RECAP: FAMILY VISIT

Our visits with Hallie and Nick are different now that we've added young Silas to our family group. We worked around his schedule, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Those baby years are precious.

But, we managed to do a few things -- or, maybe I should say that Hallie managed. She pruned the wild rose bramble between the orchard and the south field, clipping out all the deadness, and that was a big job. Then Mike came along with the 4-wheeler and trailer and carried that prickly mass of branches to the burn pile -- several trips.

I don’t know what caused the bramble to die back because the wild roses are hardy and prolific. Perhaps it was hit with drift when they sprayed the field, and if it was, perhaps it acted as a barrier to the orchard. Maybe it’s the drought. (I don’t water the wild roses.) Or, maybe it was just so old and overgrown that it was demanding a trim. Whatever – we’ll see what next year brings.

Pruning the Lapins sweet cherry tree was much less challenging by comparison but no less important. We removed the suckers and a few unruly limbs. And while we were working on that side of the yard, Hallie turned the compost for me. And while Clint, Nick, and Hallie were here, Mike serviced the windmill, and it’s aerating the pond once again.

Discussion among the family ensued regarding the 1961 photo of my aunts Shirley and Lynn at the “Great Stone Face” on the canyon rim. Hallie said she could see a third person. Mike and I were skeptical.

I would have liked to re-enact the scene, but it didn’t turn out that way. It was too hot – and we were too busy – to go to the canyon rim in the evening, so we went in the morning when the “face” is in shadow. The summer haze of smoke and dust interferes with the natural colors, and those aren’t great this year anyway since the fields weren’t planted. Mike agreed to wade through the rocks and brush to get to the lower position while Hallie sat on the forehead. And then we realized that we should have examined Daddy’s photo for positioning before we set out.

Oh well. There will surely be another year and another opportunity.

So, the theatrical re-enactment was a disappointment, but we proved one thing: the ghost in the picture – that third person – is a fence post, and it’s still there. KW