Salmon Glacier on a beautiful day!

IF you want rain here in the Great White North just cut your hay crop!  I woke up in the night to the sound of rain and knew, once again, the hay would spend days in the field trying to get dry!  In some places the “hay” was only six inches high and NOT worth cutting.  We have had VERY little rain and it shows.

I was out of bed at seven and job one was getting the garden ready for the trip.  The good news was the rain eliminated any outside watering.  I did take up a tank for the large green house.  The peas and potatoes LOVED the rain and seemed inches taller than when I put them to bed last night.

The plan was to get on the road by ten and THAT didn’t happen. 
We were heading up the driveway at about ten thirty.  The equipment is still not in for the easement job.  After trying to bully me into believing the easement ACTUALLY belonged to them and “they” could do with it as they wished, I believe the opinion for our local attorney cooled their jets.  I didn’t come here to have legal confrontations BUT being run over like a bug isn’t going to happen either.  The gate will remain and “unlimited access” to the river won’t happen through MY easement.

Our first stop was in Smithers to talk with our travel agent, also a fisherman, to get directions to a falls where we could observe the spawning salmon navigating the falls.  He was out and after a quick stop at Tim Horton’s we were on our way.

The skies were blue and the temperatures were already in the mid seventies.  Judith and Judy had packed a lunch and we stopped at a little rest stop on the Alaskan Highway, next to a beautiful stream, to have lunch.  The salmon sandwiches were awesome. 

I had promised Judy a bear sighting and my prediction came true as soon as we turned towards Hyder on the Glacier Highway.  He stood patiently on the roadside while we fumbled for our cameras.  A car approached from behind and we drove off as the bruin slipped into the bushes.  The trip to Hyder is spectacular.  The stream was roaring underneath Bear Glacier in this HOT weather.  We got to Steward at four, checked into the hotel, and headed across the border. 

Darrell cooling off a few meters from Salmon Glacier

This is our seventh or eighth trip to Salmon Glacier and it still amazes me.  Judith asked me how many times do we need to see Salmon Glacier?  AS MANY times as I can!!  My brother, Ron, said it all on his visit “you could have told me about this place for a hundred years….. and I still wouldn’t have believed it”!  While it is the Fifth largest glacier in Canada it is the biggest one that can be see without taking a helicopter trip.  The road was the best I’ve ever seen it and there were still just a hand full of visitors.  Darrell and Judy marveled at this natural wonder.

We stopped at the bear viewing station, which was full of people and NOT a bear in sight.  The salmon have just showed up and the bears will soon follow.  I the way back to Hyder I saw a fresh crab sign and stopped to check it out.  The lady said they had it and would be opened in the morning. 

Dinner at the Bitter Creek Inn is ALWAYS excellent and that was the case again tonight.  We’ve had LOTS of fish so steaks were the order of the evening.  OUTSTANDING. 

We ended the day in the Bitter Creek Inn playing Pegs and Posts.  We played two games and ended up winning one game each.

July 29^th

I woke up to a rooster crowing and the sounds of the owners pet goose, Ripley, greeting the morning.  I fought myself back to sleep and didn’t get out of bed until eight.  Darrell had walked the town and determined that lots of businesses had been closed for many, many years.  Welcome to Steward!  We had a quick breakfast and headed back to the bear viewing station.  Nothing, zip, nada.

The next disappointment of the day was stopping at the seafood place only to find out the “fresh” crab was FROZEN.  Yuck!  I passed on that and we headed back to River House.  The surprise viewing of the day was a WOLF.  That is a rare sighting!

We talked ourselves to taking the logging road to the lava fields.  Darrell did the driving and I counted the bear poop piles.  There were only thirteen today; a far cry from the “record” ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE we counted several years ago when we made this trip with cousin, Sher.

We have been through the lave fields many, many times bit somehow failed to stop at Vetter Falls.  Today we did.  It is a beautiful falls coming through the lava fields and is only a short, easy walk from the parking lot.

