Last Saturday we left our house early to see how the Rotary trail had shaped up after our Winter and Spring snow. We were hoping for the trail to be free of mud. We were happy to only encounter a very small patch of mud on our three mile course. It was nice to get out in the sunshine for our walk and we hope for many more early walks to come.
Jo From This Side of the Pond is tweeting out some new questions for us to answer for Wednesday Hodgepodge.
1. April 26th is National Audubon Day, honoring John James Audubon, the French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter known for his detailed study and illustration of birds in their natural habitats.
Do you have a bird feeder?
Yes, several.
Any birds in your home decor?
A few.
Have you ever owned a pet bird?
Yes, and it’s a sad story I’ve told before. In the 50’s our Pop decided he would get pigeons and he built a pigeon cage for them in our back yard. I had 3 siblings at that time and we all chose one to be our pet. Mine was Green Neck. Things got so dire financially that our pet pigeons ended up in a pot of soup. All of my siblings and myself refused to eat that soup. Our Pop couldn’t understand why. OYE!
The photo above is of our Pop, my older sisters Kathy and Vera and that’s me with a pigeon on my head. I’m guessing it’s Green Neck.
What’s your favorite bird?
This is tough. I love many birds. The majestic eagle and the hawk are special. I love the look of owls. Hummingbirds are adorable. I’m not a fan of pigeons and won’t let them find a place to roost.
2. What’s something you took to ‘like a duck to water’?
Blogging.
3. Empty nest, nest egg, proud as a peacock, free as a bird, birds of a feather flock together, or the early bird catches the worm…choose one and tell us how it currently applies to your life.
I’ll go with the early bird catches the worm because lately I’m finding myself awake at 5am and by 9am it seems like I’ve gotten all I need to get done, done.
4. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds…your favorite seed and a favorite food or dish made with that seed or topped with that seed?
Sunflower seeds first and pumpkin seeds come in second, roasted and lightly salted in the shells.
Have you tried all the seeds on the list?
I don’t think I’ve tried flax or chia.
Any you don’t care for?
All are fine in limited quantities, except for sunflower seeds. I can crack and eat a whole bag of sunflower seeds!
5. Something in the past week that made you ‘happy as a lark’?
We took the plunge and are trying out a new satellite internet service. Waiting for one last mount before we are good to go. If you don’t see me next week you’ll know something went wrong. Where we live in the country our only good option is a satellite service.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We are warming up the rest of this week and finally have mornings above freezing. We had our first walk on the Rotary Trail on Saturday morning and are looking forward to this trek a few times a week.
Today is a busy day with a 7am appointment for new tires on the car, an 8:30 appointment with the doctor, 9am Prayer meeting and then the window washers are coming in the late afternoon. Hooray for clean windows!
Our shadows on the trail last Saturday.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to be around to visit soon.
Though the original town of Marcus has lain below the waters of Lake Roosevelt for 60 Years, it is not forgotten. Many a Spring, as the lake is drawn down to generate power, the ghost town of Marcus is again visible. Sidewalks and streets and foundations rise from the water for a few days or weeks, reminding us all of Marcus and the other drowned towns of the upper Columbia.
This happened this Spring and we decided to walk out on the exposed lake bottom to see what we could see. We walked the flats on Sunday the 16th of April, 2023. Vast expanses of sand, mud and rocks are being exposed by a deep reservoir drawdown to make room for runoff from snow from surrounding mountains.
As the Grand Coulee Dam grew higher in the 1930s, the water of the Columbia River rose behind it. 150 miles of the free-flowing river was transformed into the placid Lake Roosevelt, drowning hundreds of acres of timber, farmland, Indian villages, and camas meadows. Also below the waters of Lake Roosevelt lie eleven little agricultural towns with names like Peach, Inchelium, and this town, Marcus, Washington.
Lake Roosevelt is a working reservoir. It is the main storage reservoir on the Columbia River for the United States. The reservoir is lowered in the spring, to make room for the spring runoff. This prevents flooding on the lower Columbia River. The water that enters Lake Roosevelt during the spring is stored in the lake and is used later in the year for power generation and to enhance river flows downstream for endangered species of fish when flows on the Columbia River drop later in the summer and fall.
Walking the old sidewalks that are covered by the lake most of the year.
Main Street Old Town Marcus!
Back to the cars and on to lunch.
Here’s what the lake looks like when it is full.
Happy Tuesday. We are looking forward to a major warm-up the rest of the week. I’m going to have to mow the lawn before the week is over.
After JJ’s 4th birthday party we celebrated this guy who is 30 years older than JJ. He joked about a trapezoid so he got a trapezoid.
Happy Birthday, Andrew. We are all thankful for you and glad God brought you to our family.
