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August 29, 2014

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

First of all, I want to wish my oldest granddaughter Ashtin - who turns fifteen today - a very happy birthday. It is hard to believe how the time has flown. It seems like only yesterday that she was born. She is such a joy and I am so proud of her in all that she has accomplished in her life. G-ma loves you to the moon and back!!

On Sunday, we decided to take a drive into Hillsboro as Ashtin's sister Paige was playing in a soccer tournament at Liberty High School. Her team was playing an elite team from Washington and they had triple teamed Paige so she couldn't score. She has developed quite a reputation around her league and is known for her scoring. The other team won but we had fun watching her and she appreciated us being there. It was really a hot afternoon (88 degrees) and I was most grateful to get back to the coast at 65 degrees.

The rest of my week hasn't been very exciting. The last throngs of summer are here and it is always sad to see the old season go but just the same it is exciting to find what the fall will bring. We are enjoying the fruits of my vegetable garden from all my hard labor. The summer has been so nice for growing a garden this year when usually we are wetter and cooler during the summer.

I have been busy with keeping up the watering around the property. The Heather that I planted before the heat arrived needs to have water in order to establish some roots. I had already lost a couple of them, so I have really been keeping an eye on the new ones. I also have watering duties up at our town Post Office where the Parks Committee potted some Geraniums around the flag pole. They need to be watered a couple of times a week and it is my turn. They are looking really nice and we have received a lot of compliments on them. It is a lot of extra work though - I never thought I would wish it would rain!

We had a nice visit with my cousin, Jack and his wife Sharon this week. They are from Hillsboro and decided to take a drive to the beach to get away from the heat. When we saw them at the cousins reunion a couple of weeks ago, we told them that if we found out that they had been to the coast and didn't stop by that we were going to be upset. I guess they took us at our word!

I worked in the OSU Extension office on Monday for the Master Gardeners program. We were sure busy too. There were lots of problems with powdery mildew on vegetable leaves and hungry insects that have been devouring rose leaves which we had to identify. Someone also brought in a sample of Japanese Knotweed to identify. It is very invasive, and we were glad to help them get rid of it. I think we answered most of the questions presented that day and I came home exhausted. Tonight I will be working at the Manzanita Farmer's Market for the Master Gardeners also. I am hoping I have enough of my hours in this year to get certified again.

I don't know why, but my feeders have attracted a flock of Blackbirds. The word must have gotten out because they come in a swarm and just take over. The rest of the birds just stand back. I think that they have their nests down by the bay and when they get big enough their parents bring them up to our place. We had to take this picture through the window as they will fly away at the slightest noise.

This is the last week of our water aerobics until the middle of September. I am going to miss the gang at the pool and getting my day started. I guess I will have to occupy myself with some other form of exercise for a few weeks. This picture was taken for the local newspaper just to show how popular our class is. At most times we have 30-35 people in the pool.