Vol. 17, No. 3

CONTENTS

High Prairie Community Council
Join Friends For Lions Club Senior Lunches
Something For Everyone At The 2017 Lyle Christmas Bazaar
Doug Taylor Throws A Bash
Need Help With Emergency Preparedness?
Observatory Observations
Essay Contest Explores Topic Of Unity
High Prairie Firefighters Protect Homes In Cle Elum
Fire District Drills Shift To Structure Protection
Anyone Can Have A House Fire—Even The Chief!
Chief Tim’s Other Reminders:
2 For 1—Firewise Prep Along With Fall Chores
Smoke From Eagle Creek Fire
Training Opportunities
Rural Water Rights And The Hirst Decision
Fall Turkeys On The Prairie
Roasted Butternut Squash Panzanella
Prairie Autumn

 

 

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High Prairie Community Council

Gwen Berry

It may have seemed like the HPCC was put on hold for August and September, but in reality the HPCC Board has been busy. They’ve made the transition to a new treasurer – Thank you, Fred Henchell, and Welcome, Ken Hansen – and gone through all the steps to re-certify the signers on the bank account. Working from past years’ experience, they’ve developed a budget for the 2017–18 fiscal year. It’s posted in the glass case opposite the restrooms at the community center, in case you’d like to know what’s in it. They have been working on formalizing the process by which students can apply for a small scholarship from the HPCC, and they set aside a $2,000 start on a scholarship fund. A new proposed application form will be presented at the October 26 meeting. They’ve discussed fundraising alternatives, upcoming community social events, possible new renters for the community center, and a bunch of other things. 

The HPCC Board of Directors deserves a lot of appreciation. They do much of the work while the rest of us enjoy the results; they take responsibility for community activities, handling the money, and maintaining the community center; they are the lightning rods for criticisms and complaints; and they show up again and again to keep the HPCC functioning. They definitely deserve a lot of appreciation!

SEPTEMBER 28 MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

September’s speaker was Klickitat County Commissioner Dave Sauter, who gave an interesting and informative talk on the Hirst Decision, its background, and what it means to us in Klickitat County. More on that in a separate article.

Also at the meeting – the all-but-final Net Profit figure for the 2017 Firehouse Sale was announced: $13, 281.88. The Board proposed, and members approved, a donation of $6,000 to High Prairie Fire District 14. Many thanks and a pat on the back to everyone who helped make this happen!

UPCOMING

Expect an email in the next few weeks inviting you to a clean-up party at the community center. It’s mainly to take the remaining canopies off the Firehouse Sale tents so they don’t get damaged over the winter. Someone suggested having a wiener roast along with it. Please help if you can.

Everyone loves the annual Christmas Party! It’s a wonderful, festive occasion and a great time  seeing friends and neighbors. It doesn’t happen automatically, though. If you’d be willing to take charge of getting it off the ground, or even one facet of it, call Sharon at 365-4429.

What will HPCC do to raise money in 2018? The HPCC Board is seeking lots of ideas for consideration. If you have an idea, pass it on to Sharon at 365-4429.

The next general meeting will be on October 26, then there’s a break until January 25. The Board is trying to arrange interesting speakers for both of those meeting. Any suggestions? Yes, call Sharon at 365-4429.

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Join Friends For Lions Club Senior Lunches

Roberta Barkhurst

Did you know you can enjoy a warm, delicious lunch prepared each Tuesday at the Lyle Lions Club? Lunch is only $3.50 for 60 and older. Meals are served with your choice of juice, milk or coffee. Gluten-free meals and diabetic desserts are available. So come join neighbors and friends, or meet new friends, for lunch – every Tuesday at noon at the Lyle Lions Club, 503 State Street (corner of 5th and Hwy 14) in Lyle.

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Doug Taylor Throws A Bash

Gwen Berry

Nance sets the tone

On Friday evening, September 22, Doug Taylor’s family, friends, and neighbors converged on the High Prairie Community Center. Doug has often said how much he appreciates the people in this community (and the community certainly returns the affection!), so that evening Doug threw a big party for all his family and friends. Nance Carter and Anna Purcell were instrumental in organizing the party. They had everything set up and decorated beautifully—including themselves—when the guests arrived. Everyone enjoyed dinner, live music, and the opportunity to connect with friends and neighbors. Thank you, Doug! What a wonderful thing to do! 