The drive from the lava fields to Terrace is beautiful winding through the mountains and seeing beautiful lakes along the way.

When we hit Terrace it was a few minutes after five and I made a beeline to the Indian (East) restaurant and was thrilled to find it open.  The food is ALWAYS excellent, however, describing the service as slow would be a compliment; Two hours later we emerged FAT and happy.

Darrell took the first leg of driving while I caught forty winks.  I took over at Kitwanga and after a short stop at Safeway got back to River House at ten thirty.

NORMAL people would have gone to bed.  We broke out the cards and played the rubber game of Pegs and Posts.  Darrell and I won and now are tied at 1-1.

Lots to do tomorrow; pick up the ATV, fish, pizza night…..a typical hectic day of retirees at River House!

Ever wonder where difficult puzzles with missing pieses end up?

I woke up at seven to the smell of brewing coffee coming from the kitchen.  Darrell got up around six thirty and put on the coffee.  They brought Starbucks beans and this morning you could have cut the coffee with a KNIFE!  Two sips and I was buzzing around the room. 

By the looks of the puzzle Judy stayed up VERY late last night and went to bed with only about fifty pieces left to plug in.  Darrell and I finished it, or at least tried as it was missing FIVE pieces.

I printed out the first five pages of Smarter Than Me and asked Darrell to read it and see if he was interested in helping me edit it and help with all the needed graphics.  He in turn made some sample changes he would make and it looks like we each have a set of faults we can live with.

I knew the ladies would be up around nine so at eight thirty I started making fried potatoes.  I had plans of doing eggs for everyone until I found out we had a grand total of SIX.  I decided to do a dish my grandmother liked and scrambled the eggs right in with the potatoes.  Judith worked the toast detail and breakfast was quickly behind us.

Job one for me was getting the garden watered.  I hauled over two loads; one for the general garden area and the other for the strawberries.  While there I hand watered the peppers and new salad cold box.

Judith put out the fixings for lunch and I opted for a bowl of BC blueberries.  I was up a pound this morning and I wanted to get back on track before one extra pound becomes two, etc.  After lunch Judith and Judy hopped in the T-bird and headed for Smithers.  I decided to do some tractor work around the new garden putting in several hours. 

I took a break around three and when I came in the phone rang.  It was Louise letting me know the hay cutting crew arrived and were headed down to the big hayfield.  The weather forecast looks good IF we can get by the forecasted showers for the next day or so.  The hay crop is the poorest I’ve seen in years; the combination of little rain and warm weather has taken its toll. 

Darrell bought a fishing license on line and we decided to go to the river as soon as it cooled off.  I took a quick nap until five when the temperature dipped below eighty and we decided to see if the springs were biting.  The river has dropped a lot in the last week and has cleared up nicely.  We put out our lines and put out the lawn chairs and settled in.  This normally quiet place…..wasn’t!  The drone of the haying machines filled the air.  We got a few taps from trout but no takers from the Spring community. 

The ladies were back around six.  Darrell and I pulled our lines a little before seven and went back to River House to see if the ladies got back from town.  When we arrived they were sitting on the back deck.  We chatted for a moment and then Darrell and I headed for the garden.  As we passed the lake cabin a noticed a black bear at the edge of the empty lake.  I turned around and raced back to pick up Judith and Judy.  When we got back Judith saw the tail end of a medium sized black bear going into the bush.  Judy saw NOTHING. 

I cooked salmon steaks on the tool box grill.  Asparagus, sweet corn, and a nice prawn salad filled out the rest of the menu.  I picked another two quarts of strawberries and they ended up over ice cream for dessert. 

After dinner we played Pegs and Jokers.  Darrell and I won the first game tying the match at  two.  The third game was super close and THEY won by an eye lash.

No blog posting until Thursday when we get back from Salmon Glacier. 

