Hatari

I was so excited to find Hatari even if it was a video at a garage sale today. I started humming the Baby Elephant March. I love that music. HOWEVER, my joy has turned to sadness to discover that the video was stored somewhere where it drew moisture and has molded into a solid chuck of unplayable tape. If it was me, I'd give me my money back. Hope they feel the same way.

It's too much to catch up with the past two months but a quick recap: Mark Douglas Meyer arrived on May 17th; trailer trip to Vancouver WA for the occasion; another trailer trip to watch the Rose Fleet departure and east to Pendleton, Heppner, Rufus and back; home for a few days then a car trip to Sacramento for the Masters World Track & Field Championships, Yosemite, Reno to see Michael, Sunriver to see Patsy, hit the Goodwill, quilt shop and a pawn shop! Home again for a while.

Fun stuff to do at Gram and Pa's

Mark's joined the family.

Joyce Taylor at the World's in Sacramento.

We watched athletes from 35 to 92 competing. That 92 year-old gal who threw the javelin was something else!

Pops at the River is more than just the Reno Philharmonic playing by the Truckee.

a walk around the yard

While it's true that farmers make hay when the sun shines, this farm gal does yardwork. Used to be that my mom and I would walk around the yard in the evenings looking at all our plants. Mother's Day is coming up so to reminisce I walked around the yard with my camera after a couple of days of hard yardwork.

I planted a clematis (accent on the 2nd syllable is what I prefer) in this tub along with some supertunias, pansies, and a grass thing. Please note the rocks arranged around the hostas which got chopped by the weedeater. If you look very very closely, the white spot on the lower right is a marker indicating where a lily was planted.

I dug a hole and partially submerged the tub that has water plants in it - water celery (if you need some, let me know) a waterlily, marsh marigold, and water iris, two goldfish and my cool insulator on top of a pot. For a long time I've been wanting to put my collection of sedums somewhere that makes sense so I've moved them to the end of this bed on the right. I've got a couple of tomato plants and a pot of lettuce center. Behind you can see some yellow lilies we just planted and part of my yard art. My intention is to spread barkdust lightly, Preen heavily, and then more barkdust in an effort to get some noxious weeds under control.

Sorry that Powder looks blurry - he's wagging his tail. This picture is called Under the Lilac - his favorite place to lay. I wish you could smell this gorgeous lilac. It's so fragrant.

We hired a couple of men to weed and spread barkdust. They did a great job weeding but the barkdust is a little thin. Note the flowerbed by the house. It hasn't looked that clean for several years!

 What do you think about this rhody? I may leave it in a pot so I can easily move it if it doesn't do well there. I'm particularly happy with my aralia to the right. I put it in 2 years ago and it's doing well. We just discovered that the hinges on the screen door are broken so if you come over, come to the back door.

 I like what's happening here. I've moved almost all of my red sandstone rocks that I got from my brother John's house to this bed. More barkdust needed but it's coming along.

To do list: paint fence! Thanks for walking the yard with me.

Here's a cute pair! I like Alex's buzz cut.

Consider the lilies

In an ironic role reversal I ran the weed-eater over Dick’s lilies reducing them to ¼ inch stubs.

He got interested in lilies last summer and in a never-ending desire on my part to encourage any bud of horticultural interest on his part, we ended up with quite a few.  But as bulbs die back and the weeds thrive and life goes on, I wiped them out with a few well aimed but unintentional swipes with the weed-eater.

I’ve lost a few plants over the years to a weed-eater wielding husband who takes anything green as a personal challenge, but it came as quite a shock to have to give an account myself!

Needless to say I’ve had to do a little payback in my flower shopping lately.

Sunny days

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray.

You’ll never know dear, how much I love you,

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

I have fond memories of my dad singing that song to me when I was a girl. I can even remember where we were one time when he sang it. We were driving up the hill past the Ford dealership in Los Gatos, California, on our way home from somewhere. I remember that Ford dealership because I got a green and white yoyo there when the new Edsels came out. It was as big a dud as they were – fell apart almost as fast as the cars!