Host Doug Taylor

Doug adds these thoughts: Our neighbor Neil Mangrum got his band the TROUT CREEK RAMBLERS  together to play for us. I greatly enjoyed their playing and singing. I would like to especially thank Nancy Carter, her girls and  husbands for the great job they did of making it a special occasion. Of course a big thank you to Dave and Rose of the Country Café for the great job of catering.

Trout Creek Ramblers

It was a great gathering of people that made this community and county a great place to reside. These folks in attendance were all my friends and I appreciated them very much. It was so nice to have a center to accommodate a special dinner. Thanks to all, you made it special, you are the greatest.

With all my love, 
Doug

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Something for Everyone at the 2017 Lyle Christmas Bazaar

Karen Beck

Vendors and shoppers are invited to take part in the Annual Lyle Christmas Bazaar on the 3rd and 4th of November. Hours are Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 4.p.m. The sale will be held at the Lyle Activity Center (old grade school) on Highway 14.

The Lyle Christmas Bazaar is a long-time holiday tradition. It was started in the old Women’s Club—located where the Lions Club is now—25 or more years ago by Doris Johnson and the members of the Women’s Club.

Vendor fees for tables are $15.00 for both days or $10.00 for one. The table fees are given to the Lyle Activity center for repairs or whatever they need it for. There are generally 15 to 25 vendors selling handmade crafts such as quilts and jewelry, baked goods, jellies, pickled beets, apple butter, and lots of other homemade items. High Prairie has been represented in past years by a vendor selling homemade goat soap.

A food vendor will provide lunch for a reasonable price, and coffee, tea and cookies will be available for a donation or just to enjoy for free. At 5 p.m. on Saturday a quilt will be raffled off. The proceeds of the raffle will go to the building also.

For more information call 541-490-5673.

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Need Help With Emergency Preparedness?

Debbie McDonald

September is Emergency Preparedness Month but preparedness doesn’t stop with a calendar page change. The Eagle Creek fire has made us all aware that consequences of emergencies in other places can directly affect our community. Did you have N95 masks to protect your lungs on those smoky days? Traffic was a mess and slides will be a danger on the along I-84 for months to come. Do you have a 72-hour car kit?  

Remember the ice storm of several years ago that knocked out power for a week?  Snow storms are a winter reality. Do you have a shelter-in-place kit for each family member as well as pets?  What about an evacuation plan for your livestock?  Not sure what to store, what to pack or how to get started?

Get Ready to Get Ready—mark your calendar to attend one of two October Rural Family & Business Emergency Preparedness Expos in October. Learn ways to protect your home, family, community and business.

October 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Underwood Community Center (Schoolhouse Road in Underwood)

October 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Goldendale Grange (228 East Darland, Goldendale)

Both events are free and you’ll come away with tons of information to get you started on the road to preparedness or to take your supplies to another level.

High Prairie Neighbors Emergency Preparedness Facebook page —High Prairie has its own emergency preparedness Facebook page for occasional information on general emergency preparedness as well as notification of events. You are invited to share information or tips and to ask questions that help all of us become more prepared for whatever emergency comes our way. In Facebook, search on High Prairie Neighbors Emergency Preparedness and ‘like’ when you get there. This is an open group so take a peek and join in the discussion.

Another local Facebook page is High Prairie Community for neighbors to ask questions of each other and share all kinds of information. This group is closed, meaning you’ll need to request to join, but everyone in High Prairie will be accepted!  Join in the social media fun!

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Observatory Observations

Audrey Bentz

Our “nationally famous” Goldendale Observatory, such a great part of Klickitat County, will soon have its new high-powered telescope fully installed. A 9/9/17 update on the observatory’s website says, “The main facility telescope returned to operation in 2016 in a partially upgraded condition and is currently functioning with its original primary mirror. The new mirror has arrived and will be installed once fabrication of its mounting cell is complete. This process has been delayed but is fully funded and expected to be completed before January 2018.” 

Our wonderful observatory is in need of another volunteer to add to the Board of Directors (just one meeting/year) and then serve specifically on the smaller committee called FOGO (Friends of Goldendale Observatory). It’s not a huge time commitment — just 2-3 meetings each year. But it is also a fun time to become more familiar with this famous facility that opens up the skies to thousands of people every year.

If questions or possible interest, please contact Audrey Bentz (at 365-3600) / amsong@gorge.net.

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Essay Contest Explores Topic Of Unity

Gwen Berry

An essay and poetry contest for Klickitat County youth ages 12 to 20 has been announced. Participants are asked to write on the theme of Unity, using as inspiration a quote from Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’i faith: “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.” 