At six twenty the driveway alert went off, THREE times.  I was up and off to the races.  I checked out the driveway and saw NOTHING.  Within a few minutes it went off again and this time when I looked out I saw a HUGE cow moose slipping across the road.  I ran for my new camera but by the time I got back upstairs she was gone. 

I put on the coffee and worked on the puzzle thinking that Darrell would be up any minute.  It wasn’t until after seven that I heard footsteps announcing his arrival.  We worked on the puzzle and talked until nine when Judith joined us.

Derrick, our plumber, arrived at nine to tackle a list of things including putting in the propane conversion kit into the stove in our bedroom.  He saw a good sized black bear between the gate and the shed on his way in.  Darrell and I grabbed the camera and hopped on the Polaris and made several passes without seeing any four legged critters. 

Darrell and I decided to play a round of golf in Smithers and left at ten thirty.  We checked in got our cart and went to the range to hit a bucket of balls.  Our tee off time was at twelve and when we got to the first tee there wasn’t a sole in sight.  We teed off and made the round in three and a half hours.  The closest anyone got was two holes behind us. The weather was perfect and even a little hot at time.  The wind was not existent; just a perfect day for a round of golf.  This was my first round of the year and Darrell hasn’t played in a long while and it showed.  I shot an even ONE HUNDRED and Darrell shot !!&. 

We were back by four and I blasted over to the garden to get the greenhouses open.  They were at a sweltering one hundred and ten degrees.  Once I got them open I picked up a load of water and turned on the sprinklers in the big greenhouse. 

Halibut and prawns were on the menu with Judith doing the heavy lifting and I cooked the prawns and halibut.  The only thing that could have made it better would have been a fresh salad out of the garden but we didn’t have the energy to make one more trip.

It was a wonderful warm evening and after dinner we decided to play Pegs and Jokers out on the deck.  We only played one game before it got a little buggy and chilly.  We played partners and Judith and Jude kicked our butts.

It looks like the weather at Rupert is going to be a little iffy and we’ve decided to show Darrell and Judy Salmon Glacier.  I have been there many times but love to show people this wonderful, special spot.  We’ll drive up Wednesday, spend the night, and drive back Thursday.

Judith raking in a pot!

I woke up at the crack of eight and couldn’t believe I slept in again.  The phone rang moments after I got up and it was Darrell.  They were still in the motel in Prince George and thought they would be here shortly after noon.  Darrell urged me to play in the Sunday 250k; something I hadn’t planned to do.

Judith was up at nine and we discussed the day.  After breakfast I headed over to the garden to check things out.  As I pulled into the garden I could see a family of Ruffed Grouse heading for the woods.  They were in eating the clover and they looked to be about the same size as the hen.  This seems to have been an excellent year for the grouse hatch and there should be lots for the approaching hunting season.  The garden looked good but will need plenty of water during this next hot spell.

I headed into Smithers at ten to pick up the boat.  Judith handed me a small list to pick up at Safeway when I got all the chips and dip for tonight’s poker party.  Russ helped me hook up the boat and I was back at River House at noon.  I unloaded the groceries, checked in with Judith and then registered for the Sunday 250K.

Over thirty thousand registered for the tournament today.  I caught very few good cards but hung in there and managed to finish 1904^th and collected $33.61 for my eleven dollar investment.  Darrell and Judy drove in while I was still playing at about three thirty. 

Once I was out of the tournament we piled into the crew cab Polaris and headed for the garden.  When we got to the lake we took them over, via the lake bed, to our newly created island.  The new dam at the back end is solid as a rock should do the job.

I picked the strawberries while Judith picked a few salad greens and Darrell and Judy checked out the garden.

We ate at six; early for us but we had guys coming at seven for poker night.  Judith cooked spaghetti, served with fresh lettuce and bread made out of our pizza dough.

