It's Monday in July!

 Savoring a beautiful July day.  A little warm but won't complain.  We are so excited to see Jon's sister and family who arrive tomorrow, plus all of our kids and grandkids this weekend. 

Lady is ready to play with the two boys who will be here this week.  Nephew Chase and great-grandson Jason.  

Play ball! 

Happy 4th!

We've had a lot of thunderstorms during the month of June and we certainly welcome the rain.  This photo was taken right after one of our last storms.

 

The storms have taken their toll on all of the plants but they're recovering from the hail damage and starting to bloom.  As you can see from the photo below, Miss Lady is in charge of all activities, both inside and outside.  I had just moved a plant and she is checking out it's position.  At least I think she's approving the move.

We had a new dryer delivered a couple of days ago and she was in charge of the installation.  She was very polite but kept going in and out of the pantry to be sure it was installed correctly by the two young men from Home Depot.  Border collies have to keep track of everything, especially people.  How many are there?  Where are they?  What are they doing?  

This is what the place looks like on the 4th of July 2024.  Jon and I are doing our best to get things in shape for the 4th and also for next week we're having a family reunion.  It will be the first one here since the summer of 2018.

The decks and the front porch have been painted with a fresh coat of stain and sealer.  

The lawn is very green from all of the rain.

We don't have any big plans for the 4th, but we'll spend the day remembering many of our previous celebrations.  We've spent many of them shooting off our own fireworks (when conditions were okay) to creating parade floats and marching in the parade in Clark Fork for more than ten years.   It was always a family and friend's event.  Our grandkids and those of our friends, grew up participating in the events of the day.  Great memories. 

I went through my photos and found these from July 2013.  Enjoy.

The Cougar Creek Band always had a float and marched in the parade back then.

It was the year there was a surprise marriage proposal.

We always had a "Second Line" behind our float, and anyone could join in to help toss out candies and trinkets for the kids.  

It was also the year that I took one of my favorite photos of Travis in the saw contest.  

That July we finally caught the firewood stealing dog in action.  Thompson, Neil and Ann's border collie loved to steal pieces of firewood from Jon's wood piles.  Here is the proof from July 2013. 

One of our banners carried by Marilyn and Jens.  The band always played this song in the parade.  This Land is your Land.

One of my favorite songs that I listen to on the 4th of July is Fanfare for the Common Man.   Happy 4th!

In the Pink!

 

As my friend Marianne said in her blog this morning, "Welcome to the most beautiful, serene summer day."   It's Sunday and it seems like things should slow down to enjoy the day.  The last week or so some of the days haven't been that nice.  We had multiple rain and hail, and thunderstorms.   We usually don't get large enough hail to damage my plants but this time we did. 

I had heads of lettuce just the right size to harvest but I hadn't cut all of it. The hail managed to make shredded lettuce out of it and it also did a job on my broccoli plants.  They are pretty good size and now have big holes in their leaves.   I will still be able to harvest some of it and then I'll replant.

In-between the storms, Jon and I have been busy with multiple projects going at the same time.  We had our deck pressure washed a couple of weeks ago and we have been trying to decide on a deck stain color.  We have finally made a decision to go with American Chestnut as the color.  Our deck is redwood, but the redwood stains are just a bit too red.  

We also replaced our picnic table.  Jon's parents gave it to us many years ago.  It had been repainted multiple times and was literally falling apart.  We drove to Evergreen Supply in Clark fork and bought enough 2 x 4's to build a new one.   We hired our friend Bill to put it together.  The table has done double duty as I have used it all these years as my planting table to re-pot my flowers and vegetables.  Later in the summer it becomes an extra table on the deck.  

Yesterday I put a stain on the top and today I'll finish with the legs and underneath side of the table.  

Another major project is patching up our lawn in multiple areas.  I have tilled up one of my flower beds and planted it to grass seed.   Yesterday I checked and the seed is sprouting.    We also have multiple holes that Miss Lady has dug in various places in the yard that we've replanted.  All of the bare spots need new grass seed.  You can see my new lawn in the background of the photo below.

It's a spectacular year for my peonies and my rosebush is blooming along with my Beauty Bush.  They are all pink!  

Our friend Joe Heisel was here, and he and Jon discussed what trees need to be cut down.  Unfortunately, two of our birch trees in the yard are dying.  Jon and Jamie and David planted the birch trees more than thirty years ago.  It was my Mother's Day gift.  You can see both trees in the photo below.    

Joe started working on the one in front of the house.  He has cut off one of the large branches and will come back to do the rest.  Joe did a great job, as always.   He took this photo while he was up in the tree and you can see the huge limb on the ground below.

 It was a really large limb that could have caused serious damage to our roof if it fell on the house. 

The tree next to our deck will probably make it another year, but it's also going to need to be cut down.  That's our shade for the deck on the west end of the house and I'm not sure how we're going to replace it. 