Cash prizes will be awarded to First, Second, and Third Place winners of the contest. Essays are to be 250-500 words; poems need a minimum of three verses.  All entries must be received by October 15, 2017. 

The essay and poetry contest is sponsored by the Baha’is of Klickitat County, “in hopes that we can begin engaging our young people in the idea of bringing people together to accomplish good things in our homes, communities, and in the world…..to counteract the tendency toward divisiveness and polarization that seems to be increasing daily.”

See the flyer below for more information, or call Rene Weiler at 509-281-0477.

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High Prairie Firefighters Protect Homes in Cle Elum

Jake Jakabosky

Philip Haner in High Prairie’s brush truck

Philip Haner and Ron McDonald recently spent eight days helping firefighting efforts on the 37,000 acre Jolly Mountain fire near Cle Elum, WA. They went to support fellow firefighters and help protect life and property. Because of their efforts, Fire District 14 will be receiving $7,000 for committing our brush truck during that period.

The two men spent most of their time defending homes near the fire. In addition to laying hoses in case a fire flare-up threatened the house, they assisted in removing vegetation near homes while a large track-mounted chipper chewed up trees up to 10” in diameter to reduce the fuel load.

 Philip and Ron found the planning and preparations by the Interagency Incident Management Team to be most interesting. During a period when the fire was moving slowly, fire lines and hoses were laid down finger ridges, starting from the main ridge on top where pumps and water filled drop tanks were installed. Smaller diameter branch line hoses attached to the main line were then used in fuel burnout, fire suppression and mop up operations to effectively stop the fire’s advance.

Local residents showed their appreciation daily. One family with young children stood by the road cheering firefighters every evening as they drove out to fire camp. At another house, a 90 year old man sat on his porch waving the American flag. Ron and Philip say they found the whole experience to be rewarding.

With our brush truck and crew out of district, and needing to maintain adequate local coverage, we didn’t commit resources (people and rigs) to other fires such as the Eagle Creek fire. However, after prior coordination between the Lyle and High Prairie Fire Districts, Lyle sent an apparatus to defend homes in Cascade Locks.

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Fire District Drills Shift to Structure Protection

Now that the wildfire season is winding down, training is emphasizing fighting house fires. For those  wondering what we learn at drills, here is a sample:

Upon arriving at the home, we must first determine where tenders will be positioned to supply water when they arrive. Then the structure apparatus drives from that spot toward the house, which might be some distance away, laying a 4” supply line as it goes. The tenders hook up to the supply line when they arrive. A Siamese (3-pronged) fitting allows more than one tender at a time to be hooked up, which is important for continuous supply of water when the first tender leaves for a refill.

The driver turns the structure apparatus around, then backs towards the home a safe distance away, sets the wheel chocks, starts the pump, then clamps and attaches the upper end of the supply line. The hose clamp is released to flow water when needed. Based on the size of the home and the extent of the fire, firefighters pull the either a 1-3/4” or 2-1/2” diameter hose to get water from the structure apparatus to the fire. 

As soon as possible, one firefighter does a size-up of the situation by circling the house, turning off power and propane, identifying the actual location of the fire in the house, and looking for safety issues. By this point a determination has been made regarding the need to request mutual aid from adjacent districts. (Lyle provides automatic aid and would be well on the way by now.)

Firefighters now prepare to safely enter the building (which I hope to cover in a future article).

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Anyone Can Have a House Fire— Even the Chief!

A few weeks ago at 11:30 p.m., Chief Tim Darland’s son, Ryan, woke his parents to tell them there was smoke in the house and it wasn’t from the wildfires in the Gorge. Tim soon spotted smoke seeping out around the dishwasher, then saw flames behind it. After knocking down the fire with an extinguisher, Tim called 911 requesting firefighter response and asking Lyle FD to bring their thermal imaging camera to check for any heat/hidden fire in the walls. 

An investigation revealed an electrical control board behind the dishwasher had melted, shorted out and burst into flames without tripping a circuit breaker. In addition, none of the smoke detectors in the house went off.

So what are the lessons the rest of us homeowners can take from Tim’s misfortune?

First of all, never leave an appliance like a dryer or dishwasher running when you leave home. Dryers can develop a quantity of lint in the exhaust tube and overheat. (Now’s a good time to check yours!) Although it’s rare, radios, TV’s, furnaces, and surge protectors, for example, have all been known to short out and start fires. 

Second, in addition to checking your smoke detector batteries, replace the devices every ten years; even those that are “hard-wired in” (120v.) This type is often found in manufactured homes. Tim replaced all of his detectors with ones that sense both fast flaming and slow smoldering fires. His new 120v. detectors also sense carbon monoxide, which can be especially important for those of us that heat with wood.

