July 28

Here we are in sub 70 degree temps enjoying a Friday night. Riley got neutered on Thursday so he's saddled with the "cone" for 7 to 10 days. Not a lot to report. Had a fantastic day at the golf course yesterday at Lake Cushman GC, it was our regular men's day. Out of nowhere I shot a 76 that included a double on the last hole. We played a shambles game and our group took my drive on every hole except the 4 par 3's. Didn't miss a fairway, hitting it straight and long (for me).

Still working up top, I put a tree ring around the 4 cherry trees, it looks good. I just need to clean up some weeds tomorrow and Jay is bringing up a load of 3/4 minus gravel. Then it'll be time to plant some grass seed, fertilize & water.

Here's a picture of Riley with the dreaded cone.

 

 

Good weather is finally here!

It's July 12th and we have enjoyed good weather beginning on the 4th. We hosted a barbecue on the 4th for our neighbors, it was a lot of fun and the food was good. Ben came over on Tuesday and stayed until Thursday morning. Jake called and with Emma out of town he was freed up to come over and spend Thursday - Sunday morning with us. We really enjoyed the boys company.

Around the house I managed to rid myself of the propane tank in the middle of my back yard and put two smaller tanks behind the garden shed. Dennis and Jeff help me dig a ditch for the new gas line and I spend three days putting everything back together.

Riley caught a bug and he is finally back to normal with the exception of his eye. He must of scratched his eye-lid playing with Tucker. It's starting to heal.

We had a day trip to Sequim to catch up with our neighbors who are there for the week. We played golf at Dungeness, began with low hanging clouds and wind but turned nice in the afternoon. Picked up a couple of poker chip ball markers and a nice bag tag to add to my collection.

This morning was more golf, I joined the "18 hollers" at Lake Cushman. I enjoy the golf and meeting new people but I wish I played better.

Looking forward to next Thursday, besides the normal golf @ LCGC I'm heading over to pick up Ben to see his new apartment and watch the premier of "The Dark Knight Rises". My CC company sent me two complimentary passes to an exclusive showing in Seattle one day before it officially opens to the public.

Here's a picture of the two goof balls at rest (doesn't happen enough).

Zimmerman Wedding & My week at Jake's

Just returned from four days in Sunriver, OR. We attended the wedding of a former rep who has since been promoted and moved to Florida. The whole weekend was fun, weather was great, condo was nice, dogs behaved like champs and I got a couple of rounds of golf in. The golf on Saturday was particularly fun because the golf course was spectacular (Crosswater). I'm attaching a photo from one of the tee boxes but each whole had magnificent views of Mt Bachelor and the three sisters.

It's been a little while since my last blog, I need to catch up. I spent 5 days with Jake, we renovated his front yard (I'll attach photo's). I really enjoyed spending time with Jake and we were both proud of what we got accomplished. We tore out some unwanted overgrown plants, built a retaining wall, trimmed tree's and shrubs and thatched and over seeded his from and side lawns. It was fun to pass on a few tips I have learned from my own experiences. Can't wait to visit him again and see how things have progressed.

Riley has had some digestive problems, he had a couple of parasites and his medicine is finally working and he is getting back to normal. He continues to grow and is certainly a regular part of our family and now the neighborhood.

Starting to work now on the front lawns and the side hill. I've got the back in pretty good shape.

More later...

Wet week ahead

No complaints about our weather lately, May's weather has been good until this week. Had a real fun Mother's Day weekend. Jake and em surprised us with a visit on Friday and Saturday and Ben & Matt came over Saturday night. The weather was spectacular - reaching about 80 degrees over the weekend.

Went to a funeral for one of our neighbors this weekend, he passed away at age 72 of cancer. I learned a lot about his life and how close his family was, I was glad Chris and I went to his memorial.

Found a cool plant at Home Depot and between two stores enough stock to complete my rock wall project. Now I just need some good weather to plant, pictures to follow!

