Sticks and Stones and a Sunset

The breeze was fairly strong, yet the sun was at such an angle, I reckon you'll have to imagine the Big Dipper on the state flag! It was flying over the second fire dept out north. 

 Once back home, after a spot of the Olympics, I contemplated what I should do next on the drive. I truly need something with a winch as this wench is not as strong as she thinks!

 Removing debris is work. I'm always intrigued by the results of what starts out as a minor excavation. Pieces of trees like this need taken out of the soil. This was already starting to decay. Once the wood decays, it can leave a sinkhole where it once rested. Bad stuff, sinkholes.

 Our neighbor mentioned I should trim off the broken trees and they would most likely grow back. I think he would be surprised to discover many of the broken trunks were the bottoms of the trees! I looked at this and laughed. In Scouting, we were taught to plant trees with the root DOWN. Although, this poor thing hadn't a root left. Very sad.

 Nor did this one.

 Hoooray! I was digging up another trunk and discovered this one could be propped upright. I'm not sure it will survive as the trunk is severely cracked about in the middle. It was exciting, though, to see an evergreen standing all by itself.

 Then, I found a very sad bush. OK, it isn't a bush now, it WAS a bush. At the moment, it is a dirty stick with a few twigs and tattered leaves. If we get some more wet weather, it very well might snap out of the muck and take off again. Maybe.

 So, a little bit more work with a hoe (I am NOT removing all the rocks. I think most of them will be enough), I'll put the pole (from the high jump or vault, seen previously) on the edge of the true drive..or maybe spray paint!! Then, in a day or two, we'll sprinkle seeds over the mostly bare soil. Mum  has a bag of wiildflower seeds. They may take off and turn those empty ugly not for parking spaces into something the moose will love!

 I took a break before bed and went to Arness Dock again. I love how tall I appear in Alaska!!

 Fishing was open again, I'll share those photos on a different day. It was rather warm out for being 930 at night on an otherwise not entirely sunny day. The breeze had dropped, I had added a sweatshirt to my shorts, and after I collected a bag of white rocks (yup, not done yet!), I sat down and called Steve. Talking to Eastern Oregon with the sound of Inlet waves in my ear was Wonderland like. :o)

I'm glad it was such a peaceful evening. The next day, when I woke, I felt quite a bit like a creaky old car full of grass and weeds. Even the mice have vacated the residence! Old age is a ridiculous thing! 

The sun came out!

The sun finally came out and graced North Kenai with a bit of warmth. We also had a spot of wind, so the warm didn't last long. However, it was long enough to get outside and do a few things. I was slightly amused at how effective weed barrier is. Those are sturdy grass shoots showing up after several days of rain. 

 I covered the weed barrier and grass with rocks and cement things I made. They are not pretty, they are useful and can be left outside. I know, pretty can also be useful. Yet, I was not in a super creative frame of mind! It was hot and sunny and I needed some cement stones! It was funny, it commenced raining the evening they were poured and only stopped today! The two below were poured into a flat of cardboard. I added a few pretty rocks. I wanted to use more, but mom was sleeping and I didn't want to bother her to ask if I could snag some.

 Mom wanted to use this piece of broken crockery in a heart. It wasn't easy as my cement was too goopy. The slice of the bowl or cup kept slipping into the slurry!

 The butterfly was an experiment. I had some stones I tossed in before adding the cement. It is much easier to add the decor AFTER the cement. I was pretty sure of this, but wanted to be positive. The stones were swallowed up and lost in the grey goo.

 This one I made was odd. The pieces of blue glass were from an ornament mom had. It broke during the Jan earthquake and she wanted to use the bits in a stone. The dolphin was super hard to place as the slurry was wrong and there was a large broken glass piece under one fin. I had to put it sideways.

 The very last of the cement went into this stone. I didn't have enough, so it isn't as thick as I'd like, but it is a good  step for in front of the very old greenhouse.

 Once I had placed stones and added rocks to the front bed by the hose, I started moving BIG rocks. It was sort of a track and field Egbert Olympics. Here, I am choosing a rock to use for the shot put.

 There is a pretty good sized pile of stones under this tree. A great place to have them land after throwing! The earth is nice and soft and they settle right into the ground. Or bounce off other rocks! It may become a covenant to not ever needing a new septic system again.....maybe.

 Next was the javelin or maybe the high jump! I was taking pieces of trees from the drive and area which had been dug up. Leaving wood to rot in the earth can cause sinkholes. I found this two foot bit of wood and started digging it up. The top of the tree is visible--I broke it! But, the bottom is still under the dirt. It had tiny roots off the trunk, so I think what I'll do is chop it off at the base (if I can find it) and let it grow.

 Me, lifting up the springy wooden trunk to see if I could break the end. The trunk won...for now!

Peaceful Reflection

This has been a busy weekend--and it is only Saturday! We've had a great deal of rain out here in North Kenai. It has been splendid weather for the ducks. I am pretty sure the lake has gotten higher (they appear to be discussing the topic in this photo I took!) and it has made for messy outside jobs. 

I was working on the drive (baby steps) and ran across this tenacious root (above). It was not letting me use the axe to chop it out (I used the clippers). It made me realise how important it is to bounce back from ridiculous experiences. Like tugging on a small tree branch stuck in the soil, sinking deep into clay, and falling on my butt! I had no idea there was clay in the yard. I almost thought I was at Capt Cook State Park! 

 After I got cleaned up, I worked on a project Janet started. Baby steps to get mom's books out of boxes and storage and on shelves.

