June 11, 2018 Two More Bears & A BBQ

Mushroom happy face!

One of our MANY lupine
plants blooming Up Here now.

Friday 6/8. I left for Down There at 9:00 am.  Came around a corner about a mile down our road and almost drove into two bears, a black one and a blond one.  They started running in front of me, then finally ran down into the trees.  Just above Larry and Elsie's I saw three wild turkeys.  Quickly got everything done in town and was on my way home, but just as I turned off the pavement, there was a loose horse.  A pretty little strawberry roan.  I stopped the car and spent about twenty minutes trying to get her back into her pen.  I was wearing sandals, so carefully watching my feet, I scratched her ears and rubbed her nose while grabbing onto her mane.  We slowly walked into the pen and I got the gate closed.

Then I stopped to visit Larry and Elsie for a while, so I didn't get home til around 1:30 pm!  Still had plenty of time to bake cookies for Saturday's BBQ at the Gridders.

The wild roses are blooming along our road now and in a couple places it's like driving down a pink hallway.  They are absolutely incredible.  You can tell where they are by their scent alone.

We watched Star Wars Episode 1 this evening and will be watching them all in order.

A chilly wind blew most of the day and our high was 68.  The forecast rain began to fall around 8:30 pm and fell til just past 11:00 pm.  We know this because Dinga woke us up about then because there was a mouse in the trap under the stairs making some noise.  We both got up and found it with its leg caught.  JB let it go outside and we went back to bed.

Saturday 6/9. It was 48 and partly cloudy this morning with rain in the forecast for this evening.  I drove Miss Kitty down to the main canyon road to meet Mrs. Gridder's father at 1:00 pm.  Then drove him up to look at one of the lots that is for sale.  Got him back to his car by 2:00 and drove back home to feed the dogs and pick up JB.

We arrived at the Gridders a little after 3:00 pm and had time for a game of pinochle before the rest of the guests began showing up.  Dark clouds threatened our gathering, but there was only a light shower and then blue sky.  It was a wonderful evening with delicious food and great company.

Our high for the day Up Here was 64, with more cool temperatures in the forecast.

Sunday 6/10. It was 44 with a few clouds this morning and an icy wind gusting to 13 mph.  We were slow to get going, but when JB and the dogs got back from their morning walk, we cut the fir tree into 25 rounds.  The chain saw started right up.  Guess it doesn't like to work two days in a row (must belong to a union).

After lunch we moved the rounds to the splitter with the tractor.  Also took one load of large branches to the wood cradle and one load of large kindling to the wood shed where I stacked it.  Then I split some rounds.  At that point, we were both ready for a nap.

At 3:00 pm, JB moved the split wood to the shed in 1-1/4 loads and I stacked it.  Then I took the dogs for their afternoon walk.

The day warmed up a bit, but the cold wind persisted and increased to gusts of 15 mph.  Definitely a day for hoodies and jackets.

Monday 6/11. It is a cold 38 this morning with clear skies and a breeze.  The yellow jackets were out in full force during May's warm days, but this cold snap has killed them off.  I am going down to pick up some tomato plants from Elsie today.  They will be going in the loft until it warms up.

Thought for the day: Freedom has never been free.  Sometimes it costs everything you've got.  Eric Schaub