Tag Archives: nature

Happy Summer Solstice

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Once again it’s time to say farewell to the current spring weather and welcome, with open arms, the rush we get from the exceedingly hot summer we’re projected to have. It’s already hot, so it won’t be a surprise.

Max has been banned from running willy-nilly in the neighbor’s yard so I’ve tethered him to one of the patio posts so he can reach most of the yard. He doesn’t seem to mind and he finds fun stuff to do. Like this morning. I found a baby mouse, adorned with copious amounts of dog-slobber, laying on the patio. It was about 1.5 inches long and still kicking, but not in a running mood. It may not have been able to run. But, it did react to my touch. Tiny little thing. I’m such a sucker for tiny little things.

I gathered him up with the thought I’d put him out of harms way. I know, we set traps for their parents, but when they are so tiny they seem to be quite harmless.

Today is supposed to be pushing 90 degrees. Right now, it’s noon and the heat is definitely upon us.

So, I started writing this on June 25 which just happens to be one month ago. I have an excuse for that and I’ll be happy to share it with you as soon as I remember what it is. For now, I’ll just ramble on like normal.

Max got me in trouble yesterday so he can no longer roam freely about our back yard. He’s miffed, I’m sure, but we’ve had this talk more than once. He has this uncontrollable urge to run as fast as he can to our neighbor’s yard so make sure there aren’t any deer lingering around the feeding station erected just for them. Dogs aren’t allowed. I’ve been working with him to control that urge in favor of a tasty treat, but yesterday he just couldn’t help himself.

I went after him right away to get him back, but I wasn’t fast enough to keep him from running off 4 baby deer. I didn’t see them personally, but my neighbor made sure I knew what a vile thing Max had just done. In his defense, he’s a dog, a little dog, and likes to chase things. Deer are the most fun because he likes the way they just bounce up and down when fleeing full speed. Squirrels are a close second. They stymie Max because of their climbing prowess, and they know Max can’t climb trees. Yet. But he’s working on it.

A couple of days ago we ran across his little guy. His name is Rocket and he’s also a rescue. After a lengthy investigation they determined that they weren’t related. Even though there was a hint of recognition between them they decided that something just didn’t smell right, and we went on our own ways. They could pass as brothers. Kinda freaky.

 Yesterday I caught Diane digging around in a cupboard she normally leaves alone because it’s out of reach. It was a handy place for me to hide “stuff” until she found the 1950’s step stool.

I’m going to have to move that thing to the garage so she won’t fall down and break something. Now I must find a new hidey place for my secret stuff. I don’t know why I’m going on about hiding things. If there was ever anything on that top shelf that I put there, it’s a sure bet I can’t remember what it might be. On the upside of her investigation, she found my Cheerios. I’ve been looking all over the house for those.

Here’s a sunset from a couple days ago.

The weather has been pretty warm late into the night but has cooled off some. We had quite a few 100+ days and a lot of 90+ days. We’re down into the mid 80’s now but we hear it will be going back up again. Half the state is on fire, the mid-west and eastern states are suffering from horrible weather. We feel blessed to be living in the right part of Oregon where hot weather seems to be the only problem we’re experiencing and that’s not really a problem. If it gets too hot, I’ll just go lay in the creek with Max.

Here’s Diane’s new tow car for the RV.

It’s not really new, it’s a 2020. And, it’s not really a tow car yet because I haven’t added the parts it needs to make it one. I have them sitting in the garage, just waiting for me to get into the right mood to do it.

Today I finished turning the fluorescent lights into LEDs in the RV. It’s a simple process, really, but it took me 3 days to figure out how easy. Once I did that, it was a snap. In all, I replaced eleven dual bulb fixtures with sticky strip LEDs. All the work I did, of course, was above my head which isn’t something my arms are fond of. Plus, one of the last two times a stumbled and fell, my left shoulder took a beating and isn’t behaving well at all. So, most of the work was done with my right arm. Kind of tricky when it’s a two-handed job.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

Ciao.