Third, it is important to have fire extinguishers available in every outbuilding, vehicle, and several places in the home. Make sure family members know where they are and how to use them. Extinguishers are effective in fighting incipient fires – those that are just becoming apparent and beginning to grow. Knock the fire down while it is small and save yourself a lot of heartache.

Fourth, do like Tim did. Smoke in the house means CALL 911 NOW, even if you think the fire is out! That’s what your fire departments are here for, to help our neighbors in a time of need before things get out of control.

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Chief Tim’s Other Reminders:

Yes, it rained – a good rain! About 1 inch. And even though the burn ban was still in effect, some Klickitat County folks started burning piles and ended up getting a visit from the Sheriff’s Office, as well as having their burn doused by the fire department. They apparently didn’t remember the ban was still in effect. The burn ban has now ended in our part of the county, as of October 1. However, it has been extended in the eastern part of the county until October 15. Please be careful with fire, even after the ban is off, as all that grass dries out rapidly and will readily carry fire, especially in a wind. 

Does your chimney need cleaning? Now is a good time to do it, while the weather is good for climbing on a dry, ice-and-snow-free roof. Chimney fires can lead to a disaster.

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2 For 1—Firewise Prep Along with Fall Chores

Tom McMackin

High Prairie’s FireWise effort has been on hold through these summer months because everyone has been concentrating on the business of Summer. We are not completely out of the woods for wildfires. The fine fuels – grasses and brush – are well cured and with the right conditions and the wind could readily burn, carrying fire over a wide area. Everyday common sense and care are still important aspects of anything done outside that might have the potential for initiating a fire.

Fall is an excellent time to revisit the ‘defensible space’ concepts that are part of the FIreWise and Ready, Set, Go! Programs. Creating and maintaining fire buffer zones or defensible space around your property will provide areas that will resist encroachment by a wildfire. It will also provide firefighters with a buffer to concentrate their efforts to manage a fire’s path more effectively because any threat to structures has been minimized by your work to protect your home and property. 

These fire buffer zones are calculated for the average residential house and are set at 5’/30’/100’ from the foundation wall outward all the way around a given structure. It is very easy to include the first zone at 5’ in planning for Fall clean up chores… and get ahead of some of Spring’s chores. 

Incorporate fire safety awareness into preparing for the rain and snow we can expect for Winter and Spring. Start at the peak of your roof. Look for areas that have squirreled away leaves, twigs and other light fluff or places where a timely repair would save drips through the ceiling. Inspection and cleaning of the stovepipe or chimney system for the coming heating season is an item that should be on the Fall chores list. Gutters can also be checked for condition and function, and relieved of anything that has settled there with the season’s change. Cleaning the dry fallen leaves, pine needles or other debris is easily accomplished before the roof gets wet with rain or snow. These tasks all dovetail with being FireWise, since a shower of embers or sparks is very much like a rain shower.

On the ground around your home the work clearing up the leaves, pine needles and old plantings will serve to keep soggy wet debris from coming inside. It will also give you the opportunity to reconsider these areas next to the building for next Spring’s plantings or other use in order to create a fire-resistant buffer. You can also make note of any repairs needed to keep leaks or creeping fire from contact with the house. These can be added to the ‘Honey, Do… !’ list for later attention. As the stove wood pile gets used over the Winter and cleared from the side of the building, plan a new spot for the wood away from any building contact. Becoming aware of this 5’ buffer zone now will make preparation for a FireWise defensible home next Summer that much easier.   

If you have questions about FireWise or fire safety, or would like to have someone come by to help you with preparing a plan for creating customized FireWise defensible spaces for your home, please contact Tom McMackin at 509-365-2786 or by email at firewise.onhighprairie@gmail.com.

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Smoke From Eagle Creek Fire

Photos: Gwen Berry

 Now You See It Now You Don’t!

