like that, and I mean HUGE.

Cathy, co-owner with Mike Ensley in front of Ensley Farms harvest truck, which follows behind the combine for grain dumps. The Ensleys currently grow wheat, barley and garbanzo beans.

Big tires! Vince climbing into Mike's combine.  Here they come! Dumping the barley

Mike at end of day. Time to shower!

Today farmers sit in air-conditioned and filtered cabs, although there is plenty of dust. Check out Mike's photo on the left! They have talk radios and music to pass the time and use cell phones for communication.
Imagine how it must have been before combines existed (or modern ones with enclosed cabs). I am told that farmers often suffered from emphysema from the heavy dust exposure.

                                       Combines were horse drawn in the "old days."

Jeremy (Mike's son) and my driver. This is a multi-generation farm.

View from inside the cab with Jeremy. It was surprisingly quiet inside. We could talk easily, but oh was it ever dusty!!

Combines get around 7 miles to the gallon, I am told. The farm uses around 100 gallons a day during harvest. That's me on the bottom step. Thanks for the ride, Jeremy!

Take a look at my shoes. I was told I would get dirty . . . and I thought I was being careful. My face was gritty with dust, too, as was my camera lens. But what a marvelous once-in-a-life time experience. Thank you Ensley Farms!! Sharon M. Himsl Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011.  Published with Evernight Teen:  ~~The Shells of Mersing

Lake Entiat: Sailing and More

Well, we did it. Vince and I took "Duet" out of storage after nearly four years of neglect and sailed for two days in a row. I must admit though we had a comical Laurel and Hardy start, rigging the boat and trying to remember which line went where. Vince was beginning to question the work-to-fun ratio. What had once been a thirty-minute process to rig this fifteen-foot wonder (a Montgomery 15) quickly turned into a two-hour fiasco, with a lot of head-scratching and staring at instructions. But our efforts did eventually pay off. 

Duet was a beautiful sight when the sails were finally hoisted. She was the only sailboat on Lake Entiat last weekend. Sailing is all about the moment, not the destination. One glides along at the mercy of the wind on a zig-zag course. In a world spinning faster the older I get, I find this pace relaxing at times, but the work getting the boat ready was hard in the hot sun. (Note to V&S: do not rig in 90-plus heat!!)

Vince at the tiller, his favorite position.

At the tiller or on the bow. Either spot, I like both!

Lake Entiat is a large reservoir located near Rock Island Dam, one of Washington's many hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.

Near Orondo, Washington next to the Wenatchee Mountain range, Lake Entiat is a nice recreational destination for campers and boaters. It is about four hours away for us. Vince and I camped three nights on its shore at Daroga State Park along with my brother and wife's family.

Site 24. Where we camped.

Lots of food and good company!

 

 Delicious campground beef stew with home grown vegetables, made by my sister-in-law. I was surprised to learn that this is the same Coleman stove my parents used when I was a girl. My brother had discovered it recently in storage. Still works great!

Besides sailing, I also tried water skiing behind my brother's boat, but alas . . . after a hiatus of probably thirty years, my legs just were not strong enough. ~Sigh~ I so much wanted to be up on those skis. I still remember skiing under the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, Washington behind my father's boat as a teen. The water was quite choppy that day in Puget Sound under the Narrows and there had been whale sightings nearby. I held fast to the rope and avoided jumping over the wake, as was my usual form, on the lookout for anything black and unusually large.

 (Brrr . . . Don't worry, I can do this! I think I can, I think I can . . .)
 

 My brother remembers a similar experience skiing over a swarm of yellow jelly fish when he was younger, also worried he would fall. By the way, he bounced right up on those skis when it was his turn. Way to go, Bob!!

Vince and I brought bicycles, too, and enjoyed the bike trails that run through the park and beyond alongside the lake. Five hours of sailing and and an hour or two of biking gave us a good workout, and yes, I was a bit sore when I came home. Not bad for a couple getting ready to retire in a year or so, huh?

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Trip to Washington DC

It's been awhile since my husband and I have traveled far from port in Eastern Washington—on the Idaho border where we live. But when Southwest Airlines handed us two flight vouchers during an unscheduled flight delay last Thanksgiving, it opened the skies for a

U.S. Capitol Building

(We accessed from underground via a tunnel system,

thanks to an intern in our congressman's office at

the Rayburn House Office Building across the street;

just contact your district's congressman for information)

future trip (other than our usual jaunts to Utah and California). Vince and I just couldn't resist seeing a part of the country we've never seen before. And what better place could there be to visit than Washington DC, with the election just around the corner? But all politics aside (because Washington DC offers so much more), I discovered a writer's paradise when it comes to research and entertaining new ideas. Virtually all of the museums (with the exception of a few private ones) are free and exceptional in quality.

We began our Smithsonian tours on the fourth floor of the National Museum of American History and worked our way down through decades of history in about 4 hours. But we could have easily spent a day there—me, maybe two. We just had too much to fit in (only 3 days in DC). And with a background in American Studies, that wasn’t easy for me. The Americans at War display is especially good. It covers the Revolutionary War and upward through present day wars. What a thrill it was to see a life size model of one of our founding fathers, George Washington, wearing his original Revolutionary War uniform—blue wool coat, breeches and knee-high black boots; he was surprisingly tall and long-armed . . . Others are similarly depicted and the authenticity of each display is impressive. http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/exhibition/flash.html?path=1.3.r_763

Washington National Monument.
(A constant presence wherever we
went; larger than expected; closed
for repairs due to earthquake Aug)

The display of the American flag created after the War of 1812 is inspiring. The flag is spread out flat under glass like a giant bedspread, all tattered and torn but as proud it seems as those who made and fought for it. It's the same flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled banner. "Oh, say can you see . . ." Can't you just hear it?