Hi. It’s me again. Max

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It’s been a hectic time since I’ve had a chance to share ‘stuff’ with all of you. Until yesterday, things were pretty normal. Except for the cat. I don’t know why, but Louie seems to be growing on me a little and that’s disturbing. I’m a professional Cat Chaser and Louie just lays there. He won’t run anywhere except to get under the bed. That’s just no fun at all because I bump my head a lot when I run under there. I’m not as short as some people might think.

Then, the day before yesterday, my humans started packing things into the trailer they parked next to the garage. I’ve seen them do that before and it winds up with me stuck in this little basket they put on the center console between the buckets. They call it my throne. It’s not so bad, really, and it gives me an opportunity to get a lot of sleep unless we pass a herd of cows and one of them says “Look at the cows!” real loud. Of course, it scares me a little, jerks me awake and I can’t help but look out the window to find the cows. No matter how hard I try to ignore things like that, I always fall for it because I like finding cows on our trips. Squirrels are more fun, though.

Seeing what was going on, I figured I might as well get myself in the mood for another trip. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love trips. The alternative is to be left home. Alone. With Louie. The cat. I’ll take the trip every time.

The packing went well past noon so they decided to delay the departure until the next day. I overheard them say that they had originally planned to make it to Memaloose State Park off I-84 on the Columbia River. Instead, they decided to drive straight to Boardman RV Park which was supposed to be the second leg.

After digesting all of that, it makes me wonder why they plan things at all. Doing things when the mood strikes is more fun. There’s more mystery that way.

So, yesterday we got the trailer hooked up and I insisted that I be allowed to wait in the truck where I happily climbed into my Throne.

The trip was OK. They stopped in Scappoose, all of 8 miles away, for a dead chicken sandwich, then we headed east. All I got out of that was a couple of french fries.

The trip through the Columbia River Gorge was very interesting. There were lots of waterfalls that normally aren’t there. Seeing all that water cascading off the cliffs made me want to pee. A lot. Finally, they stopped at the Walmart in Hood River so I could unload. It was very gratifying.

We arrived around 4 pm. I didn’t get to go for a walk until everything was hooked up. Then I got a long one. My human is good about walking with me but he doesn’t keep up very well.

After the walk we ate, they watched TV, then we all went to bed. It was the 1st day and it was good.

Today I got another walk in the morning then they both left me alone for a few hours while they went somewhere else. I have no idea where. So, I curled up in my Serta Perfect Sleeper and stayed there all day. When they got back I was served dinner on the lawn next to the Columbia River. It was very romantic. Then I got another walk around the park. This time, however, I got to go play in the river! Then I ran a bunch of Zoomies at the end of my leash until I got dried off. It was a lot of fun. Not like Milton Creek, but fun anyway. When my toenails get ground off a little more I’ll be able to download some photos Dad (Jerrie) took of my swimming prowess. Right now they are just too pointy and would probably scratch his computer. A dead giveaway that I’ve been messing with his stuff.

I’m going to stop this now because it’s taken me 4 days to get this far and we’ve only covered 1 or 2 days.

Happy Birthday Daniel !

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Greetings Humans.

Today is Daniel’s birthday. He’s our son’s, Jeff’s, brother-in-law. He’s also Tiana’s,  Gillgan’s, Baylee’s, and Jerrie’s Uncle Daniel. He’s 22 now. That’s a lie. He’s 37. If he was 22 he would’ve been 8 when Cedric was born. I don’t think 8-year-olds are allowed to have kids. Not in Oregon, anyway.

