Weather issues

I am so sore from doing the yard. Yesterday any movement caused my legs to ache. I can tell I have not been getting enough exercise being house bound. The rains and Riley are turning me old before my time. My sun burn is still red and recovering. it will be a few days before it starts to peal.

Riley woke this morning and asked to take a bath. yes, please, after a weekend free of bathing, because he had company, a bath would be encouraged. His forehead looks bad. the dermatologist is Thursday. He also has a tone of work for school. His paper on Gettysburg is due this week. He got his rough draft done. He did a good recitation of the Gettysburg Address on Friday, received an A-.

Tonight is open house at school when all the children present their final projects for show. I also have to pick up Trevor's football gear. Its the last early pick up date before the summer camps begin. He had to have a physical before they give out the gear. As a result we were pushing the dates to get the physical in. it will be a tight schedule. Trevor has to get his gear then be at the school for his band performance all in a half hour period. We can do it. Its the advantage of a small community. The storage locker for football is four blocks from the school. He will be dressed for the performance so we can just go. Trevor has to wear black pants and a white dress shirt and black shoes. They kids look so snazzy. I wish all the schools required it. It gives a superior look to the band.

So, right now with my sore muscles and sun burn the only good thing I can accomplish is surfing the web. I did some research on climates of the northwest. I gave myself a scare, no , more like a wake up call. I read an article that classed Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington as zonal area 1. Coldest areas outside central British Columbia. I shivered. Growing season in zone one is 50 to 100 days.

At bed time last night, I pulled out one of my favorite wedding presents, my Sunset Western Gardener Book. (Thank you Dennis C.) It is wonderful to give a gift that is so revered that 17 plus years of marriage later, you still remember the gift giver because the gift turned out to be so useful and wonderful. It is right up there with the bible. I have highlighted plants and prepared my nursery visits with this book. So, I went to the front section of maps and zones and looked up my concerns.

It wasn't as cold as zone one. Bend to Walla Walla are , Wow, zone 2. Still a cold winter and growing season from 100 to 180 days. Not bad but cold cold cold. I looked at Medford. They are in zone 7, so was Grants Pass. Balmy paradises by comparison. Tucson is 12, Phoenix and Palm Spring are 13 to give perspective. The Willamette Valley is 6.

Medford is trending toward the dry side and it has Ashland for some culture. I turn to Tom and ask Medford? His response was Why would we want to live in Medford? I am thinking it is a hidden undiscovered gem of good weather and affordability. Just what the retiree is looking for. It even has a decent city. We may have to do a Medford vacation and explore the option.

My thought is that we don't ski anymore. Bend was a convenient ski resort destination. Like my Dad though I am tending to milder winters. I guess I can handle the cold as long as there is sun. But according to my Sunset Western Gardener map, Medford is a nice compromise. I am going to check out golf courses.