 During the lull in the rain (when I took the photo of the ducks), I was able to capture a tiny photo bomber in this flower! I was surprised when I looked at the enlarged picture. I had no idea the little guy was in there.

 In a dying fuchsia, a wasp was hiding out. I imagined the poor hated creature finding a safe harbor in the folds of a fancy flower and how it might have welcomed the peace inside.

 Peace!

 Back inside, I found this rather unusual, to me, fire extinguisher. It doesn't look easy to use. (the  brush things don't go with it!)

 Then, I started this frustrating project. Made in USA, it was badly packaged. The plastic ends were all wonky and I had to CARVE out sections where the round pegs were supposed to go. (Thank you to Jonathan for getting me my multi tool after my first sojourn in the north) When I finished, I had to call the house and got to talk to Jon. My finished product wasn't quite even with that part of the floor. Jon was helping me figure out what I should do. I finally stuck a tiny bit of linoleum under it as it WAS even in a different part of the laundry room!

 (the X in the plastic on the left was supposed to be a hole to put a peg in--like the one on the right. I made the X with the knife and carved out the solid plastic.)

 I put it together so we could move some of mom's yarn totes to a more organised locale. There are a lot more to add, but taking those baby steps! And remembering to bounce back. :o)

In the pink

 It was a long frustrating stay at Central Peninsula Hospital. Mum is now home and doing well. The lovely bouquet is from the Nikiski Senior Center. It was created and delivered by an old friend. The card suggested mom should 'get the hell out of there!' She did.

 Fading purple fireweed full of bees AND wasps and ready to top soon. It seems a bit early, but the fireweed is a good indicator of what is to come.

Tamara (Filigree and Hues Hair Design) fixed mom up so she wouldn't have to worry about her hair falling out. Mum said she has an Anderson head. (that is from her mom's side of the family-the Norwegian one?) I think she's cute! I am very thankful she is home. Her not so little dog is thankful, too! 

Lots of pictures!

I almost wasn't sure google would let me post blogs from AK. EVERY time I post from a new locale, I need to verify who I am. You'd think they'd realise I've had this blog running since Tony was in HS and have used the same address all those years. Silly people! Anyway, 

Welcome to Alaska! 

I have about a week's worth of crazy photos on the newest new septic and other assorted adventures. 

 Here we have Bob and the 'Big Guy' rearranging mom's driveway. You can see what it looked like prior to the excavations. Also, during!

 I had a chance to go to Arness Dock with Obie. Obie was not as enchanted as I was. He now refuses to go anywhere with me. I think I wore the poor guy out!

After the guys were done, this is what the driveway now looks like. I am seeking help in getting it back in shape again. The neighbors have said they might come over sometime, but it will take baby steps and may last the entire weeks I'm home.

 The day mum had a blood transfusion, I had time to wander around. I went up to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. I love this spot. So much to look at and great trails.

 I was rather surprised to see so much Devil's Club and very little Pushki. Neither one are friendly to flesh and limb, but each of them are incredibly pretty in their own way. The cabin below was one belonging to the first guide on the Kenai. Andrew Berg. If you get a chance to read his 'diary', you won't be bored!

 The above building used to be the place to go. It held a small interactive area and all the offices. Mrs. Fencl worked in here. So did I, ages past, with so many other YiCC's. Below is a bad selfie with a moose statue. He was hard to fit in the frame with me. I often have this trouble. Giant and short don't often work well.

 This truck needed photographed. A 67 Chevy in the parking lot. (am pretty sure the plate said '67)

 As you can tell. The green verge between the road and the 'garden' is gone. We had the 'Big Guy' at the bottom of the drive until this morning (July 28). I was seriously contemplating decorating it with TP or other fun drapery.

 Below may resemble a pile of covered trash in a heap. It isn't. It is the remnants of mom's wood pile under a tarp and sand and rock moved by the 'Big Guy' and his friend 'Deere-dra'. (she is the cutest backhoe/dozer). This is one of the several projects I have til mid September. Finding and reorganizing the woodpile!

 If only I could harness the power of the fleets of mosquitoes who surround me each time I go out. Kind of like James when he he used Miss Spider's webbing to collect gulls to move the peach..The possibilities could be endless!

Looking GOOD!

 Steve shares a birthday with Patrick Stewart, Harrison Ford, and Cheech Marin. We decided, he has more hair than Patrick Stewart (Steve said his head is well shaped for a bald look), he has the hat of Harrison Ford, and everyone wondered where Dave was.

However, we celebrated his birthday in style, once again. Friends, cupcakes, and ice cream! Moses was NOT an impressed cat. Max was so put out, he vanished til everyone left. Kila? I think he was locked up cuz he kept trying to go outside when the door opened! I think we'll keep things quiet for the next few years! Although NOTHING will top his 50th when Tony surprised us by coming home.

 There were big cupcakes and little ones! Chocolate with sprinkles, chocolate with chocolate chips, and plain chocolate topped cupcakes of chocolate with chocolate chips and banana with chocolate chips.

 The ice cream of choice was Udderly Chocolate. I hope everyone liked it! I know it is one of Steve's favorites.

  

This is the ONLY photo I took of the fun. It turned out very fuzzy because I was in a hurry, but since it is the only one, I am not deleting it. We could say it was the juke box  hopping and shaking the house! Pictured are Steve, Charlene, Dorothy, Kate in the back with the boys, a tiny bit of Cindi, and Justin's hat and elbow. We had quite a few visitors and the last ones stayed and prayed. 

 This is from June at the 'Old Iron Show'. I opted to use it because he is laughing and laughter is always a blessing! May we have many more years of you, Steve. YOU are a blessing to so many of those around you.