After Dan and Jen visited briefly this morning, it was downhill for me because I went golfing with Doug. Golfing with Doug is always fun. I golfed terrible, like normal, but I beat Doug on one memorable hole. It was # 7 and I got a par. First one in the last 15 years. The rest of the holes summed up my typical game by being double par efforts. I actually hit the ball more times than that, but you can’t count more strokes than double par. For 9 holes I got a 68. That’s pretty darn good for someone fairly compentent for 18 holes. So, I play the equivalent of 18 holes whenever we hit the links. Like I told Doug, I’m getting far more for my money than he is because I get to hit the ball more often. As for the par, I have no idea what happened there. I just wasn’t myself for the 4 stokes on that hole. As a result of that stunning effort, I’ve ensured that my handicap remain at 36. Pretty sad, huh? Good thing I’m not serious about it.

After the game I returned home to an empty house because Diane took her Mom, Jean, to the eye clinic in Portland where they both had exams. I didn’t get to go so I have to keep my old glasses. In a few weeks I just know I’ll be walking down the street and my perscription will expire and I’ll go blind. Hopefully it doesn’t happen while I’m driving. That’s unlikely, of course, because I’m rarely allowed to drive by myself, and never while Diane is in the vehicle. Unless it’s the RV. Somehow that just doesn’t make sense to me because the RV can cause way more damage than the car. I told her she’s going to have to learn how to drive it just in case something happens to me. Like I forget how to drive it myself, or my glasses prescription expires. Or she’d rather have me clinging to the passenger seat in abject terror instead of her.

Good news on the RV, by the way. It must have rained about 5 inches today and not a drop got inside. I was ecstatic! My drainage ditch was a veritable river, too, keeping the water out of the garage and most of the driveway. That’s a major coup. But, the floor drain under the washer backed up again. Just a little, nothing like last time. Still, I need to get some more of that nasty drain cleaner before it gets really bad. And, I may have to pour it all over the laundry room floor first, so it will all be clean like the large area that got cleaned the last time I used it. It absolutely sparkles, as much as cement can sparkle.

This afternoon I did some running around town to do some things I needed to do. I can’t remember what they were but I came home with a burrito from a taco wagon that’s been parked along the highway for a while now. Good thing, too, because I was hungry and I knew Diane would’ve been cranky if I didn’t eat something before she got home. It was almost gone when she arrived, so I was safe.

Diane’s in shopper’s heaven now that Scappoose has it’s very own Goodwill store. That’s her favorite place to shop and where she gets all my underwear. Most of them are pretty clean, too. She spent $8 and got a whole bag of “stuff” that she had to have.

I don’t have any pictures from today’s events, but I do have some from yesterday that you haven’t seen. First is my yard trailer that I decorated for the St. Helens Parade … Diane said it won’t last until July so I just drove it down to the burn pile and decorated that. Kind of festive, don’t you think? I’m going to hate torching that until all the blossoms turn brown. And, here’s a picture of 3 or 4 of the 35 rhododenrons surrounding the house.

These aren’t bad, and I imagine most of the others were “cute” when they were little, and only 2 feet apart, but now they’re overgrown and in need of an introduction to the dogwood limbs on the burn pile. As soon as my handy dandy electric chain saw battery is chaged up, and Diane’s gone somewhere, I’m going to do some thinning. There aren’t really 35 of them – more like 15 or so.

Next is some of the many calla lillies that were apparently planted to hide things. When we moved in they weren’t doing their job very well, but have begun to prosper since we cut down all the “stuff” that hid them from any possibility of getting daylight. Now they’re doing quite well and will, one day, cover the gas meter, and the furnace exhaust (not pictured).

As I was snapping the last picture, Diane arrived so I had to hurry back in the house to finish my burrito. This is Diane arriving … just before she started quzzing me about what I had for lunch.

I was happy I had anything left of the burrito because it was on one of the many tables surrounding my computer. The big dog, or the cat, had plenty of opportunity to liberate it, but they didn’t. Ozzie didn’t have a chance. Too high up.

Diane says it’s time for me to go take a shower, so I’m off to scrub various parts of my body. She said I have to use soap this time.