As you can see, there's always something on the agenda, every day, but it is summer and it's nice to just stop every once in a while, and take it all in.   Happy Sunday.

The End of May

 Memorial Day weekend has given us lots of time to reflect on and remember our family and friends who have served in the military.  They're all our heroes.  Thank you for your service.

Jon has been busily working on many projects while I am recovering from my surgery.  He's also taking good care of me and picking up many of the chores I usually do.  

Our weekend has been mostly rainy but today we have some beautiful blue sky.  

On our last trip to town, we came across this beauty.  I wasn't able to get close enough for a good shot.  

Nieman's floral delivered this gorgeous bouquet from the Missoula Burkhart's.  It had the biggest lilies I've ever seen.  The fragrance was lovely.  I pulled out the roses after 3 days so that I could dry them.  They will be as beautiful dried as fresh.  

I had read about the Yeti craze but never thought I would have one, let alone a personalized one.  The artwork was done by DIL Julie.  A picture of our hedgehog, Towanda.  

My begonias are surviving the cold, rainy weather.  They're not really happy though.  They would like some warmer temperatures.  Jon's dahlias are in the ground and they would also like the warmer temps.  

As you can see, my turtle is still hanging on!

We hired our friend, Bill, to pressure wash our deck and then paint some water sealer on it.  It's been neglected for too many years.  The cedar color has been revealed and it looks good. 

Tomorrow I'm heading back to the doctor to hopefully get a good report.  Wish me luck.

Say goodbye to May Day.

 Yesterday was May Day.  It made me think of putting together May baskets when I was a kid.  They usually consisted of a cupcake wrapped in a colorful napkin and tied with ribbon.  I remember it being fun to leave them on the doorsteps of friends and family.

It's not celebrated anymore.  I even checked my google calendar for holidays, and there's nothing for May Day.  Kind of sad.

My photos today were taken in May of 2014.  I was a lot more ambitious.  I started all of these plants from seed, and they grew underneath my fluorescent shop lights in the basement.  I used to start almost everything, geraniums, pansies, marigolds, and all of my garden vegetables.  This year I will only start a few plants. 

This morning, we have a bright bluebird sky and I'm happy to see it.  The last few days have been cloudy, rainy and cold.  The sunshine is deceiving since it should feel warm when you step out the door.  Nope.

Yesterday was a trip to CDA for a pre-op visit with my new gynecologist, Dr. Penney.  Since all of our local ob-gyn doctors have left Idaho, due to our anti-abortion law, I needed to find a new doctor, but it has taken me three and a half months to get an appointment with him.  It just goes to show how much we should pay attention to who we elect to office.  I will be having a minor out-patient surgery in about ten days. 

At my first appointment, after I told him that I lived in Hope, he said that he plans to retire in Clark Fork and has already purchased property on River Road.  I have to say that I panicked for a moment and then I told him I hoped his retirement wasn't too soon because I just found him.  He said it was a few years off yet.  

A surgery on the horizon means that there's a lot of "to-dos" that need to be done.  There's always the "no heavy lifting" rule for several weeks after surgery.  I don't mind light duty, but there are a lot of spring projects and I'm sure the lawn needs to be mowed at least once before then.

I have grown this tomato variety for more than ten years.  Red Robin - patio tomato.  They produce lots of cherry tomatoes and it's very convenient to just walk out on the deck to pick some for my salads during the summer.

Jon's daily project has been poisoning the pathfinder plants out where we take our daily walks with the dog.  Plus, the surrounding area.  He's very determined to eliminate them for Lady.  

Speaking of Miss Lady, we have been going to visit our new groomer, Veronica, at North Idaho Animal Hospital.  It's been going really well and she's getting better about getting in the car and going to town.  On one hand, it is good that Lady is afraid of cars and the UPS truck, etc.  She has no desire to chase them.  That said, she has never wanted to get in the car, which is a problem. On the last trip to town, she willingly got into the back seat.  Progress.  

 

I met friends for dinner at our new Float House restaurant and the food was good. A plus for me is that they have a lot of gluten free items on the menu.  It was also good news to hear that the Old Hope Hotel is going to re-open, and the new name is B's Beacon.  Jon and I are looking forward to trying out the menu there.  

Today is music day.  Bruce, Mark, Larry and Tim will be here this afternoon to play some tunes.  We spent last summer and fall working on songs for a CD, which is finished.  I am enjoying listening to it while I'm driving in my car.   A couple of hours of music always feels good! 

I will also report that my tomato and pepper plants are doing well and should be about the perfect size by the time it's warm enough to plant them in the garden.

Jon found these next to one of his burn piles.  They're out there!

We have new birds at our feeder.  Cassin Finches.  

That's it for May 2nd, 2024.  We shall see what the rest of the day brings.