Thursday This and That

Let's raise a candle to my younger brother Jim, who became older today.   He's added a few years since this birthday party photo op. back in 1970.

Actually, this photo was taken at his friend's birthday party where the three "J's" took center stage.  That would be Jim, Jamie/Jim and Johnny.  

All three have since grown up, followed successful careers as architect, computer whiz and logger, respectively.  

And, believe me, they've each individually logged some phenomenal life stories.

And, it's nice to know that we still keep track of all of them since that party so long ago when they were young friends at Lincoln School.

So, Happy Birthday, brother Jim.  I do hope you have the opportunity to upgrade your hang glider and take that 100-miler before you hit 50.  

For now, have yourself a "grape" day.  Had to send that wish to my pun-loving brother cuz I forgot to a few days ago when he posted all the photos of picking grapes in Southern Oregon. 

This week has the annual trifecta of family birthdays with Sefo (father to the triplets and one fine man) celebrating his birthday yesterday, while tomorrow Annie will celebrate hers. 

Speaking of logging, we had a major logging project out here this week.  At least a dozen various sized cottonwoods went down on North Kootenai Road, just a half mile or so away.

On my morning walk today, I stepped through the ditch to get the full perspective of the size of one of those trees.  That stump alone could easily serve as a table for a family of four enjoying a feast.  

Big trees but rotten, the county crew members told me.  

And, with the wind storm we had the day before yesterday, it was probably good that they had been fallen by saw rather than wind. 

I'm thinking we may enjoy a positive result from this project next spring when the cottonwood fluff covers the ground.  Maybe we won't see so much and maybe we won't endure it for three weeks straight. 

In the meantime, I'll kinda miss those big trees as I walk by.  I'm sure a few blackbirds will be disappointed in the spring too. 

~~~I spent yesterday afternoon doing some serious cutting of my own---with the weed eater.  My round pen now looks neat as a pin without all that scraggly grass around it.  

The board fences also look tidy from the weed-eating project, and by day's end, the lane should be well-groomed too.  

The less of this scraggly stuff around to die off over the winter, the less work I have to do to clean up in the spring.

There's still brush hogging in the pastures and lawn clean-up as well as winter storage projects, so I'm keeping busy.

Yesterday I also planted iris starts along the south side of the storage shed.  More will go in the garden, and I may dig up more to add to the big flower beds.
 
Today, yard work will take a break for this week's edition of "doggie school," so I'd better close and head outside. 

Happy Thursday.