I’m glad I wrote out the words to that song. It’s made me think about something besides this weather. I’ve found, and I’m sure you have too, that the sunniest days rarely have to do with weather; they’re about relationships. I am tired of rain, but just thinking of this old song and my dad singing it has perked me up.

Hope you have a sunny week!

Marching forth on the 23rd

Hi friends,

I’ve learned more about chickens than I thought was humanly possible since last June when our friend Terry Cain asked if he could lease our outbuildings to establish a life-long dream: Farwest Hatchery. (Take a look at his website http://farwesthatchery.com). He showed up with a dream and about 300 cute little chicks. Nine months later he collects about 1200 eggs a day from 15 different breeds! If one hen lays five eggs per week plus the roosters because they have an investment to make as well - it's into higher math.

Here are some of the pens behind the shop. Incubators go in this weekend.

Our barn has been extended and filled with chicken pens.

This girl is a free ranging escapee looking for a place to lay her eggs.

This rooster is behind bars, so to speak.

 

I remember when we were designing our house in Beavercreek and were debating whether to build a regular roof or a hip-roof. I’d never heard of a hip-roof but suddenly every other house I saw had a hip-roof. I think that’s the way it is when anything new comes around. At least that’s the way with chickens for us now.

The number of references to chickens and all things poultry is astronomical. 

     They’re in the grocery store of course – eggs, broth, soup, pot pies, boneless and skinless, whole or fryers; 

     they’re on the TV – Buffalo Wild Wings, chickens don’t have nuggets, the cute chicks in that new movie coming out, not to mention the Easter candy that’s getting hyped right now; 

     they’re in our speech - don’t count your chickens…, and in the eternal questions: why did the chicken cross the road?…, which came first?…; 

      then home décor – salt and pepper shakers, trays, wallpaper, fabric. It’s endless. 

Dick picked up a stuffed bear at a rummage sale last summer and turned into an instant chick-magnet with all these ladies commenting on how cute it (he?) was 

Chick Magnet

and then, just yesterday he hit the lucky number at Bi-Mart and guess what he won! A package of Peeps! We’re surrounded!

Don’t forget: 

Life’s good – the alternative is endless - choose well, Lynn

Historical - Hysterical

        Every now and then I get a new perspective on an old phrase. That’s what happened last week. Jeff, our son-in-law, was driving our car north to Great Wolf Lodge in Centralia for some family R & R. Like Dick, he drives with a destination in mind while I still tend to think that the journey is part of the adventure. Therefore when I read the sign “Historical Marker Ahead” in a vain effort to imply that we could in fact stop and read about the historical activity that resulted in this location being special, I was not surprised when he sailed on by. However, his observation was a surprise: Do you suppose that Historical Marker’s a really old Sharpie? I’ll never look at Historical Markers the same way again. 

Great Wolf Lodge was a huge success - a nice family-oriented destination. Granted, it took four adults to keep tabs on one 2 1/2 year old. Alex, with his new buzz cut, loved everything - wide-open places to run, water to play in, an arcade filled with buttons and lights, and best of all this huge carved bear chair to sit on. It was a fun place for everyone, we had a great time and will go again.

Hope you have a good week!

Pineapple princess

We watched the Super Bowl yesterday with our friends Todd and Joyce. Our moaning and groaning was only partially because the Steelers lost. It was mostly because we were super-stuffed. We had enough food for an army – we could have had the whole team over!

I tried a new recipe that I thought was delicious – pineapple pie. Lisa had sent me the recipe (http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/) and I thought, why not? I love pineapple: upside down cake, on cottage cheese, in a fruit salad, one chunk after another from a fruit tray, on ice cream. I craved it when I was pregnant with Lisa but I’d never tried, much less heard of, a pineapple pie. It was so easy and so good.

I took a picture last year on our Groundhog’s day beach trip of a slice of dried pineapple on the counter in one of the bathrooms. Somebody had left it there and someone else had tried to use it as soap probably before they put their glasses on. They said it was frustrating because it didn’t suds up!

We’re enjoying a taste of spring: the snowdrops are starting to bloom and the daffodils are poking their heads up. We’ve been enjoying a few days of nice weather and are thankful that we’re not living on the east coast. Have a good week.