The guys started arriving at six forty five and I learned immediately that Leroy wasn’t coming.  That left us with only five guys and we immediately recruited Judith and Judy to join us on the green felt.  We only played one tournament and Eric took first, Dennis second and Marty third. Darrell finished on the bubble and I was fifth.  The girls were good sports and played pretty well.  The game broke up at ten thirty and no one was up for another round.  We did play a little pool.  I’m learning poker is a winter “sport” here in the Great White North and putting a game together during the summer is hard to do.

The seas are kicking up in Rupert so getting out may be a problem.  I’ll check the weather again tomorrow.

I took my first evening nap, in a LLONG time, last night from eight to ten.  My intention was to stay up beyond doing my blog posting.  I wanted to read but within just a few minutes I was nodding off and was fast asleep by midnight.

We were expecting the Griggs by late afternoon until I got an early morning e-mail letting us know they were still in Hope, just an hour over the US/Canadian border and won’t arrive until Sunday morning. 

Judith and I discussed the day over breakfast before I headed to the garden.  I planted the other cold box with lettuce even though my first planting is holding up extremely well.  We’ve had beautiful lettuce for the last month and it has produced TEN times what we have used.

Judith did one of her wonderful soups for lunch; a perfect choice for this sunny but chilly day.  After lunch I headed up to the new garden to do patch work on the last pouring and get things ready for the next pour.  I hadn’t been up there much in the last two weeks and today reminded what a beautiful place this will be to tend a garden.

Russ called in mid afternoon to tell me the boat would be ready for pickup tomorrow.  Towards the end of the conversation he said “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of hours at Dale’s”.  That took me surprise as I didn’t have a clue to what he was talking about.  It turns out we were invited to an event called Christmas in July at Dale and Natalie’s which Judith had failed to mention AND had forgotten about.  It seems when she was asked she knew the Griggs were scheduled to arrive and felt we wouldn’t be able to attend. 

We seldom turn down invitations and decided to go.  Just before we turned into their driveway we spotted a bear crossing the road and what we think was a cub in tow.

The party started at four and was scheduled to end with fireworks at midnight.  We arrived at five thirty and joined the twenty some people on the sunny front deck.  People kept arriving until a good thirty were in attendance; mostly neighbors, friends and family.  This whole thing started about ten years ago;  July offered better driving conditions than December so the family decided to get together, exchange gifts, etc.  It became known as Christmas in July and the name has stuck.  There were lots to drink, great appetizers and TURKEY CHILI.  They also had a “Mexican gift exchange” which was fun to watch.  We didn’t stay for the fireworks and got back to River House at ten thirty.

I’m planning on picking up the boat before the Griggs arrive and while in Smithers I’ll pick up the snacks for tomorrow night’s poker party.  Darrel won the last time he was up and the guys want a chance to get their money back.

One can catch up on sleep for just so long.  My eyes flew open at five thirty and there was NO going back to sleep.  Buddy needed a little prodding to get off my bed as she has been sleeping in too.  We got her fed, the coffee on and the puzzle pieces in before six.  I was all dressed up and nowhere to go so decided to fall off the wagon and play an $11 SNG.  Nothing much has change and ended up taking second and pocketing $27.  With that out of the way and with two hours before Judith’s arrival in the kitchen, I started back on Smarter than Me. 

About the time Judith got up the driveway alert went off and we looked out to see an old familiar mule deer doe that I know quite well.  She was looking good in her summer coat; I’m sure she has a fawn or two hanging in the bush nearby.

Judith made blueberry pancakes this morning.  No bacon; for some reason bacon or sausage has appealed to me lately.  I’ve really been cutting down on my intake and want to break the two hundred mark by my sixty fifth.

After breakfast I headed for the River Cabin basement to finish the cleaning job.  I decided to get the 3-D archery targets out of the way and set them up near the gazebo.  I put the fox at fifteen yards, the bear at thirty five and the turkey and deer in between.  In years past “something” comes in and beats up the decoys.  I THINK it has been a bear but don’t know that for sure.  I hope setting up the range inspires me to do some practicing.  The fall turkey season is only three months away.  Speaking of which………………..