While family was in town we enjoyed digging through some very old bins of stuff.
Addy loved twirling in one of Auntie Katie’s dresses from years ago.
JJ gravitated to this infant sized superman t-shirt that he squeezed over his head and onto his body.
Some good conversations transpired.
More bin fun with Katie’s old Barbie and Ken dolls. Clothes and lots of itty bitty things got dumped on the floor!
The plan was hatched between the ‘director’ above and the birthday dinosaur to scare all of us with JJ’s ‘scary’ transformation into a green dinosaur.
She was on the lookout and knew we were all in danger.
He appeared!! Cute or scary?
Fast and roaring!
After we were all sufficiently scared the dinosaur opened his presents.
Last but not least, his big boy fishing pole!
Finishing off the party with photos of his guests.
Don’t miss the dinosaur feet.
The party was a success of dinosaur proportions and we left for home to prepare for another birthday celebration in the evening. The cute 4 year old dinosaur had a nap and was ready for an evening of fun at Baba and Gramps’.
We love you JJ and pray that you will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God keep you and protect you all the days of your life.
So they don’t get lost over time here are the other posts from JJ’s 4th birthday party.
At JJ’s 4th birthday party after the T-Rex (AKA Uncle Scott) made his entrance it was time for lunch and before we start Gramps offers up a prayer of blessing for JJ to our heavenly Father.
I didn’t take photos of all the food. We had drumsticks, meatballs, little smokies, raw veggies and fresh fruit.
After lunch we played an outdoor game before we had cake.
We had a green team and orange team and we had to fill the little dinosaurs with water and try to fill a cup up to the line by squeezing the water out of the dinosaur.
Games over it was time for cake!
So many good sports with the dinosaur theme!
Sistersaurus and her Four-ocious brother made some plans to scare and entertain us before it was time for presents.
That post is coming next since this one is already photo intense.
The party continues on Monday and beyond!
Happy Friday and I hope you all have a good weekend.
It’s Hodgepodge time again and Joyce is celebrating Hodgepodge #500!! Congratulations to Joyce and Hodgepodgers everywhere. Click over to join in the fun.
1. Last time you drove/flew 500 miles (ish)? What’s a place you’d like to visit that lies approximately 500 miles from your current location?
In December of 2022 we drove to Abbotsford, B.C. Via Bothell Washington and once we arrived in Abbotsford we drove on to Chilliwack with friends for our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas party. That was just under 500 miles worth of driving.
It would be a nice vacation with Family to stay at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast for a few days and enjoy the sand and sea just beyond our doorstep. Cannon Beach is 500 miles from us.
2. Tell us about a time recently it felt like you were ‘racing against the clock’.
Being retired and older I don’t race much. I have felt the need to clear out things and let things go before our kids have to sort through it all.
3. Have you ever attended any really large sporting events?
Yes!
What was your impression of the experience?
We have enjoyed memorable experiences at some large sporting events. I attended my first Rose Bowl Game on January 2nd in 1967 (USC v. Purdue). The Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game are always on New Year’s Day unless that day lands on a Sunday. When January 1st lands on a Sunday the parade and game are moved to Monday. My second Rose Bowl Game was in 1992 when Greg was a student at the University of Washington and the Huskies played at the Rose Bowl against Michigan. The Huskies won this game which made the experience very exciting.
In 1984 the Summer Olympics were hosted by Los Angeles and we were able to get tickets to some rowing events at Lake Casitas. The most exciting part of these Olympic Games was the fact that my husband Greg was able to represent his company as an Olympic Torch Bearer!
In 1994 our sons got tickets for World Cup games in Los Angeles and Stanford. The USA was hosting that year. The photo above was at the Rose Bowl for one of the games we attended.
Dan and I attended Brazil v Camaroon at Stanford Stadium. Attire was colorful and the party atmosphere was very lively. Both those countries know how to celebrate.
We were able to track down where the US team was staying and training and our sons met every player on the team and got all their autographs. That’s Alexi Lalas with our sons. That’s not a cigarette in his mouth.
When Dear and I were traveling with Josh and Laura in England in 2013, Josh got us tickets to a Manchester United game v. Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. That was a great time! Josh also made it into an Arsenal game on that trip.
The Superbowl, The Kentucky Derby, The World Series, FIFA World Cup, The Indianapolis 500, The Daytona 500, The Olympics, The Masters, Wimbledon, The Boston Marathon, March Madness, Tour de France, Monaco’s Grand Prix, The Open (golf), The Ryder Cup, The Stanley Cup Finals..of the events listed which would you most like to attend in person? Or maybe one that’s not listed?
Fifa World Cup, it will be hosted by the USA/Canada/and Mexico in 2026.
