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July 1, 2005

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

It has been almost a year since Dave and I have moved down here on a full time basis, and I will have to admit that I really like it here. There is a lot to keep me busy and the people are really friendly and nice. And of course, we are so close to nature here. If it isn't the wildlife to keep us entertained, it is the beautiful sunsets to be admired.

Last Friday, we headed into Portland as Dave had to announce the drag races and I had to take my mother back home and then run some errands. Since Lara and Greg were going to be up at their cabin at Ketchum Pond all weekend, I decided to leave Dave in town and I came back home that afternoon to get ready for all the company that we were going to have this week.

On Saturday, I cleaned the house real good and got caught up on my washing. Leslie and her family were camped for the weekend about 20 miles north of here and they invited me up for a spaghetti feed that night. Everyone was sunburned because they had been surfing all day. Yes, surfing with wet suits on. That's what they do on the Oregon coast because the surfing is great, but the water is freezing. I stopped at the store to buy a few groceries and got back home around 10:00 that evening.

Sunday, Dave got home around 11:00 a.m. and I fixed us a late breakfast of eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. The rest of the day was spent working out in the yard.

Monday, I volunteered at the Tourist Information Center for a few hours in the afternoon. It wasn't too busy, so I spent most of my time addressing envelopes.

On Tuesday, our nephew Dean, his wife Brenda and their kids arrived from St. Louis. They had been traveling for days with four boys, ages 1 to 9. I didn't envy them a bit. Their first stop was in Denver to visit her sister and then they were going to drive straight through to the Oregon coast, but that is a 22-hour trip. They decided to spend the night in Eastern Oregon and from there it is another 5 hours to our place, which they are using as a home base. Leanna does have her two older grandsons up at her place, but she's limited on room so we have the rest in our guest room. Those boys are so well mannered that it's almost like they're not here. But still, trying to keep four boys entertained has been a challenge. They have been taking little side trips along the coast while they are here so they are usually gone during the daytime.

We caught our little chipmunk (Julio is his name) trying to eat the sunflower heart seeds out of the feed sack that I had set out for the Goldfinches and it was really comical to watch. We were afraid that he would destroy the sack by trying to chew a hole to get the seeds so I moved it up higher under the eaves. The Goldfinches are happy and Julio hasn't discovered where we moved it!

Fishing season is just around the corner and we spotted our first fishing boat in front of our house. The Salmon usually start their run up the river around the first of July so there will be lots of boats from now on. However, I haven't seen any seals popping their heads up in the water. Seals are a sure sign that the fish are around but maybe the fishermen know more than the seals! Ha! Ha!

We also spotted the herd of elk on the island this week. Some of the cows have had their babies and the little ones are so much fun to watch. Yesterday as we were watching them, all of a sudden they swam for the mainland and headed for the trees on a dead run. Apparently there were a couple of people in kayaks who had decided just had to get a closer look and had spooked the herd. OK, it's a game preserve and it's also a private island, but that didn't matter to those yahoos. We've been waiting for weeks for the elk to get brave enough to spend time on the island and now we have to start all over. It really makes me mad that people don't respect their boundaries and share it with the wildlife. Dave was ready to go down to the kayak dock and throw them right back in the water, but it was dinnertime and he decided to eat instead!

Well, I hope you all have a happy Fourth of July. Our kids are all coming down and Saturday we will be celebrating my son-in-law's birthday and mine too. We will be putting our steamboat in the local parade again this year with the grandchildren waving and tossing candy to everyone.