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| Doe and fawn I saw on Saturday. |
Friday 8/14. I baked brownies this morning to have for desert when Mike came to lunch. It was so nice to have him all to myself. After we ate, I showed him why we all are so amazed that he is going to be 17 next month - we looked at the photo albums I had put together in his first couple years. His folks were living with us when he was born and for almost a year afterwards, so I have lots of pictures that he had never seen. We also talked about family history a bit and I showed him the family tree and some old photos.
RJ had driven him up so I drove him back down in Miss Kitty. We saw three deer on the short cut, but they stood still just long enough for me to get my camera out. As soon as I pressed my finger on the button, they bounded out of sight. By then the wind was really blowing at a steady 20 mph and we were surrounded by dust devils.
When I got back to Rose Camp, I noticed that the tarp over the hen house was really flapping. All the ties had broken except for one. So I grabbed some more plastic zip-ties and a ladder; climbed up on the roof and re-attached it while trying very hard not to be blown off. Several months ago I had placed two 50-gallon plastic drums on the deck and used bungies to tie them together, but when I got back from taking Mike to the cabin, they were lying in the yard. I put them safely out of the reach of the wind, moved the chairs on the porch back from the edge, and just double checked everything that might be a problem. By the time I got inside, the wind was at a steady 25 mph that kept up most of the night.
Our high for the day was 84, but by 5:00 pm the temperature had dropped to 64 with the cold front that was blowing in. It was a very noisy night.
Saturday 8/15. It was 50 and clear this morning, the wind having blown all the clouds and smoke away. I noticed that it had also blown down most of my tall fireweed bushes. I left for Down There at 9:00 am as planned and found that the wind had scoured our mountain roads of most of the loose dust that had accumulated over the past few months. As I drove, there were no billowing, brown clouds following me. I did see a doe and a fawn in the aspen, and they stood still long enough for me to get a great picture.
The wind died down by mid day and the smoke began to drift back in. By the time I arrived back home at about 1:00 pm, the mountains to the northwest were almost obscured again. I read in the papers that I bought that there are three new fires near Lake Chelan that have joined into a complex that is moving northeast. Our Evergreen State is going to become the Everblack State. So sad.
RJ and Mike were coming for dinner, so after putting away all the groceries, I started a big pot of chili and then made some cornbread. Sandy called and we had a nice long talk that turned into hilarity. I was laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. We were just saying goodbye when RJ and Mike drove up.
We all enjoyed dinner and each other's company. It was hard to say goodbye, as I made not see Mike again til next summer if he doesn't make it up for the Rose Camp BBQ over Labor Day weekend. But, all in all, it was a very good day.
Sunday 8/16. It was 58 with a light overcast that was difficult to see with all the smoke that had moved back in. It was so thick that I could barely even see across our canyon. A good day to stay inside.
I did get out for our two walks, although we just took half-walks because of the air quality, or rather lack thereof.
I pulled the remaining few fireweed stalks and took them all over to the small swale that needs some more building up. Hopefully JB can use the tractor to move more dirt on it the first week he is back.
Blondie looks like the sorriest excuse for a chicken that I have ever seen, but she is our egg layer. I am beginning to think the other two are getting too old.
Larry and Elsie drove up for a visit, which was so nice. They practically had to use their GPS to find their way up through the smoke. She brought me some freshly made pesto and garden fresh garlic!
Monday 8/17. It is 60 this morning and I can barely see some blue sky through the smoke. Will be so glad when they get those fires out.
Thank you to a reader for the comment about mullien. I had no idea it had any medicinal uses.
Thought for the day: Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. John Kenneth Galbraith
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