Ramblings...

This morning we all left the house at 9 (yes, even the teenagers) to go out for some Blueberry Picking!  It was rather overcast, which was a good thing, because when the sun came out it was Hot...

The farm is only a few minutes down the road and there were berries a plenty. In fact we picked 17 pounds   of them ($2 a pound, so cheap!) and that didn't even make the slightest dent in their harvest. The problem is that our freezers are full so I think we'll have to take some other old stuff out to make room for all these berries... (what a great problem to have)

We were almost home when we spotted a garage sale in our neighborhood. I snagged a white plastic lounge/ sunbathing chair for $5 and this afternoon I spent some wonderful time in it snoozing reading... <wink>

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Last night we spent some time around our fire pit. (the one we built ourselves and the chairs as well!) It was just lovely to sit there, make jokes and simply enjoy each other's company on a quiet, muggy night...

And I'll end this little rambling post with some items from our vegetable garden. Things are growing nicely and are soooo tasty!  {smile}

Beets, Plums, Peas, Green Beans and more is on its way...

Raspberry Reds...

Freshly picked from the fields this morning, all 19 pounds of them!  (Yum!)

Picture Perfect Polaroid Pics...

Yesterday...

It was just plain gorgeous! Now that's all over again of course...

Peony Parade...

It is so dark outside this morning that I've had to turn on the lights again! A good thing I have so many Peonies from the yard to add some color and cheer around the house...

I other news, some sad tidings from within the Howard & Penny household. This morning I found a baby bird at the bottom of the cage, no longer with us I'm afraid. Miss M. and I think that this birdie probably came from the last egg to hatch and that the bigger siblings didn't want it in there. Who knows... It was interesting to see what a newborn bird actually looks like, but a bit sad at the same time as well of course. So far we think we have three confirmed baby birds in the nest, but it is incredibly difficult to tell.

We've had our share of dead young birds over the last couple of days. Both Mr. G. and myself each found a dead baby bird (so no feathers yet) in the yard and then yesterday there was a little bit older Evening Grosbeak hopping around (not in a very lively way) in our neighborhood. The neighbors' kids across the road looked after him but he died 24 hours later. He was probably attacked by a cat and had injuries that were just too much to heal up. I guess that is Mother Nature for you...

Well, with all this rain going on outside it will be nice and cozy in my sewing area today. See ya later!

My First University Tour...

Last Saturday we visited Western University in Bellingham, about two hours north from here close to the Canadian border. The weather was glorious with tons of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather for a guided tour of the campus, a barbecue lunch on the park-like lawn and some strolling around and checking out a few dorm rooms.

Eden Hall, gorgeous views, a dance on the lawn with  a great band and the school's mascot  and somebody with a crocheted viking hat and beard!  <wink>

We met up with two other families from school and then made a split between the parents and the kids so that we wouldn't embarrass them too much.  <wink>

We were so impressed with the kids. They  were in front of the tour group the whole time and even stayed behind to talk to the tour guides (university students) after the tour!

I had never really visited an American University Campus before and I was really impressed with this one. The school is of medium size (15.000 students) and the campus was just gorgeous with lots of greenery and open spaces. The atmosphere was very friendly with a strong sense of community. Master C. could see himself walking around here and so could we!  {smile} 

We spent about 5 hours on campus and were rather exhausted from all the (good!) impressions there.On our way back home we drove via Chuckanut Drive and stopped for some ice-cream and a stroll through lovely Edison, a teeny tiny town and one of my favorites in the area. Just look at it all:

What a day it was, it felt like we were on vacation! A good thing we enjoyed it all as much as we did because that was the end of our beautiful weather streak: it is pouring outside! Great for the garden of course since everything was getting very dry indeed. Miss M. is home with a bad cold so we're keeping each other company. That is just fine with me...  <wink>

A Weekend Along The Sidelines...

Like I said in my last post: not a punishment at all to spend your whole weekend along the sidelines of an Ultimate Frisbee tournament with temperatures of up to 80F / 27 C !  {smile}

First some pictures of our lovely river valley on our way there... 

Love these old barns!

Look: a Dutch farm!

Mount Rainier...

Moo!

Skykomish River at Monroe...

Cascade Mountains in the background...

Not a Beaver I'm afraid. Just a stick, but a pretty stick at that!  <wink>

...and then some pictures of our even more lovely Miss M. (# 19) and her team mates...

Coach giving some interesting instructions...

Score!

Congratulations from a team mate...

Gear to keep that ankle protected...

That's my girl!  {smile}

And today it will be even hotter than yesterday so I will be spending another day outside with tons of sunscreen on!
Now I will have to out and water all the plants on the patio. They are not too happy with all this sudden heat...