I sure can’t believe we have been here three months and will be leaving in three more UNLESS the kids decide to come for Christmas.  I’ve let them know we need a definite answer by the first part of September. 

After lunch I tried to put in the secondary filter system and ran into problems.  The pump seems to be sucking air and THAT is a problem.  I’m not sure how to solve the problem.  I ended up sweeping the sides and taking out all the debris with a dip net.  I’m not feeding with pellets and that really helps the algae problem. 

When I opened the big green house this morning I was amazed at how much the zucchini and other squash plants grew.  AMAZING.  The four largest plants added several leaves each and look about a third larger than yesterday.  They are now in HIGH gear and I may have to start hiding their bounty in visitor’s cars.

I knocked off around four and we broke out the gin cards.  I won and the month stands at 4-3 with Judith in the lead.  We heard from the Griggs and they got a late start and won’t be in until  tomorrow evening or Sunday morning.

Fillets filled the bill for this evening’s meal served with zucchini grilled next to the steaks.  The salad greens are staying nice and sweet.

The weather gods will be kind for Judy and Darrell’s visit.  We have the threat of showers tomorrow then NOTHING but sunshine for the next ten days.  Darrell is bringing a replacement camera so I’ll start posting picture once again.

This sleeping in until SEVEN and getting NINE hours of shut eye seems to be habit forming.  It rained a little more during the night and it looks like we had a little over a half inch.  The garden and yard sure have perked up.

I worked a good solid hour on Smarter Than Me this morning and I can see the end of the tunnel; at least with getting everything on paper.  The editing and graphics are the next big task and that is still up in the air. 

Judith was up at nine and we discussed the day.  Job one was attaching the head board to the bedstead in the kids room.  The lag screws were too big and I had to ream out the holes to make that all work out.  We were done by eleven and I got on with my next project; cleaning the basement of the River Cabin where I store all my fishing stuff.  We put lots of mice poison our last winter and the mice made a mess of it and today was the day to get that all cleaned up.  I put on rubber gloves and a mask and got the benches cleared off and clean.  I hauled the kayaks up to the shed and tomorrow I’ll put out the 3-D archery targets which will give me a lot more room. 

The plan for the afternoon was to get the boat to Russ, the mechanic, and then play golf.  Well, one out of two ain’t bad.  The weather did turn sunny and nice, however, I never made it to the course.  Judith picked up the Thunderbird and we ran errands before heading home around five.  Judith and I stopped to pickup her things from Sunday’s art project.  Nola was there as well as one of the other artists. 

We got home about six and I made a beeline to the garden to water the new greenhouse and pick strawberries.  They are really coming on strong and I picked well over two quarts.  Unfortunately some critters seem to like them and have eaten part of at least a third of the crop.  These critters have teeth so I’m thinking either mice or squirrels.  It is NOT as if we’ll have a shortage of strawberries so I’m not sure how hard I’ll try to kill them, unless of course they start ruining more than their fair share. 

I picked my first cucumber of the year today and it found its way on this evening’s salad along with several radishes.  I planted a variety of radishes and we are enjoying eating all the different kinds.  I had never heard of an ice cycle radish before and now have eaten several.  We will be eating beet greens and Swiss chard in less than a week.  The potatoes and peas are way behind and will have to get in high gear to make it before the first frost.  The carrot crop will be about a third of what I planted and about TWICE as much as we can eat.  If you want cheap vegetables….go to Safeway…or so my Uncle Nick once said.

The strawberries here in the Great White North are NOT the plum size fruit grown in California and points south.  A big one is a little bigger than the average thumb, red completely throughout and WONDERFUL.  Judith just brought down a bowl of vanilla ice cream covered with fresh strawberries and blueberries.   Heaven!

