fair.bmp (269k file)

Grampa’s Co. sponsors a race car so they all packed up and went to the fair to watch the races. (No, they didn’t win) but they did have a good time and enjoyed the important part of the midway… food and fairings!

I showed Mrs. Stellar Jay sitting on the nest some time ago but this afternoon when i went up to the shop I saw this wide-open view of the youngsters. There’s a third one there, I believe. Mom and Pop are out foraging to feed these open maws, as I have just done with two bigger ones. They got egg salad sandwiches and veggie soup instead of worms and grasshoppers but I seem to spend almost as much time feeding them! :laugh:
Grampa is taking the boys to the stock car races at the Fair grounds in Redding today so Karen and I have a free evening. Too bad there’s no place to go in Coffee Creek. 😉 Well, Maybe I’ll go rent a movie.

I wish one of the photo’s I tried to take of the “snow” falling would come out. It’s been at it for sometime now but today it has been really thick! As most of you probably know, it’s cottonwood fuzz. They bloom every year and if each of these seeds got lucky the planet would be taken over in a season! :O But the kids love it and they don’t seem to cause anyone allergic reactions like the pine pollen, anyway. It also means– finally!– a nice hot summer day! It’s 80 degrees as I post. So nice after all the dreariness and rain.
Hope you are all enjoying a lovely day as well! 🙂

Some friends came in with this little guy that they’d rescued off a back road. Just in case, I called the local rescue gal and she advised putting it back as I was pretty sure she would, so that’s what we did. It seemed very happy to be back and trotted off and hid under a bushy maple sapling. We’ll go back up before dark just to be sure it’s momma did come back for it.

I know it’s hard to resist an “orphan”, but please try to. Most of the time you’d be making an orphan rather than saving one. 😦

PS: We went back up just before Dark and there was a group of adults in the meadow and no sign of the fawn so I’m sure it is happily reunited with it’s mother.

This morning instead of the electronic Gameboy, they found the Monopoly board game. Their mom said it was one of her fav’s so they seem to have some idea of how it goes, but Shane, who is sometimes rather too trusting, is allowing Mac to dictate the rules. I sit here in the house listening to them though the window and I can tell that Shane is getting skunked! lol I think Mac just charged him rent when he landed on his own property! Rather unscrupulous, I think. I also heard him say “You owe me 10%” of something & I’m pretty sure neither of them have any idea of percentages yet so I’m kind of curious how that worked out. But I’m willing to bet it was in Mac’s favor! :blush:
But they are getting along and staying out of trouble! Yesterday I had to go hunt Mac who thought he might hike to the top of Billy’s Peak, which turned out to be a bit further than it looks! 😛 He was able to hear the car horn and recognized it as a signal to come home. He’s such a little guy that I’m torn between letting him explore and fearing for his safety. I think of all the hours we spent wandering in the woods when we were kids and never worried, nor our parents either, to my knowledge. Why do I fear coyotes and bears and lions now? I only recall seeing a bear once when I was wandering in the woods, and we just tip-toed off in opposite directions from each side of that blackberry patch! :O
Well, I think Grampa is taking them exploring this weekend so they’ll be chaperoned. :laugh:

The boys live in the city and can’t have a dog at their apartment but they are certainly enjoying ours. and I think the dogs want to go home with them, too! Here’s Mac and Cori have a rather rowdy tug-a-war in the living room.

Daughter’s birthday today! Shane painted the letters for the sign while Mac and I blew up balloons to hang in the living room. It’s very festive. 😀 We made brownies and had our own version of ‘death by chocolate’… a brownie topped with rocky road ice cream topped with cool whip topped off with a Hersey’s kiss. Not room enough for that bunch of candles so we each had a candle and made a wish for her before blowing. Gramma got so involved with the decorations that she for got to put the roast in the oven :blush: so we went out for dinner! Thank goodness it was Friday when there is a restaurant open in these woods! 😛
That’s Shane on the left and Mac in the right, with Mom under the banner.

Randy and the boys drove up to Mt. Meadow today, just to look. He said the road is open but a muddy mess. Didn’t take any ‘snow’ pics because it was all brown! But our southern crackers counted it as snow, anyway! They all enjoyed the ride and Gramma stayed home and enjoyed the quiet! :laugh:

Can you spot Mrs. Stellar Jay? Randy tore the nest efforts out of here once> It’s in a high traffic area between the loom shop and his ‘junk/wood’ shed and he thought it not a good place to rear young, but it’s been pretty wet lately and while he was feeling smug about having discouraged them, and not paying attention they rebuilt the nest and she’s setting now, so it’s too late. I don’t think the cats can get to them there and they are under the roof so safe from the weather, too. We can only wish them well.:)
The Temperature is already up to 68 this morning so it looks like we might hit 70 today! Yeah!!

Daughter and two grandsons are here for the summer and the youngest had a surprise for Gramma. The poncho I made him in 1998 is too small and he wanted me to repair the little tear and make it bigger. 😛 I was able to kitchener the tear and am now knitting away like a good gramma to make a poncho for a two year old fit a nine year old! lol But I see that this Caron “Simply Soft” yarn lives up to my name of “stainless steel” yarn! (http://www.knitlist.com/99gift/poncho.htm) It is still very soft and the colors are unfaded but daughter says it’s been his favorite garment/blanket for the last 7 years so it does wear like steel!
And meantime, he is weaving the 7″ square… as long as the dog doesn’t bring a ball, or Grampa a refrigerator box, or brother get out the rockets…. lol
Well, there may be no more Peace & Quiet this summer, but there’ll be a lot more Life! 😀
Hope your summer is lively, too!