July 11, 2014 Smoke, Goats & a Frog

A frog that has been visiting us for a couple days now.

Wednesday 7/9. The girls (chickens) are such characters, and each one different from the others.  Blondie is no longer shy and at the bottom of the pecking order.  If I don't get the top of the gate opened quickly enough when feeding them their greens and fruits, she will fly up to get them!  And when the food hits the ground, she is the first one after the bananas.  Even grabbing them out of Betty's mouth if necessary.  Betty is the digger, after what, I don't know.  Belinda is still in charge and now lays her eggs only on the floor, in her own little nest.

This morning was a bit cooler than it has been and the dogs are running through the house, playing like puppies.  The daily temperatures are recorded as higher with our new weather station, as opposed to the gauge on the porch.  But the hottest time is only for 30 minutes more or less.  It is as if it peaks and them immediately starts to cool down.

I washed my delicates in the hand washer - one of the best purchases we made for Up Here.  Then I just put them through a rinse and spin in the big washer.  Saves time, water, and propane.

JB drove Miss Kitty down to get the card out of the game cam.  It's been about three weeks since we have checked it, and had 105 videos.  In addition to all our guests, we had a bear (twice), coyotes, deer and an owl.  Very cool!

We fixed the fish that Larry and Elsie gave us for dinner last night.  It was so very good!  Larry is taking JB salmon fishing on the Columbia on Monday afternoon in his smaller boat.  It is going to be hot, but JB is really looking forward to it.

I finished Jim Butcher's book three and started book four.  On a Dresden roll right now.

Since it was a bit cooler today, I was able to get all the branches I had cut up to the wood shed and stacked.  The breeze was sporadic in the heat of the day, but still better than yesterday.  Our high was 91.  It is very frustrating when it is too hot to do the many things that need to be done, and then too dry to do them, too.

JB got the DNR channels loaded into his short wave and we listened to all the communications about the fires.  Very interesting.

Goats.  I think that is what will fill up our "almost", as in "almost complete."  Not this year certainly, but maybe next.  I have always wanted goats and will be doing a lot of research on them.

Thursday 7/10. It was 62 and clear this morning.  The wind died down very early, which is good for the fire fighters, but now the smoke is drifting down into the Wenatchee River Valley and up to us.  So now, not only can we see it, but we can smell it too.  There are a couple new fires to the north of us, one by Lake Chelan.  The humidity is down to 9%, which very, very dry.

I have to take Dinga back to the vet's early tomorrow morning, which is really very irritating.  They wouldn't okay the refill for her meds without blood work.  It certainly would have been nice to know that a couple weeks ago when I had her in there.  She does not like to go there and they don't like to see her coming.  Am going down for the earliest possible appointment (8:00 am) so we an get home before the heat really sets in.

I finally gave Jesse a bath, which is a major operation.  His 48 pounds suddenly become 148 when he knows I want him in the bathroom.  I got almost as wet has he did, but I know he felt much better afterwards.  I am embarrassed to admit how long it has been since he has had a bath, so I won't.

I was going to drive Miss Kitty down to gather a load of wood along the road, but her battery is dead.  Couldn't even jump it.  JB will try to get it charged tomorrow.

It was warmer again today, with a high of 94.  JB worked in the shop, and cleaned the rifle that was used over the Fourth.

I was walking past the back of the wood shed this evening and as I neared the water barrels, I smelled a slightly unpleasant odor.  It seems that a chipmunk had somehow got into the full one and drowned, enticing all the normal bugs who like a dead body.  They are all floating in there, in one, big nasty mess.  JB will dump it all out tomorrow and I'll rinse it with water and bleach.

With all the goings-on Up Here in the past several weeks, I feel like I have slipped back into hermit mode.  Haven't been checking my email, let alone answering it.

Friday 7/11. It is already 66 at 6:00 am today.  The smoke has dissipated so we can actually see the mountains.  I'll be leaving at 7:00 am to take Dinga to the vet.  Can't wait. . .

Thought for the day: The central premise of Constitutional governance is that "We the people have the power and the right to alter or abolish the form of government under which we live." Raymond Ku