LIVING IN TWO PLACES

You can't keep two houses," my mother used to say. But Mike and I are trying. I have to admit it has its challenges. Fortunately the modular home in Clarkston is designed for easy living. The biggest challenge for me is keeping track of what's where. For instance, yesterday I was going to cut out my retro jacket, but I couldn't find the pattern. I figured I had taken it to town, but this morning I found it on the library table in the living room. So, that's a project for next week, I suppose.

Our time on the farm this week was brief – just a couple of days. We came back to town this afternoon and will stay several days in order to participate in some activities.

Can you believe it's October already? The weather has been so mild with lows in the 50s even on the farm. There's just a tinge of color on the old maple tree in the front yard. I took these photos yesterday during our walk. Note the dark sky and see the ripe elderberries in the bottom of the photo on the right.

Yesterday Mike and I went over to the cemetery to clean the lichen off the family grave markers. Jack and Ina's were in good shape, perhaps because I cleaned them several years ago. This time Mike cleaned June and Bertha's while I worked on the Sanders'. Mike used his pocket knife and without a sharp point to dig the moss out of the letters, my work was fairly fruitless. One website I checked suggested that lichen should not be removed but I don't know -- seems like grave markers aren't much good if they can't be read. Anyway, I told Mike it seemed kinda like busy work for folks who just don't have enough to do. I think he agreed.

This morning I was outside fairly early to plant spring bulbs on the bank by the clothesline. Mike came out to offer assistance and just happened to stand on a yellow jacket nest. This was seen as an act of aggression by the yellow jacket community and several pursued him across the back of the house to the kitchen door. He got a nasty sting on the back of his head – perhaps another on his hand. The yellow jackets also took after Nellie and me so we also hurried to the house. It was no use returning to the planting work for about an hour. We dug out our wasp sprays and used them. I found several good websites providing info on elimination of yellow jackets – one published by WSU. Their advice was not to bother to exterminate at this time of year since the nests don't winter over. But we saw it as a situation where we had to protect ourselves.

I thought you might like to see Mike's shotgun practice range – down in the gulley near the plum trees. I stay up above and stomp the clay pigeon thrower for him. This set-up enables him to practice shots that are troublesome. If he misses some, I try to note where they fall so that we can re-throw them.

On our way back into town we stopped by Sears and left off the "Element." We will pick out another set soon. KW