Happy Birthday Will & Jerad

Happy Birthday to Will on August 21st.

 Happy Birthday to Jerad on August 29th.

 Since Amber and Jerad had not made the "Bun du Jours" we decide now was the time to have them for dinner. Looks like Will has his about ready to cook over the open fire.

 Will, Jerad, Ron and Jennie are cooking their buns and enjoying the beautiful evening.

 You need to turn the stick continually so it cooks evenly.

 Amber is finishing her "Bun du Jour" Taco by adding corn and then cheese. Then it's ready to eat. YUMMY!!

Ferndale Street Fair

It was a beautiful day for the Ferndale Street Fair. They had something here for everyone to enjoy. There were lots of food choices, local produce, a kids area, crafts and information booths as well as a car show.

There was a good turn out and the streets were crowded with people.

 There was a car show which really interested all the men and a few women. Here's a '64 Chevy Corvair Spider in excellent condition. I have a '64 Corvair Monza, but it is not running. It was my first car that my dad bought me when I was in high school.

Peach Cobbler

Here's a funny story. Ron thought it would be fun to have a Dutch Oven. Soooo, why not give it to Will for his birthday, which is tomorrow, and let him carry it around. It is big and is very heavy and does Will have the room for it in his trailer? No, I don't think so, but it can go in the bed of the truck. For the first cooking experience we gave Will the makings for Peach Cobbler.

 Ingredients are all mixed and ready to be cooked. Hmmm, maybe I wasn't paying attention. Where is the crust for the top?

 Does this look yummy or what? It actually tells you how many briquets need to go on top to keep the oven the  correct temperature.

 It didn't take long for everyone to get served and say that it was delicious!

High School Friends

Skeet and Jan still get together with several friends we went to high school with. For their summer get together they invited them to the river for a weekend camp out. Pam and Don brought crab, so here the boys are cracking it so it will be ready for dinner.

Skeet, Ron, Will, Jim, Don and Roger

I went to Puyallup High School with Jim, Skeet, Don, Roger and Pam.. Do I dare say we graduated in 1964? We had a great time and they were all wonderful friends. It was so fun to visit with them and catch up on all their adventures.
Jim and wife Diane, Skeet and wife Jan, Don and wife Pam, Roger and wife Sharon and Ron and me. Roy and Rich were also invited, but were not able to come.

Mt. St. Helens

We are spending a few days at the Cowlitz River and it is very close to Mt. St. Helen's. Since we had a beautiful clear day we decided to head to the mountain. Here is a picture of what the mountain looked like before the May 1980 eruption.

 Will, Jennie, Carole and Ron with Mt. St. Helen's in the background.

 This is a good example of how the landscape is renewing itself. Remember seeing all those trees laying down like toothpicks just after the eruption? Time has passed and the wildlife has carried seeds back into the area.

 As we enter the National Park there is Prairie Lupin growing everywhere. It's so pretty!

And here is what the mountain looks like today. A ranger told us that the haze we see is blowing ash. There hasn't been  rain for a few weeks and there was a little breeze today. He said they could use a  rain to settle it down. You see that there is little to no vegetation in the blast area closest to the mountain.

 This tree was many miles from the mountain, but the blast traveled at 300 miles an hour, so reached it very quickly. As the first trees were hit they were carried into the next trees and the next and the next.

 This area shows how wide the the initial flow was during the blast. It's quite a story and visitors come from around the world to hear it and see the destruction and rebuilding.

Cowlitz Shores

Here we are back at the Cowlitz and that means fishing again. Ron went out with Keith today and they had a good time with 3 fish in the boat. Ron is cleaning this one and getting it ready to vacuum pack and put in the freezer.

 Lots of bunnies around on this trip and they didn't seem to be afraid of us. This one hung around for quite awhile and wasn't even concerned when I went into the motorhome to get my camera so I could take some pictures.

 We tried a new recipe for dinner tonight. It's called "Tacos in a Bag." You cut the top, or better yet side, off a Doritos bag then fill it with Tacos fixings - meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa. Mix it up a little with your fork and enjoy. When finished just throw the bag away and the dishes are done. This is great for camping!

Skeet and Jan are enjoying their "Taco in a Bag".

We needed to get some things at the hardware store, so decided to do a little site seeing along the way. This is a very overgrown house near Vader. In it's day this was probably a darling house. Now most people probably don't even notice it. We, on the other hand, thought it was a perfect opportunity for a picture.

The hardware store we go to is an Ace hardware in Winlock. I think I mentioned it before, but if not, it is a great old  store. They have everything and the employees are so nice. As you come in they offer you coffee or popcorn and then ask how they can help you. It's Ron's new favorite hardware store. Now about this egg. Winlock was an egg and poultry production area. With the Northern Pacific Railroad running right through town they were able to export their product across the nation. The first egg was built for a float in 1923. It has since been replaced with a more durable model. The "Ripley's Believe it or Not" says this is the largest egg in the world. It's on a list of things to see and do in Washington.

Back home in Toledo there are some interesting murals on the wall in town. These are by the grocery store, so while I went shopping Ron took some pictures for me.



Deer

I may complain about these guys eating everything in my yard, but they really are beautiful. As soon as I see them I grab my camera, when I really should be chasing them away. For you hunters out there - No shooting my deer!

Let's Take a Walk

It was a beautiful day and Ron wanted to go for a walk. We parked near downtown Bellingham and took the trails to Fairhaven. With camera in hand I was taking pictures of all the amazing wildflowers and berries.

 Ron was out for exercise and I was out for taking pictures. As you can see, he was not waiting for me. I thought we were going for a walk together. Looks like it didn't turn out that way.

 Taking the walkway at Boulevard Park and looking back across Bellingham Bay.

 Ron bribed me with an ice cream cone. Guess he thought that was the only way he'd get me to go with him.

 Ron's ahead of me again, but how else am I going to get these pictures? We did have a wonderful walk and I was able to catch up with him for the remainder of the walk.

Violets

My violets love this time of the year. They need 14 hours of daylight to bloom and they finally have it. They are certainly looking healthy and beautiful!

Lemon Tree

This is a rather long story, so sit back, relax and laugh. Several years ago Jennie and Will got a Meyer's Lemon Tree. It did very well and they always seemed to have lemons on it. Either in a blossom stage, growing, or ready to pick. Ron thought it was quite fun and the lemons are amazingly good. Sweet and not so sour. So, for Father's Day last year, that would be 2010, they gave Ron his very own lemon tree. It was a beautiful healthy tree just loaded with blossoms. Mmmm, it smelled so good. Keep in mind that these are NOT big trees, but about 2 feet tall. Jennie and Will put theirs outside for the summer so the bees could pollinate the blossoms. So, we did the same. All was well and good until... Remember the story about the deer we have at our place? One day we looked at the tree and all the  blossoms and many of the leaves had been eaten off. The tree was pruned back to almost nothing! We were so sad and mad all at the same time. We should have known better as we know what the deer can do to our yard. Ron immediately put a fence around the tree, but the damage was done. There were no lemons in 2010!

Now it's a new year and we are smarter and wiser. When we put the tree outside this summer Ron put a bigger netting around all sides including the top. The tree was once again absolutely loaded with blossoms and the bees were having a great time buzzing from blossom to blossom. I am sure I took a picture of the tree in full bloom, but I don't seem to be able to find it. So, you can look at the blossom shots and use your imagination as to what a tree full of them looks like. Oh, and again it smells soooooo good! I'll keep you posted as to the growth of the lemons.