I've been concentrating on cleaning up the shop since the weather has taken a turn for the worse. That will continue today and I'll work on the garden shed this week as well. I need to create a better space to hang up the garden tools. My other rainy day project will be to clean up the barbecue, I kind of promised Jake that he can have my barbecue, I plan to buy another and hook it up to the propane at the house.

Weather is more promising for the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, I realized I haven't taken any pictures of the back yard with the new fence. the hanging plants and the island - I'll snap a few pictures and add them to the blog once the weather improves.

I have been getting in two or three golf games a week, I enjoy the course at Cushman but I'm antsy to get out and play a 18 hole course soon. Been driving the ball good and the new irons are great but I continue to struggle chipping the ball and I just need to practice. Each Thursday the men's club plays 18 holes and I'm enjoying being part of that group and I've played pretty consistently. I wonder how my score would be affected by putting everything out and not improving my lie - it hasn't had any affect shooting a 87 and a 89 the past two weeks. Somewhat disappointed that my score hasn't improved but I've come to realize that the combination of small lightning fast greens with lots of slope does not play to my some of my strengths. I think I would score much better if I were playing a more traditional course.

Water Feature

Finished a fun project, a small water feature next to the entryway into the house. Similar to something we had in our home in Ridgefield but this space was smaller. Took about a week to complete the different steps from finding just the right bubbler to digging the hole, installing the liner & pump, filling in the hole with drain rock to final landscaping. The picture I'm attaching doesn't include the two solar landscape lights that are in place now.

Weather has been unpredictable but generally cooler and wetter then normal (which is normal cool and wet!). The fence is in and it really helps to frame in the back yard. I need to take a photo of it and toss it in the blog somewhere.

Starting to get some golf in, our local course is in good shape but is soggy, a stretch of nice weather is really needed. I'm itching to get out on a big course soon.

Jake and I have set dates for working on his yard, I'm looking forward to spending 3 to 4 days with him at the end of May.

Ben & Matt have moved out of their home in Tacoma and into their new condo in and are very excited to be back in Seattle. I need to get a hold of Ben and make plans to visit very soon.

Riley is now 5 months and getting bigger every day. He has been a great puppy, good temperament and has fit right into the neighborhood.

Settling in to a normal routine

Weather has been steadily improving making it easier to get into a routine. Dog sitting chores are done, Chris is back from Spain & France trip and I'm beginning to knock out some of my projects.

We are getting the back yard fence for the dogs and that has caused me to work on a couple of projects that needed to happen prior to the fence getting installed next week.

I started by transplanting the bushes that were just in front of the spa that riley has taken particular interest in. Moving those plants helped fill in some empty spaces in the flower beds. I replaced the plants with drain rock from Hunter Farm and it turned out nice.

Second project was moving the junipers that bordered the grass to the north. I cleaned up the area by the walking stick tree and transplanted the 5 junipers in a semi-circle around the tree. I'm on my way to get a load of bark-dust from Hunter Farms and dress up that area. In the space vacated by the junipers I will install a walkway to the back sidewalk, we are having a gate put there and it will be a natural way to enter the backyard.

Got a round of golf in - they are punching and sanding the greens so it will be another week before the course is playable again. I also dragged out the old fishing pole while dog sitting and we went to Kokanee Lake and threw a line in - no fish but it was fun!

Doggy day care

Chris, Ben, Matt & Becky flew to Paris and then on to Spain on saturday. I am dog sitting Hunter to add to my new puppy, Riley and Carter. things are working out good but it is work. Riley and Carter are getting along great, carter has fully accepted his "big brother" role and they play together all day. It's been a little more difficult with Hunter, not his fault, its just too much with three.

Weather has been horrible since returning from California, today was nice and I got a little work done outdoors. Came back inside to a mess that Hunter made. I either have to put him in his crate or just wait on the work until Hunter goes back home. I think the weather will worsen and take the decision away from me.

Took the dogs up to the golf course and paid for our annual membership.Really looking forward to golfing on a regular basis. Got a note from Todd that my gift card is coming, think I might invest it in a driver or 3 wood.