We went out to the bunion yesterday to visit and to do a little tending to the place. I pulled a gunny sack full of thistles, and slew many more with my hoe, but barely made a dent in the population. Some of the seed I tossed out has germinated, especially the clover, which is fantastic. After I could not stand to pull another thistle, I took the dogs for a walk in the woods to see what we could find. The first thing we found was a Great Horned Owl, who possibly is making a home in the barn. She conveniently sat on a low branch so we could get a good view of her. More wildlife pressure to add to the list….any poultry will have to live under lock and key, but I do love owls, especially big fierce Hooty ones. She or her relatives possibly inspired the mysterious owl shaped objects that have left ghost impressions on the wall in the kitchen.
I also found a few woodland wildflowers, in addition to the Oregon Grape and wild strawberries I found lots of Johnny Jump Ups
a very few trillium (trillia?), and lots of these lovely Ladyslippers
The fruit trees are in bloom, looks like there are two cherry trees (and they are small enough to possibly be Pie cherries, which would give me great joy), two walnuts, and the apple, which is in glorious blossom. It will be fun to try to figure out what kind of apple it is. One of my bait hives is stashed underneath it…no swarms yet. The cherries were humming with pollinators and the dormer bees were very busy.
I have to keep reminding myself that we still have a long wait and it is possible the deal will fall through. I sat in what is left of the pasture with the dogs and fell further in love with it anyway. The dogs don’t want to wait either…Katie fully approves of the Bunion.
After all of last week’s reminders that life is short I am also trying to remember that patience is a virtue, and having a year to sit with this land, albeit only occasionally, before I launch into farming it is a gift!
Spud Lust 
Keep your aim on getting the Bunion, and think only of that. The seller likely has already shed any affection to that property, and can see only its flaws. You should see the same things, only you can call them “opportunities”. As for those kitchen wall images, I see some images of dogs, maybe somehow stuck on the walls as “art”, but yhey blocked the accretion of airborne grease/oil particles over many years. Maybe ask the folks at TimberPro UV in Portland – I think their website is timberprocoatings.com and see what they advise for cleaning that paneling. Of course, I’m already envisioning y’all moving in in a few weeks or so.
The seller is a Timber company, and we call it the Bunion because they are shaving this unwanted homestead off the toe of a large timberland parcel…we know it is a liability to them. They are anxious to sell to us, and we have good affirmations that everything will go through with the county and according to plan….so I think unless something totally unforeseen occurs the deal will go through. I think the wall marks in the kitchen have more to do with sunshine than dirt, fir oxidizes when exposed to light, and the owls or dogs or whatever they are will fade or even out over time. I kind of like them, and doubt I will do anything to make them go away at least for a while. I am more interested in repairing all the cracked plaster in the rest of the house. A few weeks! I wish! Maybe by Thanksgiving, if we are lucky. Thanks for your interest in our story! I will do my best to keep the updates coming….cheers!
So glad Katie approves. phewf!