The Dalles Bridge in clear weather

The Dalles Bridge in smoke of 9-6-17

View from Lyle–Winter of 2017

View from Lyle– Smoke of 9-6-17

View from Gwen & Jake’s House—Summer day 7-21-17

View from Gwen & Jake’s House—Smoke of 9-6-17

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Training Opportunities

Fred Henchell 

October 21
Columbia Gorge Genealogy Jamboree
(free)
10 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Discovery Center in The DallesA day of genealogy fun in celebration of National Family History Month.  
For beginners or experienced researchers
https://www.gorgediscovery.org/event/genealogy-jamboree-2/

November 17 & 18
Ham Radio Technician “Crash Course” and License Exam 
$15
Friday 5:30–9:00 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Hood River Fire Dept. Training Room
Space is limited, so register early!
http://w7rag.com/ham/classes_tests.htm

January 2018
Klickitat County Search & Rescue Training Academy begins
(free)
Qualify to be part of KCSAR
Classes and field work
Open for all skills, ages, men & women 
info@KlickitatSAR.org or 509.773.4455

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Rural Water Rights and the Hirst Decision

Gwen Berry

I knew that Klickitat County Commissioner Dave Sauter was coming to talk about the Hirst Decision at the HPCC meeting on September 28. But what was the Hirst Decision? I had no idea, so I started reading about it. (What did we do before the internet?) One source of information led me to another and another. Bear with me now, because I’m going to try to boil all that complexity down to a (fairly) simple explanation.

Briefly, Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA), which was originally passed in 1990, requires counties and cities to do land use planning that accomplishes 14 different goals, one of which includes protecting rural water resources. 

At the same time, there’s Washington Water Law. It’s administered by the Washington Department of Ecology, which is also charged with protecting and maintaining water resources. Washington Water Law says that certain wells don’t have to apply for water right permits – the “exempt” wells we drill on our individual properties. But with a rapidly growing (and spreading) population, the sheer number of those individual, permit-exempt wells has sometimes threatened to overwhelm water resources or impinge on senior water rights. With no permitting, Ecology has no means of managing the number of individual wells.

So the issuing of building permits became a critical means of managing water resources. That seemed reasonable, since it was a part of land use planning, and protecting water resources was a goal of that planning. Building permits would only be issued when it was clear that water was available.

But that’s where it ran into trouble. Is water ‘available’ as long as there’s some down there that you can tap into? Or, with our better understanding of how water resources are connected, it is only ‘available’ if it’s clear no other water right has prior claim to the water you’d be pumping? Who is responsible for figuring that out? For many years, the Department of Ecology made those determinations. They have even closed watersheds when necessary. Counties and cities used Ecology’s information as a basis for issuing building permits. But all along, how Ecology made those determinations was evolving, driven by increasing scientific knowledge and a series of clarifying court decisions.

Enter the Hirst Decision. In that case, Whatcom County’s basis for issuing building permits was challenged because the county made the assumption that water was available in any area Ecology hadn’t expressly closed. The challengers said that not being closed didn’t guarantee that water was available. They said the county had a responsibility under the GMA to verify for itself whether there was water available in the non-closed areas. In October 2016 the Washington Supreme Court agreed and declared that, rather than using Department of Ecology determinations, Whatcom County would now have to make their own decisions about whether there was enough water, physically and legally, to approve a building permit that would rely on a well. They also clarified that water is not considered legally available if a new well would impact a protected river or stream, or an existing senior water right.

The decision created an uproar! Suddenly every county in Washington had to figure out how that legal precedent would affect their permitting process. All property development was thrown into uncertainty. There were so many unknowns that some counties just put a moratorium on building permits until something could be done to straighten things out. 

It’s easy to see some of the problems that could likely result. Blocked development causes property values to drop, takes away people’s dreams, and harms economic development. Lowered property values mean lower revenues for state and local coffers. Beyond the moratorium, having to produce proof of water availability could add a potentially expensive layer of hurdles to getting a building permit. For counties, having to determine water availability would add expensive responsibilities and shift legal liability from the Department of Ecology to the county. And it could result in differing water policies all across the state.

Fortunately for us, Klickitat County is so small that it’s only subject to a few requirements of the GMA. It isn’t required to go to the great lengths of planning that more populous counties are. That means we may escape many of the negative impacts of the Hirst Decision. Plus, the county has already been studying our water resources Dave Sauter confirmed at the HPCC meeting that it’s business at usual in Klickitat County’s permit department.

A lot of people hoped that the Washington legislature would “fix” the problem during the 2017 legislative session. A considerable amount of time was spent meeting and negotiating about the issues, but agreement was hard to come by.  There was a push for a quick fix which would simply roll back the legal decision (it passed in the Senate), and late in the session there was an attempt to pass a temporary rollback for a couple of years, to allow time to develop agreed-on solutions (proposed in the House). In the end, nothing was changed; the dilemma continues. 

