Dec 3 sunny

Too bad that the sun waited until the visiting Alaskans left before it won the tug-of-war with the rain clouds.
We have had three days of sunshine since they left on Wednesday morning.

It was nice to get a couple of big-tide walks on the beach and to finish the cloche-covers. Especially since the last wind storm had blown by seine-web fence down to where the chickens escaped. They proceeded to decimate the young greens. Now, three of the four beds are covered, one with bird-mesh, two with plastic.

Hmm, how do we get into the beds with the tender lettuce?

gathering around the last of the kale

I was planning on seeding them somewhere around solstice but decided that, if lettuce can be grown 200 miles south of here in California, it is worth trying here. So, on December second, I planted mixed greens, butter-crunch, and butter-head lettuce. I saved enough seeds to replant in late January.
People here say that it is not worth it to plant so early--the cool weather and the short days contribute to sluggish growth. Its really hard for me to adjust from an attitude of-- working the soil as soon as it thaws.

The chickens have been picking through the been, parsley, and raspberry rows for the past month. Yesterday, I opened the barrier between the raised beds, lawn, and the rest of the garden, giving the chickens access to the whole yard. They were happy to attack chickweed and to strip the last of the chard and kale. They love anything that elevates their viewpoint so the one bed available to them was the most popular spot. After eating the chard and kale, they scratched through the dirt and around the onions looking for bugs and seeds.

Buffy--so-named for for cross beak. The grandkids said it was "Backwards, upside down, forwards, hence, buf.

I'm only getting three or four eggs-a-day. Barely enough for me, visitors, and neighbors. I hung the "No eggs" sign on top of the "eggs for sale" sign. Laurie and Jeff liked that the directions to the place were, turn at the "no eggs" sign. Laurie suggested I put out "no bread" and "no milk" signs.
Today Bennii (neighbor who grew up here but now splits time between Ophir and her husband's racetrack near Bakersfield) came over and beat me in two games of scrabble(423/306 and 405/371).
Afterwards, we went to the Gold Beach Christmas bazaar. I was underwhelmed--it was almost nothing but candy, cookies and pot holders. I guess most of the artists here already display there works in the gift shops.

I bought some fudge for Bennii for tomorrow's birthday and she bought a couple of hand-knitted washcloths. Outside, the high school was conducting a fundraiser. They were selling potted live evergreens with battery operated lights on them. I donated $10 and made out an adoption form for a five foot hemlock.
We went on to the second-hand stores, Christian help and Friends of Curry County Animal Shelter. She bought a serving plate and two cinnamon buns, me--cookie cans and coat hangers.We returned to have a scrabble rematch and warm the buns. This time I won(406/350).
The tide was out, the sun shining, fifty eight degrees, and low tide so we both went to the beach. The swells were as small, about four feet, as they ever get on this relentless exposed part of the Pacific. A family had parked at the rest stop and a couple of boys in shorts were playing in the surf.
Benii and I walked a couple of miles without finding any agates.