I was up at the crack of seven with NINE hours sleep under my belt.  Without poker I sure do fine a lot more time for sleeping.  I turned on Fox and got the coffee going before heading for the puzzle table.  With the BP well now capped there is a lot more time for other news.  That may NOT be a good thing for the Dahbama administration as that diversion is over and things like Cap and Trade, or what other name they are trying to push it through under, will get the exposure it needs.  Shirley Sherrod is getting a lot of press.  Let’s see….this administration hires back a former federal employee who successfully sued the government and got THIRTEEN million.  I wonder how much money she’ll put in her kick over this one?  Speaking of money in the kick………………

I guess we are NOT too broke to GIVE Pakistan FIVE HUNDRED MILLION in foreign aid.  The rich in Pakistan, and there are a lot of them, pay no taxes and I’m sure are chuckling over what a bunch of dummies are running our country.  November 2^nd can’t get here fast enough;  throw out the trash—ALL incumbents. 

The skies looked a little threatening this morning causing me to check the ten day forecast.  It looks as if cooler weather and showers are on the horizon.  That suits me just fine; hauling  three of four hundred gallons of water a day to the garden is a pain in the butt.

At eight I headed over to Houston to take my Polaris to the repair shop.  The stalling problem has returned and I need to get that fixed; I’ve walked back to the house one too many times over the last several months.  While in Houston I ran a couple of errands and got enough cement to finish the new garden posts.  Speaking of the new garden……….

While in Smithers yesterday Judith found the “perfect” gate for my garden.  She drug me in the store and as usual she was bang on.  The gate is wrought iron and measures 32” X 72”, just perfect for the man gate.  I asked the owner if she knew the gate’s history and the only thing she knew is it came from Egypt.  If true, that’s cool. 

When I got back Judith cornered me for a honey do and we got started.  Today’s project was building a poplar thingy for the end of one of the beds in the “kids” bedroom.  I cut down about ten small trees from one to three inches in diameter.  Next we headed for the shop where we cut, trimmed, drilled and nailed the pieces together.  The result, as always with Judith’s creative endeavors, was amazingly good. 

Around four the skies to the south started to really darken and it wasn’t long before the wind started to blow and the thunder rolled across the valley.  I was expecting a quick shower but was pleasantly surprised when we got a couple hours of nice steady rain.  With the exceptions of the greenhouses I should get a three or four day reprieve from hauling water.

After dinner Judith gave me a gin lesson and now leads 4-2 for the month.  I’ve got to make hay while the sun shines as I’m not sure we’ll get to play many games once Darrel and Judy arrive on Saturday. 

Tomorrow I’ll take the boat into the mechanic to do some minor work and with a little luck play my FIRST golf game of the year. 

The sun was out in full force when I got up at six. It looks like the weather Gods are punishing me for draining the lake. Another HOT day was on tap and I knew I’d have to hall water to the garden.
Judith insisted I wake her at eight thirty so she could get ready to take her car to Ford for a ten o’clock appointment. Today was my message day and I headed in at ten to pick up Judith and run a few errands before my twelve thirty appointment.
Judith was waiting patiently when I arrived at ten thirty. Job one after picking her up was stopping at the bank; the exchange rate was at near par. Next we took a water sample to the health department. We like to get the water, here at River House, checked from time to time. Louise insists the water has a high IRON content and I can’t wait until the report comes back to get the results. Next on the agenda was getting a competitive quote on our cabin insurance. Insurance cost have really gone up over the last several years and I felt it was time to see if our premiums could be reduced.
It looks like my massage days could be coming to an end; “my” masseuse is moving to Vancouver Island for a year and I’m not too excited about finding a replacement. I did start this whole massage thing years ago to find an alternative to taking blood pressure lowering medicine and it has done the trick for many, many years. I took my blood pressure shortly after today’s massage and it was a REALLY GOOD 118/74. Not too bad for a guy staring sixty five in the face.
When I got to Safeway Judith was just finishing up and we were checked out and headed home by two.
Judith wants to make another headboard, made out of poplar, and there is NO talking her out of it. I loaded up all the tools and we headed to the garden where we have a stand of small trees perfect for this project. I cut down eight to ten small trees that fit the bill. Tomorrow we’ll go back, limb the trees and then cut and nail them together. Attaching them to the bed frame is the easy part.
We played our evening gin game and Judith pulled off a come from behind win that took the wind out of my sails. She now leads 3-2 for the month.
Smoked pork chops filled the bill for tonight’s dinner, served with asparagus and nice pasta. We’ve been eating blueberries and fresh strawberries from the garden until they are coming out of our EARS.
My Polaris is up to its old tricks again and I’ll take it back to the shop in the morning. I’ve asked them to just change the fuel pump and if that isn’t it I’ll live with the consequences.
Lots to do tomorrow and the rest of this week before Darrell and Judy arrive on Saturday.