Moving on to other displays depicting our era and culture, I discovered Julia Child’s complete kitchen. What fun! I know of no one else who has made cooking such fun, French no less.

Unfortunately, the rest of the display was blocked off  from view (for remodeling), but I could still hear Julia’s cute accented speech in my mind. “Bon appétit!” Wasn't Meryl Streep's recent interpretation of Julia in the movie Julie and Julia great?


 Another section documents the lives of our past presidents (and current); the gowns of the first ladies also displayed here are a rare visual treat; you really get a sense of the culture and fashion of the day. Grace Coolidge’s flapper-style dresses are especially stunning, and I understand she had a personality to match. And Michelle Obama's inaugural gown is lovely. 
 

We also did a quick tour of the Natural Museum of History, which is wonderful for families with children because of all the bones and dinosaurs (and mummies if not too gross). I’m afraid I rushed through this section too fast to benefit. Many of the skeletons are cast replicas, so that was a disappointment. I did think the precious gem exhibit was rather interesting. The famous Hope Diamond is on display, which I loved seeing since I had to research precious gems for a famous ruby I invented in my book. There is an amazing story behind this diamond. 


Perhaps the biggest highlight, since Vince is a pilot and I’m his passenger occasionally, was the Air and Space Museum. Holy moly

Apollo II - space capsule

. . . the actual lunar capsule that brought Neil Armstrong and his crew back home from the moon is on display! Where were you when they first landed on the moon in 1969?   was sitting at a switchboard taking calls as a long distance telephone operator

for Pacific Northwest Bell in Tacoma, WA. One by one, my co-workers and I were given breaks so we could watch the moon landing on TV. Pretty exciting day.

And Orville and Wilbur Wright’s original plane and Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis! I had forgotten how much I love Lindbergh’s wife (Anne) and her writing, although I’ve only read one of her books, A Gift from the Sea. Anne Lindbergh wrote twelve more, I discovered; I plan to read at least two of those books, North to the Orient (1935) and Listen! The Wind (1938); both describe her and Charles’ world travels in their Lockheed Sirius airplane (purchased in 1929). I can’t wait. Anne was Charles’ co-pilot apparently and sat behind him in their tandem cockpit. My pilot husband who built a tandem RV8) of course found this interesting as well. Although I'm far from being his co-pilot; does 'white-knuckle' ring any bells? Well . . . needless to say, we visited this museum twice.

The Wright Flyer (Orville and Wilbur Wright 
were bicycle builders and mechanics by trade)

Vince at his favorite museum :)

Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, 1st soloflight ever across the Atlantic Ocean



Admiring the Charles and Anne Lindbergh display
(Behind, a replica of the Lockheed Sirius plane they flew)

Aviator face masks (with oxygen tubes) worn
by pilots in the 1920s and 1930s

We also saw the Holocaust Museum, which is a sobering, emotional experience. That there are those in existence today who still believe this ghastly period in history never happened to Jewish people just boggles the mind. The massacre also included non-Jews who were judged by the Nazis to be racially, religiously, culturally, mentally, and socially inferior; as well as bystanders who attempted to help and were arrested. Few children survived the holocaust, I learned. At the Auschwitz Concentration Camp alone, the policy was to exterminate all children under 15! The museum gives each visitor a passport with the name and biography of someone who had actually died, adding to the effect. There is also a special area designed for families with young children. I didn't have time to see this section, but I've been told it's exceptionally well done.



Library of Congress

 Lastly, we toured the Capitol (thanks to our district congressman), the Library of Congress (wow—another amazing research source); the Lincoln Memorial (hmm…for some reason I thought it was bronze like the penny (ha-ha); Vince thought it was bigger), the National Monument (damaged in an August earthquake), the Viet Nam Memorial (quiet, sobering), and the White House lawn on Pennsylvania Avenue (last of all). A funny thing happened at the Library of Congress that we still laugh about. Vince and his brother were shushed by a librarian at the Library of Congress. Vince is rather proud of that moment . . . but then, he and librarians have never quite gotten along. (A date at the library when we were sixteen is one of our best stories).
 

The White House was a special treat, because as we were walking towards it, three (?) ‘White House’ helicopters (Vince saw four) suddenly appeared overheard and landed on the other side. We didn’t see the president or the first family, but there was definite excitement in the air (and security personnel were everywhere on top of buildings and on the ground). 

Vince and brother on path to Lincoln Memorial

  

Lincoln Memorial

Statue on grounds at Vietnam Memorial

White House (Pennsylvania Avenue); next time we hope
 to tour; tours are limited and difficult to get due to
 high security; apply well in advance.

Protestor across street from White House

Old Ebbitt Grill
(Food and service great!)

We left for dinner—one block over across from the Department of Treasury—to a restaurant called Old Ebbitt Grill, which I dubbed “Old Debit Grill.” The evening (our last night in DC) was topped off by a protest march that paraded by in front as we waited. They moved so fast, I'm still not sure what exactly they were protesting.



Protest Marchers





Weather was hot and muggy for the first week in October (high 70’s, low 80’s) all three days, and our legs got a more than expected workout (hotel was wrong about walking distances!). But it was SO-SO worth it. I came home with a renewed sense of patriotism and a pride in our country’s achievements, despite all the flack in the news and uncertainty our nation faces right now. An intern from American University, the young man who gave us a guided tour of the Capitol and House of Representatives, did a great job instilling hope in our country’s future leaders.

Go to DC if you’ve never gone before . . . I don’t know why we put this off so long!

Copyright 2012 © Sharon Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing