Friday, July 23, 2010

How Does Our Garden Grow?












We have not updated the blog concerning the garden for a long time. Today we present you with July progress. The

hollyhocks outside the door are spectacular, and at least seven or eight feet high. The petunias we bought in Portland for the hanging basket are beautiful. We have a glimpse of the perennials in the back garden in full bloom, and the little Budda bed,

shaded and peaceful. There is a close-up of the astilbe in that bed.

In the vegetable gardens we have had pole beans, one cucumber, and some lovely yellow squash. We share

pictures of the tomatoes in the raised beds, zucchini plants overrunning the raised beds, the pole beans, and a close-up of the tomatoes and beans. Those beans are the ones we started early and they are planted in pots leaning against the poles.

It is a lovely summer day, and the growing things are thriving!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Summertime














Time is flying by and we discover it has been two weeks since we have updated this blog. Today we will share a few of our recent activities. The camp is plagued by biting insects, and one obvious source of these pests is the old screen door with

holes in it. Gary and Louise decided the time had come to replace the screen. No one who has not undertaken this task has any idea of the labor involved in removing hundreds of nails and staples! It took most of

a day, but a new screen and fresh coat of paint now grace the doorway.

Gary went to work decorating the wharf. With tools in hand, the rug, the chairs, the tables, and a collection of geraniums in pots have been put into place. You can see pictures here of the final product. In addition to the wharf, lights have been hung in the trees. This little picture of them does not do it justice. It lights the yard and adds a glow to the trees that can be seen from the beach. Andy climbed the ladder to hang them.

Louise has been knitting steadily. She has joined an internet challenge to knit mittens for the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota. So far she has finished four pairs of wool mittens for this cause. She already has thirteen pair done for RSVP.

Finally we have some photos of time spent yesterday with Andy and Jessica. While sitting on the wharf, Gary dropped his sunglasses out of his pocket into the lake. Andy went after them and you see him here pouring the water out of them. Jess brought a book to read that she really enjoyed. Finally we ended our day with the usual games of dominoes. A few pictures tell the tale of these games. Notice Jess couldn't put the book down to play. That was real multi-tasking!

The no see-ums continued to bite last night, so perhaps we will go home tonight for a real nights sleep!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

4th of July Weekend












The heat wave hit us and family members gathered at the lake to visit and cool off.
Good food, water, lots of activity from swimming to knitting, and everyone stayed busy. Enjoy the pictures - more words are not
needed.
Matt fixed the wharf and it is in. You can see one of the ducks inspecting it. Doesn't that chair just invite you to sit down and enjoy it?





Saturday, July 3, 2010

Adventures at the Lake







We spent a couple of days at the lake with Ryan last week, and want to share the pictures of our adventures. The lake has become a popular family spot so


far this summer with Bob coming for a visit, and Jon and Erin visiting now.
Our adventures with Ryan were a lot of fun. He loves the camp and the water. While we were there he practiced tying his shoes, paddled in the paddle boat, went on a nature hike, read books, played dominoes, had a campfire, and generally had a great time. The best story from this visit was the runaway paddle boat story. The lake was a little choppy, and Ryan and Grampy had gone for a paddle boat trip. When they came back, Ryan pulled the boat in and even put bricks in it to hold it in place. After having a snack of fresh strawberry pie, Grampy went to check on the boat and found that it had drifted down to the end of the cove. Donning their life jackets, they got into the canoe and paddled down to the drifting paddle boat. Ryan hopped onto the paddle boat and paddled it back to the camp while Grampy followed in the canoe.
Here we share with you pictures of these adventures on a lovely day in June.