October 2021 Island Trip – Day 4

There are 11-bags and 3-boxes of apples ready to take home. There are also 100’a of apples left on the trees. These are very small and very prolific trees. Next year I’ll try to find someone who can use the rest of the fruit. If I were staying longer I’d find that person this year, but I can’t ask my tenant or friends to manage that process for me. Yesterday I was delighted to see a humming bird at one of the apples. Between the birds, the bees, the deer, and the raccoons, the fruit will get et, and we will have gallons of cider.

There’s been a tangle of hog wire around one of the apple trees, likely since it was planted. Since my knowing these trees, the wire has been a mess and a hazard. It’s now on the metal recycle pile! I also extracted three descent metal posts that I’m keeping. I’m sure this is all leftover stuff from deer-proofing the trees when they were newly planted.

My eastern neighbor helped me pick apples this morning, and then we hiked up and over the hill, and back, to our AN’s place. I talked about adding more fruit trees to dad’s garden and she asked about planting a fig. I’m so glad she did, because I wouldn’t have thought of a fig. My mainland neighbor grows and propagates figs… 🙃 I want to plant a d’anju pair, and a Bosc, if needed for cross pollination. Some of my parent’s ashes will go into the planting holes… Just like Tim and his family did with Cindy’s and their eldest son’s ashes last month. 💕 About a day and a half will see dad’s garden deer proofed again. And with irrigation intact, I’m not restricted to fall-only planting.

The pump room exterior door trim is painted. None too soon, as a couple of months in the southern exposure damaged the primer, in places, enough that I needed to sand it down before painting 😳.

I took a walk in the woods. There’s something new to observe each time. This time it was that the eight huge, venerable Douglas firs are old growth! I’ve marveled at them for a number of years, but their great age only now dawned on me. Research is in order. I also found two small pieces of cut tile that I am morally certain came from my parent’s kitchen counter. No one else would use mottled orange two-inch tile in their house, even in the early 80’s except my folks. What two pieces of this tile are doing a 5-acre parcel away from the house is something we don’t get to know. I kept them (of course), and tossed other trash I found.

Other bits and pieces got done today, and my exit checklist is as far along as it can be until tomorrow. While my DH would find this torture, I’m figuring out where the 55-degree mark is on the electric heater. Meaning, I’m hanging out in a 59-degree trailer 😂. With fall decidedly upon us, I need to get way more real about knowing where the magic temperature setting is on this little heater. In early Stella days, I bought an electric heater with a digital readout. It wouldn’t go as low as 55-degrees. While I get it (who except for me wants to heat to 55?), how useless is that? The fancy pants heater was returned. I’ll deploy the electric oil heater tomorrow as well.

I received my reservation reminder from the ferry system today, like everything is normal and they didn’t cancel over 100 sailings on Friday… My goal is to try and catch the boat prior to mine. I will be thankful to get on my boat, and content to get off the Island during daylight. Next stop, camping🏕 !!