June 6, 2008

Here’s round two! We are gradually getting ourselves more organized around this blog thing,
we even have a schedule now... whoa. The Barn Blog will now be updated every Monday!

Happy reading,

Your diligent intern and naturalist friends,

Cori & Adam

Sunny Dande

 
NwC’s Newest (well only) Author Is a Roaring Success!

“Its finished!” proclaimed Steve Lamar just weeks ago upon the publication of his first book Swan Valley Place Names: A Mosaic of History, Stories and Local Lore. What started as a side project when sitting down to right his memoirs, quickly became the focus of Steve’s literary endeavors. For three years he waded through old records, interviews, and maps in search of the stories behind the names of some of the Swan’s most charismatic features- more than 500 in total.

The book is steeped in tales of old-timers and homesteaders, and offers a little glimpse of how special this valley really is. As Steve explains in his perfect introduction, “I have been fascinated with Swan Valley from the first time I encountered it… It is my hope that this book will broaden the reader’s appreciation and knowledge of the area. As we expand or understanding of the natural, cultural, and historical aspects of this region, our commitment to preserve its rural traditions and ecological diversity deepens. It is our responsibility to care for the land so that future generations may inherit this natural treasure we call Swan Valley” (xviii).

The book also features the stunning artwork of Steve’s wife Sharon, both on the cover and inside.

Since the day the FedEx man delivered 500 copies of Swan Valley Place Names to the Lamar’s front door they have been selling hand over fist up and down the valley. Steve’s excited, we can tell:), but humble about his success. That’s the Steve we know and love!

Books are still for sale, hint hint.

(For more info contact Steve at lamar@blackfoot.net)

Garden Update

And the garden work rolls along… on and on. After a marathon weekend last weekend, and many additional evenings spent digging out sod and hauling dirt, we now have eight raised beds, a to-be strawberry patch, and two planting barrels! The garden’s infrastructure overhaul is finally complete and our little veggie dreams are starting to come to fruition!

Our planting beds were thriftfully constructed using scrap-wood acquired from just about every corner of the Swan Range, really, it was quite the adamant hunt. Adam scored some slabs from Bud Moore’s mill, poached some boards from the Homestead stockpile, and picked up a pile of old decking material from Melanie’s mom’s place—only to discover that the pile was serving as a cozy little den to a family of skunks. No one was sprayed in the process (oh thank heavens), but a few of our beds now have a particularly distinct sour odor to them… We’re thinking of it as pest control.

And we have sprouts! As of late last week our Kale and salad greens popped their little heads out of the soil, and are now claimable sprouts. The Chard and Beets are hot on their trail and have come up in handfuls all week.

Just a few more plantings and it’s the plants’ turn to go to work!

In the ground this week: New Red Fire Lettuce; Scarlet Nantes Carrots; Provider Beans; Black Beauty Eggplant; Dwarf Jewel Nasturtium; Oregon Spring & Stupice Tomato starters; Apple, Revolution, and Bulgarian Carrot Chile Pepper starters; and Raspberry bushes gifted to us from the Lamar family garden!

Left: Sprouts; Right: Little Kyra Parker is quite the forewoman,
we really would have been lost without her.

Working In Garden

6/9 -- There was a hard frost last night, yikes. Our poor little tomato plants were pretty unhappy under their plastic covers this morning… cross your fingers that they’ll pull through…

Birds & Wildlife

Will be updated soon!

But I can tell you that the mice are still plugging away happily in the cookhouse, and so are the swallows? Yes, a swallow welcomed itself into the cookhouse late one evening causing mild panic on the part of Cori. The bird was freed quickly and unharmed, but both hearts were racing.

The Passed Week at Connections

Visitors! Adam, Cori, and NwC happily welcomed a crew of alumni to the homestead this week. Julia Lakes, Erin Steinkruger, and Christen Kiser came to visit, along with Craig Harrington and Allie Tincher. Some rockin’ hobo dinners were made around the campfire, with visual break for the elk of course…

Alternating days of spring rain and warm sunshine have brought Morel mushrooms to the surface all over Northwestern Montana! Morel hunting has been particularly fruitful on last year’s Jocko Lakes’ fire. Cori and a few L&L alum went hunting last week and were quite successful. Though, no mushrooms made long enough to be dried and saved… they’re just too good.

The horses are loose! We have new roommates! Well, sort of. Tom and Melanie have returned the horses to the Homestead to let them graze on the increasingly abundant greenery in the yard, sustainable lawnmowers? We’re all glad to have them around and always get a kick out of having Joe staring in the window at us while we work diligently in the office.

Tango	Red	Tater	Joe