HOT!

It's 102 out back, its 100 in front in the shade. Its 89 upstairs, 86 in the computer room and 82 downstairs in the family room. All the windows closed, the drapes and curtins pulled and all the fans on high. The previous record high for today is only 95 so we've set a new one. Oh boy... Tomorrow won't be quite as hot, a couple of degrees cooler. Monday it's suppose to be in the low 80's, Tuesday in the mid 70's, cooler and rain (possible thunderstorms) on Wednesday. Nice weather for my second work shutdown week, scorching hot to rain. Figures, eh?

The dogs went for a short walk this morning, early this morning. It was already 80 by 8:30 when we finished. Bailey had a vet appointment to get some lumps on his chest and stomach (benign fatty masses) and a couple of hot spots looked at. The best we can figure the pollen level has gotten to the level where he itches. He's got some antibiotic and antihistimine to try to keep things under control. The vet wanted him to wear a lamp shade to keep him from scratching his neck. Ain't gonna happen! Especially with Shakespeare sticking his nose in everywhere.

R and I spent last weekend in Shady Cove, a couple of days fishing on the Rogue River. We (I) only caught one fish on the second day. The guide had caught 11 fish the three days before we got there, only one the two days we were there, none on Monday and then 5 on Tuesday. Poor timing on our part...
Heres what we got, about 15 lbs worth.

Empty Nests

Tyfini graduated from Washougal High School last night, received her diploma, survived all the whistles and woo hoo’s from her family and friends in the audience and got to move the tassel from right to left on her mortarboard. That portion of her life is history.

She leaves for a week in Mexico on Tuesday with other members of her senior class, her mom’s going too as one of the chaperones. Tyf will be working for her dad this summer before going to Easter Washington University in the fall. Yup, it was a major milestone for her last night. Tabetha has the rest of the summer to get ready for her baby leaving the nest. A nest that she will be proud to tell you, that she (and the bank) now owns! They’ve had a lease with an option to buy for the past year plus. Tab has been struggling with scraping together a down payment, all the details of getting a loan, and dealing with all the paperwork. She was able to qualify for some sort of a grant program to help single mothers purchase their own homes. So, she is the proud owner of her own home now and up to her eyeballs in debt.

Friday and yesterday were beautiful, weather-wise. We finally got some sunshine and temperatures in the 70’s for the first time this month. We worked around the house and garage, cleaning and tossing stuff. I made two trips to the Goodwill with the back of the truck full of the past 23 years accumulations cleverly disguised as next years tax deductions. I was able to get after the out of control bush next to the drive way that tries to get in the car every time we go anywhere. I had to get the stepladder out to trim the top of it. It was taller than the garage roof! I was wearing a hat and a long sleeved shirt but I got plenty of sun on my face, neck and ears. I seem to be radiating heat this morning, especially from my ears. I’m sure I won’t be the only one with a sunburn at work tomorrow. It didn’t help that Tyfini’s graduation ceremony was out doors and we were facing the sun the whole time. I got an extra dose of vitamin D just for good measure. This morning it’s kind of overcast but it’s suppose to burn off and be another sunny, 70 degree day. The forecast calls for the temperature to drop down to the 60’s again by Tuesday with clouds and possible showers. That’s Oregon weather for ya!

It will be a short work week for me. R and I will be leaving on Friday for southern Oregon and a couple of days fishing on the Rogue River. Last year we caught three salmon. R called the guide late last week to make sure everything was in order. He was told that the spring run was making it’s way up the river, the fishing was fine. We hope the conditions are just as good when we get there next weekend.

The mama robin has been busy this week. This is how you know something’s going on:
I got up on the stool to see if I could find the culprets

I went around the other side and got this picture. It looks like there are four beaks poking out of the nest.

The chicks seem to have lost their baby feathers already. This nest should be empty in a week or so too.

Almost Summer?

It’s been another week of cloudy, grey, wet, cool days. Hard to believe summer starts a week from today. We’ve only had a handful of days were the temperature has gotten above 70, and two of those set record highs. Crazy weather! The Rose Festival has been going on this past week and culminates with the Grand Floral Parade this morning. You can guess the forecast for parade time: cool (low 60’s) with the overnight showers tapering off to possible showers.

We’ll miss the parade this year. (We’ll have our own parade around the neighborhood with the dogs this morning.) We have a bit of cleaning to do. Scott moved out of his room here last week. We have a spare bedroom again! We have a lot of vacuuming, washing and dusting to do. I have a ceiling fan to install now that I have room to move around there. We’re “discussing” how we will use that space now: sewing, crafts, exercise. There are lots of possibilities. More discussion is required…

I talked about the nest under the deck being used again this year, well last week I peeked through the boards in the deck and this is what I saw:

R and Gabby were over yesterday and when I went to show him the eggs, this is what we saw:

You can see bits of feathers and flesh down there now. The eggs have hatched, but it’s hard to see. The mama wasn’t too far away giving us a piece of her mind, telling us to move along!

We won’t be using the deck for a couple of weeks, or at least until we see some baby robins testing their wings.

And speaking of testing wings, Tyfini graduates from high school next Saturday. A major milestone! She's going on the senior trip to Mexico afterwards. Tab will be going along to help "chaperon" the group. Sounds like a fun time. Tyfini is going on to college in the fall at Eastern Washington University, outside Spokane, close to the Idaho border. Just far enough away that you don't just drive home on a whim, like, say, when you're out of clean clothes and need your laundry done...

This has not been the best of vacations. P came down with a cold on Monday and it hit me Tuesday. It starts with a headache and a sore throat. Next it screws up your voice for a several days and turns into a nice cough. The headache doesn’t really go away either. We were planning on taking in the IMAX film with R on Wednesday but decided against it, not wanting to get on a coughing jag in the middle of the film. Even today, a week later, we both haven’t shaken this bug. We still have the same general symptoms: cough, twinge in the back of the throat and the headache. Not much you can do except wait it out, eh?

The dogs have had a good week: they got walks every day but one (that would be the day I took a nap instead). A lot of flowers are blooming all over the neighborhood. There are a number of places where the fragrance from the flowers hangs like a mist over the area. It smells wonderful walking through them. Here are a couple of pictures I took with my phone. I managed to get the dogs to quit pulling on the leashes for a few seconds so I could take them. I have to start taking the camera with me. The quality just of the phone camera doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the flowers.



So, it's back to work tomorrow. The dogs will be bummed.