The driveway alert went off at six and I was off to the races.  By the time I got to the dining room and looked out NOTHING was wandering around.  I put on the coffee and fed Buddy.  Judith put out a new puzzle and I put in the mandatory twenty pieces.

I hopped on the scale this morning and still holding at 208.  I haven’t been doing my sit ups for the last ten days so I got back into the routine.  Grinding our SIXTY was no easy, Papa.  Next on the agenda was typing and editing on Smarter Than Me and I got to spend a full hour on the project.  I was hoping to spend another hour this afternoon but that didn’t happen.

Judith was up at nine.  We talked over breakfast and she voted for me to start with the aphid spraying.  I clipped another garbage can full of lupine seed pods, filled with aphids, before breaking out my new back pack sprayer that I picked up while in the states.  For all these years I’ve purchased CHEAP sprayers that might, with good luck, last an entire season.  This one holds FOUR gallons and has a pump arm that allows one to pressurize the tank without removing it from your back.  It took well over an hour to spay EIGHT gallons, killing about one aphid for every dollar of our National Debt.  I’m NOT sure what is in insecticidal soap but it seems to be pretty effective on these little green pests.  With the spraying done I headed for the garden.

Even though I watered yesterday the garden was as dry as a bone.  I sure do miss the lake; all I had to do was start the pump and let it run until the gas ran out which took about thirty minutes and did a great job.  Now I can only take over a hundred gallons at a time and that’s not much.  My firehose pump can empty it in just three minutes.  By noon I made one more trip and also water the greenhouses by hand.

Judith made salmon salad sandwiches for lunch.  She mixed the leftover salmon, cooked on the Tool Box Grill, with mayo and diced onion and served it on toast.  KILLER!

Rick arrived at one thirty and fired up both machines.  We talked briefly before he hopped on the Cat and headed to the south end of the lake.  He will do cleanup work today and then take a break for the next week, allowing it to dry out more.  When he returns he’ll put in the main damn and finish by putting in the spillway.  All in all he is ahead of schedule and under budget.

We took a break at five and played our crib game.  I won and tied the month at 2-2. 

Judith started preparing dinner and I made a trip to the garden to get salad greens and pick strawberries.  When I got back I saw a four wheeler in the driveway and as I was trying to figure out what was going on Judith announced that our neighbors had dropped by.  It turns out they were the folks that bought the Steve Wright place which joins our south eastern border.  We had a nice conversation.  They don’t live there, however, are renting the house and running their cattle in the hayfields. 

I had a nice conversation and update with Lou Parrague, the man running Capture during the ESOP transaction.  Things are as good as can be expected and he has made all the right moves to ensure Capture will be around when the smoke clears. 

I had hoped to get to form building in the new garden but that just didn’t happen.  Tomorrow is a town day so that will take its toll.  Judith has a project for me tomorrow so it doesn’t look like I’ll get back to that task until Thursday or Friday.  Such is life!