Summer But Still Cool

Mom bought some additional bird feeders to hang up over the mound.  There are now four plus two suet hangers.

 Here they are from a different angle.

 Mom took the old cushions from this old swing and had me screw wood slats across them.  Then she painted them green and added new cushions.  Grandma couldn't reach the ground with her feet so I put a little slat platform across the bottom and she can now put her feet on it.  I think she really likes it now.

 A sister in the ward has arranged with a brewery in Seattle to give her their barley after they have proccessed it to make beer and she uses it to feed her animals, cows, horses, pigs, chickens, etc.  She has some extra so she brings me some in this barrel.  Pickles and Patches love it.

 My chickens kept getting out of their run even after I had tried over and over to prevent it.  I decided to add a two foot fence of chicken wire, partially buried in the ground and tied to the nylon mesh.  They don't get out any more.

 Our neighbor is logging the trees pretty close to the property line.  It sure opens things up.

 So far the weather has been so cool and rainy that I have only had potatoes (just mounded the second time), onions, and peas.  Monday I planted eleven rows of corn with the help of the local missionaries.

 Because of cool rainy conditions we have not had any luck growing tomatoes here.  I had heard that if you can keep the rain off of them and keep them warmer, they will do better.  So I am building this cover for them.  I anchored each corner to a cinder block and fastened each corner to a post with bailing twine.  We'll see what happens.

 With all the rain the flowers aren't doing as well as we hoped.  Maybe when it warms up they'll do better.

 Grandpa wanted some flowers along the outside of these stairs this year.

 The hanging baskets and pots in the front of the house are not doing bad.

 Mom has done a good job on flowers on the mound.

 This Rhodie by the swing looks good.

 We moved this table up from the patio and use it to eat on in good weather some times.

 Mom has planted the flowers along the drive.

 One of our favorite Rhodies.  In back of the house.

 We have some tomatoes planted in the greenhouse also.

 Our first two tomatoes!

 Another shot of the Rhodie (I'd write Rhododendron but I'm afraid I'd misspell it) out by the swing.

 A closer look at our Clematis.

 And our front pots and hanging baskets.

 We got this little reflector of Bohemian glass  for Grandma and Pops in Prague when we visited Tera at Christmas. When the sun shines on it in the morning it has little rainbows all around on the house.

 Another view of our Rhodie in the back of the house.  You can see the garden in the background.

We want the place to look especially good for Grandma and Grandpa when we have the reunion next month. We are very excited about seeing everyone.

Pop's Scootabout

Well Grandpa is really happy.  With such terrible pain in his back when he walks, I was pushing him around in a wheelchair when he wanted to go outside.  Viv went to "Craigs List" and found right here in Arlington an electric riding chair at such a good price.  The fellow that sold it just wanted to help someone to have it that needed it. We took it to Mt. Vernon to get the speed adjusted and the repairman said this particular chair sales for about $10,000.00 dollars.

 It is very easy to operate and it just needs to be plugged at night.

 Here he is just riding it on the asphalt, but I have taken it down to the garden and it handles it fine coming back up the hill.

It handles on the grass and gravel OK too. 

 Although this is a temporary situation, if there ever comes a time when he might be confined to something like this, Grandpa will be ready.  He'll not only have the means to get around, but the experience to operate it well.

Sunday Morning

This morning I looked out the front window right after I got up and there was Mr. Squirrel right under the window in front of the mound eating the food that the birds had dropped.

 There were actually three of them. These are the other two.

 As I walked outside, here was "Pickles" waiting patiently for breakfast. Little "Patches" was in the barn waiting.

 Each morning I have to shoo them out of their nice bed, shovel out the droppings, like this one, before I give them a little grain. They have learned the routine pretty good. They love the grain. It's sweetened with molasses.

 Then I climb the stairs into the hay loft past this food storage (Viv and I bring some home from the cannery each week)

 Just past the food storage is this trap door through which I throw down hay each morning to "Pickles" and "Patches".

 The "Hollywood Plum" is blooming. No tree produces more blooms for it's size.

  Grandma's Forsythia is blooming too, but it got cut back a little drastic last fall.

 The Primrose is blooming also.

 So are the Daffodils along the carport.

 I've tilled the garden and planted peas and onions. I put a low trellis between rows of peas to climb on.

 This is a frame that I cover with heavy plastic to protect the tomatoes from all the rain to keep them from rotting. This year I added a PVC frame for a raised top.  I hope it works.

 Back to the front of the house to see the Primroses in the rock planter.

 This is Grandma's and Grandpa's bathroom to show the new handicap rail we installed. We've ordered a base for a shower that will reach across the entire back of the bathroom. Should give more room and comfort.

 We replaced the door with a curtain because the door swung inward and took much of the room in front of the toilet. Viv refinished the chair you see and we added the rail to their bed.

 Here's the chair up close. The picture doesn't capture how rich the color is.

 We put a frame under the bed to raise it so it would be easier for Grandpa to get out of. Viv also added a valance to the windows that matches the bathroom door curtain.

 A close up of Grandpa's new rail.

 Helping Grandpa into his new (temporary) wheelchair so he doesn't have to walk into church.

 He's having too much fun.

 After church, we put the missionaries, Meledie, and Susan, (A sister Grandpa and I home teach) all to work helping fix Sunday dinner.

 After dinner the missionaries will share a message with us and leave a ward of prayer before they go.

They also stayed after to help me give Grandpa and Meledie blessings. This has been a good Sunday and I am ending with this blog. Good Sabbath to all.