Goodbye Summer. :(

Yes. That’s a sad face. Sad, sad, sad face.

I have whined all summer long, along with the kids, about how awful our summer was here. I still love the Northwest, but I’m really not happy about how the season panned out. If I were a Republican, I would blame it on Obama. Ha!

My last post was 11 days ago. So let’s see what happened between then and now, eh?

 

Stinky Dogs

Porter Rockwell, also known as Old Man now, had a birthday on August 3 and turned 13 (91 in human years). Old man decided to climb into the fire pit and pull out a charred log to chew on for the afternoon. Maybe he’s missing some mineral in his diet?

Nice and clean and smelling like lilacs …. and wet dog. Hard to cover that smell.

 

Chainsaw Art

We went to a town festival (I love small town festivals) and bought at an auction, this chainsaw bear bench for the fire pit. Albeit functional and fun, just doesn’t seem like something we would buy. Which makes it even more fun.

 

Heart, Hands, Health, Head - 4H

Felix, Tyger the Goat, and I attended a 4H Meet and Greet at the WSU (not Weber State U, but Washington State U) Extension. She was there to represent and encourage kids to join 4H, possibly in Fiber Goats since our member numbers have dropped. We were sure it would be lame but turned out to be a lot of fun. And Tyger only pooped once in the truck which was great.

 

Pow Wow Wow Wow

We FINALLY attended the Festival of the River at the Stillaguamish River in Jordan Park. Since we moved here, I have wanted to go but there was always something else going on. There was food, games, vendors (Felix and I bought some beautiful handmade earrings) and a Pow Wow that was amazing. Sadly, there were loud bands playing on a stage in the far field and it was hard to hear the Native drums and chants.

 

The Farm

I am now feeding two more pigeon babies. The mom laid the eggs on the floor and typically, they die since the other pigeons will peck the babies to death when the mom leaves the nest to eat. Sometimes though, I have a feeling that Felix likes to bring me the babies even if there might be a chance that they will live in their nest. This is the youngest I’ve ever tried to hand feed. The syringe feeding seems to be working with them as well as the older babies. Just call me The Bird Whisperer.

However, they almost died last night. I got home late and was too tired to check on them and then took the kids school supply shopping and didn’t go to feed until 8 pm. In that time, they moved themselves out of the warming light and one was stiff and cold and the other barely moving. Working fast to warm them up under the light and then getting some warm food in them is the only way to save them. Thankfully, they’re doing better this morning. Now call me The Almost Bird Killer.

 

Second Degree Black Belt Test in Ocean Shores, Washington

This was a nerve-racking test. In front of a panel of 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Degree BB Masters who are critiquing every move. Ugh. If I hadn’t stopped my hair loss this spring, I’d be bald now. It was crazy.

Ocean Shores is a coastal town directly west of Seattle (as the crow flies; not as I-5 drives). It’s a struggling tourist town set in the middle of depressed former logging, railroad, and crabbing towns. It reminded us a little of Long Beach where we used to live except that it wasn’t quite as nice. The town was a little too far in to reach by foot; Long Beach’s boardwalk was right next to the beach and quite accessible. It made us want to drive right to Long Beach to visit! It was nice to smell the ocean again.

 

And that’s the end of August in a nutshell.

School will begin in six days. We bought clothes and supplies. I guess we’re ready for the new year.

Sigh.