I was walking back to the house from getting the mail when a big white pickup slowed down and turned into the driveway.
Seeing that it had Washington plates, I figured that the occupant was someone looking for an address.
I stopped and watched as he drove in closer and suddenly came the recognition. It was my SHS 1965 classmate David Erickson, and I knew he certainly would need no help finding things in the neighborhood.
After all, he grew up in the Selle Valley, over on East Shingle Mill Road where his father Walt actually ran "the shingle mill."
Since those days, the place has gone through different ownerships and is now known as Wildwood Grilling.
Check out the site, which has a wonderful blog, a variety of products, including the planks and rubs and all kinds of tips and recipes associated with grilling.
These days David lives as a railroad retiree in Vancouver, Wash. He enjoys coming home from time to time to see family and friends, and, of course, to check out the old neighborhoods.
We visited with David for about an hour on the deck and loved hearing his stories about his Army service in Germany and his years of working with various projects on the railroad in at least a couple of dozen states.
It was a great interlude in what turned out to be a busy day. Bill set up the travel trailer next to the house, and I spent a couple of hours with the weed eater.
That grass just keeps growing so the weed eater and the lawnmower are staying busy.
Tony, the wizard, is coming for the first time this year to look at my zero-turn lawnmower, which was hiccuping during the last mowing. Those hiccups suggest that something needs some tuning up.
My friend, Dick Gooby, is still at it: watching his dear wife Mary Ann do
the work while he keeps his eyes glued to the screen, watching TV.
Gooby
Ranch Report
Things are pretty busy
around here. Mary Ann has to go out and move the irrigation
sprinklers on the grass every morning at 5:00 am.
Then she puts the horses
out to graze on one of the little pastures she has set up. Next, she
gets my breakfast ready. After breakfast while Mary Ann is doing the
dishes and cleaning up, it’s my job to turn the TV on and catch up on the news.
While Mary Ann is doing
her work during the day, making needed repairs, weeding the garden and fixing
equipment and fences, I have some serious soap operas that I have to watch.
At eight o’clock every
night Mary Ann has to move the irrigation sprinklers again. I would
like to help her but that’s the same time I have to watch TV movies or ball
games.
One evening there was
nothing I wanted to watch on TV so I offered to help Mary Ann move the
sprinklers. She was thrilled that I would help her. It usually takes
Mary Ann an hour to move the sprinklers.
With my help it took an
hour and a half to move the sprinklers. After that Mary
Ann said she thought it was best that from now on when she works, I should
watch TV because I’m so good at it.
Yesterday I decided to cut down on my trips up and down the lane and left the horses in pasture until late afternoon.
It seems that their bellies have adjusted to the green grass with no problems and I won't mind stopping whatever I'm doing to take the midday walks back and forth with horses in hand.
I noticed this morning that some of my columbine is giving up the ship and dropping the blossoms. Sad to see it go because it's so beautiful.
Still, other flowers are coming on, including my first-ever pink daisies. Can't wait for them to all open.
The iris show continues, so there are still some colorful pockets around the place.
The beat and the beauty go on.
Happy Tuesday.
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