4. Are you an iced tea drinker? If so, do you drink it year round, or only in the spring and summer months? Do you make your own or buy it bottled? Sweet or unsweet? Flavored? Lemon or no lemon? How about a Long Island Iced Tea?
Not a usual for me. If I do have an iced tea it would be lightly sweetened with some fresh lemon squeeze or the last variety.
5. April 20th is Volunteer Recognition Day…do you volunteer in some way? Tell us about it. If not, tell us about a volunteer you appreciate.
I volunteer at church under Women’s Ministry. I’m the branch leader of Hospitality serving the church family in planning, supplying, and carrying out fellowship opportunities involving the entire church body. Responsibilities include: Maintaining the kitchen and supplies. Helping with food serving and cleanup for church events like potlucks, Easter brunch, pie and praise, and funerals.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We celebrated our grandson’s 4th birthday this past Saturday. We had a T-Rex crash the party and we had a cute dinosaur and delicious dinosaur cake. If you want to see more of the surprise T-Rex entry click here.
I’ll be sharing more from JJ’s Dino-wonderful party on Friday.
Thanks for stopping by for #500!
There we were just hanging out at JJ’s Dinosaur party when Aunt Rhonda exclaimed dramatically that we all needed to go outside and see what was happening! We were all shocked to see T-Rex coming up the driveway.
Amber the dog went into full protection mode barking at this creature she was confused about.
Of course we all realized that this was Great Uncle Scott in costume. He gets the prize for this huge fun surprise at JJ’s Dinosaur party. Aunt Rhonda dropped him off down the driveway for him to get in costume to surprise all of us.
Uncle Scott gets on his knee to show JJ and Addy that it is him in costume. Time to re-create a little Jurassic Park action.
So much excitement and now we head inside to have our lunch and more dinosaur fun.
After the great effort on the part of Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda for this surprise at the party I think it deserves it’s own post. More party fun to come with some ‘scary’ action from a cute little dinosaur. This will definitely be a party to remember.
On Tuesday of this week we took a drive to Chewelah for lunch and I took this photo on the way home as we traveled back towards Colville. This was a nice change after a very rainy Sunday night through Monday late into the early hours on Tuesday. So grateful to see blue skies and be warmed by sunshine!
We still are dropping into the freezing range at night but the days have seen sunshine and temperatures into the 50’s. We worked outside today getting some things cleaned up and cleared out at our country bungalow. We have a truck load to donate to a garage sale at our church to raise money for our MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) program. Dear changed out our winter tires to our all purpose tires so we are ready for travel on roads with easier conditions.
Our westside kids are traveling today to our home for the weekend. We look forward to a good catch-up and some celebrating.
How’s your April shaping up?
The two guys in this photo above celebrate birthdays this week.
Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge! Click over to join in the fun.
1. April 13th is National Scrabble Day…are you a fan?
Yes, I enjoy Scrabble. Haven’t played in ages!
Do you enjoy word games in general?
Yes, mostly.
What’s an eight letter word that tells us something about your life currently?
Peculiar; unusual, or particular or special. We are heading into a period of hospitality at our Country Bungalow that does not involve biological family. We are confident that it will be a blessing as we adjust in the month of May and into part of June.
2. Do you have a junk drawer? Is it full? Do you know what’s in it? What’s in it?
Yes, yes, and yes. It’s full of things like keys, tape measures, charging wires, and junk! Thank you so much for this question as it caused me to clean out that junk drawer and make it more useable!
3. When does time pass quickly for you? When does it pass slowly?
When our family is all together, time passes quickly.
Time passes slowly when I’m awake in the night at 2am and not able to get back to sleep.
4. These eight vegetables are in season during spring-asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, collard greens, garlic, herbs. What’s your favorite? Any on the list you refuse to eat? Last one on the list you ate?
Favorite would probably be carrots. I wouldn’t refuse any of these but I’m not a fan of collard greens. On Monday we had some asparagus, carrots and new potatoes roasted.
5. What’s the oldest thing you own? Tell us about it.
Dear has a French Violin from the 1700’s. That is old and probably the oldest thing in our home. Dear’s dad got it from someone when Dear was 10 or 11 and decided he wanted to take violin lessons. Dear’s dad Rex has always acquired interesting things. Our baby grand piano which we got from Dear’s folks is over a hundred years old.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
This little guy turns 4 this weekend and we will celebrate him with Dinosaurs. Time flies when you have Grands!!
All of our kids will be together this weekend and on Friday evening we’ll start things off celebrating our Son-in-law’s birthday which happens to be today. Happy Birthday Andrew. Can’t wait to celebrate you on Friday!
Thankful that you stopped by to read this post and leave a comment.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 