To say that this is a complicated situation is an understatement. The Hirst Decision is at the intersection of multiple issues that have been developing for years, and the rapidly expanding population has made all the issues more pressing. The boiling pot of partisan politics isn’t conducive to quick, concerted, and also well-considered actions, and unfortunately that’s what is needed here. The legislature has before it the challenging task of sorting through the competing interests and adjusting the laws to meet new conditions, and of protecting the common good while not trampling too much on the freedoms of individual citizens.

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Fall Turkeys on the Prairie

Tom Knight

Adult Tom, which shows tail feathers all the same length.

Now that fall has come to High Prairie, the local turkeys which survived the summer should be easily visible crossing the main road, other roads leading down to Swale Creek and, of course, in the fields adjacent to these byways.

All the young birds are full grown by now, after a summer of grasshoppers, seeds and other veggie nutritious goodies. Adult males (correctly termed “Toms”), which have spent the summer in “bachelor flocks,” and the hens, which have spent the summer keeping a watchful eye over their growing broods, will have completely molted their old feathers (over 2,500 pairs per bird) and grown a brand new coat ready for the coming winter. Birds-of-the-year are now in juvenile plumage. Young hens will sport the same colors they will later, if they survive the winter. Young male turkeys are properly called “Jakes” and can be distinguished from adult toms, when they strut and display their tail feathers, by the central four tail feathers being longer than the other tail feathers. Likewise, all male turkeys have iridescent blue-black breast feathers tipped in solid black. When seen head-on, they will shine black. Hen breast feathers are tipped in brown and, aside from obvious size difference, easily differentiated.

A Jake, which clearly shows the four longer tail feathers.

Young male turkeys will average around 10 to 12+ pounds, young hens 6 to 8–9 pounds. Adult males can reach twenty pounds plus. I personally held the record Merriam’s (for all states) of twenty-one pounds, taken in the early 1970’s…since surpassed.

All the turkey from the same geographical area (about a square mile) will now be in one large flock, adults and birds-of-the-year. These flocks can exceed fifty or more birds. When seen in early morning they will be coming from their roosting site; seen in late afternoon they will be heading to their same site for the night. Roosting areas are site-specific. That is, they will be on a north-facing slope with old-growth Doug fir or yellow pine. This site will also catch the first rays of sunlight in the morning and will have an open field beneath it. Anyone with a computer can access Google Earth for the specific area one has seen a flock and can pretty well get an idea of the general roosting site. Turkeys use the same site forever, unless some idiot “roost shoots” the site. If you are a fall or spring hunter, position yourself downslope about a hundred yards or more from the site.

Several fall turkey hunting seasons have opened or are scheduled to do so by the time you read this. Check local hunting regulations (http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01903/wdfw01903.pdf). Wild turkeys in Washington State have responded so well that there are some ares where three per year are legal. In fact, north of Spokane they have become a nuisance species.

So, all you lucky residents of High Prairie, enjoy having in your neighborhood the largest species of game bird in the world!

Photo: Peg Caliendo

Photo: Ken Hansen

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Roasted Butternut Squash Panzanella

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/roasted-butternut-squash-panzanella

Total time: Prep: 25 min. Bake: 45–60 min.
Yield: 8 servings

4 cups cubed sourdough bread
5 Tb. olive oil, divided
1 medium butternut squash, about 3 pounds, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
1/2 tsp each of salt, ground ginger, ground cumin, pepper
1 cup salted shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup dried cranberries
4 shallots finely chopped (1/2 cup)
Dressing (recipe below)

  • Preheat oven to 425°.
  • Place bread cubes in 15x10x1 in. baking pan.  Toss with 2 Tb oil and bake 10-15 minutes or until toasted, stirring twice.
  • Place squash into same pan (reserve bread cubes). Mix seasonings and remaining 3 Tb oil;drizzle over squash and toss to coat.  Roast 35-45 min. or until tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
  • In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, squash, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and shallots.  
  • Drizzle with this dressing and toss to combine:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tb.  prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil 

  • In a small saucepan, combine the first six ingredients; heat through, stirring to blend
  • Remove from heat; gradually whisk in oil until blended.
  • Then pour 1/2 cup of dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
  • (Save remaining dressing for another use.)

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Prairie Autumn

Photos: Peg Caliendo

Top: Dillacort Canyon mushrooms; Flicker; High Prairie & Columbia Hills B&W; High Prairie sunset

Center: Mist rising Swale Canyon sunrise; Mt. Adams late afternoon autumn; Myrtie and downed tree; Pygmy owl

Bottom: Wildfire sunset; Flower casing; Swale Canyon sunrise

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