There should be a Dunkin' Donuts around here somewhere.

This gal was looking for breakfast in the field this morning.  She spent a couple of minutes digging in the the dirt but always managed to stay behind the apple tree and the fence.   

Who needs bionic when you can have neon.

Our Ballerina Girl is going from walking on her tiptoes to flat feet so that she can become a Montana Mountain Girl and hike up and down the mountain.  She had her surgery at the Shriner's Hospital a few days ago and will be back to running around soon.

Showing off the iPAD she got to play with while waiting for surgery.

After the surgery she gets designer casts for her legs.

She got to choose the colors for her casts.

Neon colored legs!  Wow!

Trying out her neon legs for the first time.

Father's Day Fishing Success

The Burkhart guys annual fishing trip was a huge success last weekend.  It's a Father's Day gift.  No wives and children, just a couple of days to relax, fish and play poker.  

It's their one chance to fish for Kokanee on Lake Mary Ronan. They stay in a rustic cabin at the Lake Mary Ronan Resort and there's a lot of planning as to what food supplies to take. There are certain beverages that are required if you are planning to really catch a lot of fish. It takes a lot of phone calls and emails to decide what fishing tackle is needed and which fishing technique to use to catch Kokanee.  All good things.

I wish I had more photos to share with you but all I have is the photo of the fish they brought home.

35 Kokanee this year

Retired Mountain Man will smoke these as soon as we get some nice warm weather.  Smoked Kokanee, one of the tastiest treats in the food world.

Yes, I know Father's Day is in June, but after the first year's trip to Lake Mary Ronan, we learned that to really catch Kokanee, the guys needed to fish earlier in May.  

It was a sunny day on May 18th,1980 just like today.

We have been very fortunate here in the Pacific Northwest because for the past week we have had high pressure holding over us. Finally, an entire week of above normal temperatures and sunshine.  For gardeners it is a wonderful very busy time out digging in the dirt.

It was a similar spring back in 1980.  It was so warm in 1980 that my carrots and other root vegetables were already several inches high on this date.  In 2012, it's time for all of my plants that I started under the lights in my basement to be moved up to the front deck to harden off.

The Red Robin Tomatoes see the light of day for the first time. 

The geraniums have started to make blossoms and should be ready to transfer to pots in another week.

The lettuce that was growing under the lights is very happy to see sunshine.

The Wave Petunias need to be transferred to pots.  It's next on my "to do" list.

The potatoes, carrots, beets, onions and the first row of lettuce seeds have been planted.  I have been busy spreading manure and compost on all of my flower beds and the vegetable garden.  I would say I am 2/3 done so that is good news on May 18th, but

back to 1980, a long, long time ago.

May 18th, Mt. St. Helen's Day

1980

Photos from: USGS Prof. Paper 1250

We still lived on the Loman Place and would build our house that summer.  We watched with great interest all of the goings on at Mt. St. Helen's during the early spring.  We were in a pool at the local bar, Murphy's, as to when it would finally erupt.  We didn't win.  

When it erupted on the morning of May 18th, Retired Mountain Man, being the scientist he is, laid out pieces of plastic sheets in our yard so that he could take measurements of the amount of ash that might fall.  He and our two sons spent over an hour making the preparations.  We had no idea of what was about to happen.  Well, I think he had some idea, but I was clueless.

As the clouds of ash approached Lake Pend Oreille and our cabin, the animals and birds definitely did not like it.  I remember a flock of geese circling above our place, noisily honking "what the #@!" as the sky darkened and the ash clouds came closer.  It was a very eerie sound.  Since then, I have never heard geese honking without thinking of that moment.

Mid-day sunshine became dark night.  The ash permeated everything.  It seemed to find any crack in the old log cabin that we lived in and seep inside. You were pretty sure you did not want to be breathing it into your lungs and many people wore masks.

Photo from: USGS Prof. Paper 1250

In a couple of days it all settled out of the air onto the ground and it covered everything.   We took the hose and sprayed it off of everything in the vegetable garden, the fruit trees, berry bushes and grapes.  Our youngest son, who had just turned 6 years old at the time, walked into the garden and came running back to the house yelling "there are a million snakes in the garden"!  We knew that David didn't like snakes (another story to be told later), so we really didn't believe him, but Retired Mountain Man went to check it out.  As he walked into the garden area carrying David on his shoulders, a snake crawled over his foot and he noticed several others scampering away from him.  Yes, they were everywhere!  We had created a green zone which became a haven for the snakes where there was no ash.    

 

As for the measurements Retired Mountain Man took, I don't remember what his results were, but we still have two jars of Mt. St. Helen's ash stored in the basement.  It's our son's inheritance.  They each get a jar of ash and they can tell their grandchildren the story of their Mt. St. Helen's experience. 

Warm enough for mosquitoes now.

Some very real truths sent to me in an email from my sister:

When a woman says, "what?", it's not because she didn't hear you.  She's giving you a chance to change what you said. 

The speed in which a woman says, "nothing", when asked "what's wrong?" is inversely proportional to the severity of the shit-storm that's coming.

When you really want to slap someone, do it, and say "mosquito"! ! !

Fortunately, the mosquitoes are beginning to appear here in the northwest.  Those crafty southern belles get to use that line six months out of the year. They also have another one that I thoroughly enjoy using, having a "come apart".  "I am having a come apart" is fair warning to anyone within reach or earshot.

Yep!  A mosquito slapper.