Late Harvest

 This has been the longest season garden I have ever had. I started planting in February, using old windows on straw bales to keep things warmer. It is now December, and I still have beets, onions, and carrots hanging out under leaves and we go and pick cilantro and kale periodically, despite several hard freezes. I've learned that some vegetables are a lot hardier than I had thought.

About mid-November I finally got around to harvesting the rest of my red cabbage, popcorn, some carrots, red beets, kale, and onions.

Popcorn was a new crop to try this year. I had some helpers husk it.

I bought colorful varieties, partly because they might be more nutritious, partly because they're so pretty. It's not easy getting the kernels off, so I just take off what we need. We've had one successful batch of popcorn and one not so successful.

It's strange to think that it will only be a couple months until it's time to plant again--if the weather cooperates! We've actually enjoyed gardening so much we're thinking about putting in a greenhouse. I keep dreaming of year-round cherry tomatoes and spinach. I would love to be able to just go pick my salad daily.

More Free Time

It's the last day of November, which means it's the last day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I participated this year, trying to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. I was behind for 29 of those days, but today I finished! It feels so good.

Now I'll have a little more time to dedicate to my blog and other activities. I have a pile of books I want to read, new recipes to try, a little more exercise to do, and plenty of getting ready for Christmas.

I'll also be spending a bit of time editing the book. I had so much fun writing it. It's a mystery set in Ely, Nevada during the 2016 National Speleological Society Convention. So I wrote about some of the things I know best--caving and the local area. With a mystery thrown in. I have some loose ends to tie up, characters to flesh out, and facts to check (I couldn't help but throw in some night skies!). But the first draft is done, and it's so much to edit something that's already written!

If you've never heard of NaNoWriMo or always thought you wanted to write a novel, but weren't sure you could, it's a free program (although they accept donations), with lots of encouragement and pep talks. One tool I find really useful is updating my word count and seeing how the bar graph keeps increasing over time.

I find writing such a wonderful creative outlet. I could gush more, but I think I'll stop now. :)

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and wishing you a peaceful Advent.

The New Little Horse Canyon

 During August and September we had exceptional monsoons. Meaning more frequent than usual, and in some places, more precipitation than usual. Unfortunately quite a lot of that rain came on areas that had just burned, causing a lot of erosion. However, many places in the landscape have evolved to adapt to change (it's just that now we have a lot of non-native species that screw things up!). Regardless, seeing the flood damage gives you an awe of the power of Mother Nature.

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go hiking up Little Horse Canyon in the North Snake Range in Nevada. We could see new drainage channels heading to the east. They flowed right over the Gandy Road, which is still in poor shape. Whole trees were carried across the road.

We could see why when we got down into the bottom of the canyon. Places thirty feet high were scoured.

some of the rocky banks continue to collapse.

We kept gawking as we walked along, finding debris in trees far above our heads. It would have been so amazing to see this flood. It actually wasn't just one flood event, but at least four.

When we rounded one corner, we could see that the streambed ahead was fifty feet lower. What had happened here?

It turned out the stream had cut down to bedrock and washed everything off it.

On the left side of the photo below, you can make out the old stream channel, which had been cutting through the limestone. It was only a couple feet wide. Now the stream bed is tens of feet wide. It will be so interesting to see what grows back in this area.

The raging creek snapped trees off at their base.

We don't get a whole lot of flash floods in this area, they're more common to the south. But this summer was definitely the time for them. Fortunately very few people live in this area, so although the amount of land moved was immense, the damage done to infrastructure was minimal.

As we left the canyon, we reached the debris flow, where the water slowed down and debris fell out of the current. Trees littered the bench as far as we could see.

It was a really cool hike, and I hope I can visit some of the other places that were flooded this summer. There's something about seeing massive landscape transformations that puts me in my place. Ha!

Nevada State Railroad Museum

We love trains, so we were very happy to go to the Nevada State Railroad Museum on our recent fall break. We actually went twice, as the first time was at the end of the day so we needed more time to see it all and to go for a train ride.

 They had out the special McKeen Motor Car to celebrate Nevada Day. They've done a beautiful job restoring it.

 Our friend Dave also loves trains and came with us.

The train went three times around the tracks on the property. It wasn't long, but it was fun!

The back of the car was especially beautiful.

Then we went over and operated the hand car. Twice. It was great. Inside the museum they had beautiful engines and interesting displays. The kids' favorite part inside was the HO model train and the Thomas the Train toy table, but the part they remember the best was the hand car.

Desert Girl and the Monkey Bars

 One afternoon while we were waiting for Desert Boy to finish his piano lesson, Desert Girl had a chance to play with her friend Ella. Ella started across the monkey bars, and this really impressed Desert Girl.

So Desert Girl took a turn. She's 4 1/2 now and can be quite stubborn. I knew she really wanted to do the monkey bars, because on the way home from our fall vacation we stopped at the great playground in Austin, Nevada, and she gave those monkey bars a try.

She began across, those little hands holding tight, eyes focused on the next bar...

…legs flailed, hair flew, and she became even more determined...

…but sometimes determination isn't quite enough...

…but sometimes it is.

So did she make it across? Watch the video to find out!