Planting the garden

This past week, Dena and I went to the garden to plant a few seeds. She wanted to plant the corn as she said, "I love it!". I made very straight rows of trenches and gave Dena a handful of corn seed at a time but she still insisted on going here and there to plant her corn. First one row, then another spot in another row to bury her treasure. I tried to keep up with her and fill in where she skipped and push the seed into the trench where she "missed" but I may be transplanting the seedlings once they come up. Have you ever tried to keep up with a 2-year-old?
Next, we proceeded to cover the seeds up. Dena had a hand shovel and did her best to cover up the trenches. Sometimes she actually scooped the seed out of the trench but Grandma came along behind and did the best she could to keep things in rows, covered with dirt. I was able to convince her she would enjoy digging in the dirt while I planted a few other types of vegetables.
Finally, it was time to water. I did have to help her squeeze the sprayer handle on the hose but we managed to get some water on the seeds...and it has rained a little...so hopefully our seeds will germinate. There are even little signs on the corn that read "Corn by Dena" just in case some of the big time master gardeners notice how crooked my rows are. They do appreciate children taking an interest in gardening so I hope whatever happens will bring smiles to their faces.
It was just a sunny, dirty, watery, fun day for both Dena and me.

It must be Spring

Dick and I just spent part of Saturday and Sunday morning working on our Organic Garden at the community gardens in Lake Oswego. It was perfect, sunny weather. Not too hot and not too cold. Dick had put together three 4X8 boxes this year so we leveled them onto the plot and semi-filled them with soil. Dick had already weeded the plot and Liz and Brett have been trying to keep it clean, also. Next, we laid down cardboard and some bark to make pathways through our garden plot so we can reach the vegetables as they grow. We put cardboard down at the bottom of our boxes, too, before we added soil. All very biodegradeable vs. plastic. This week I am hoping to plant some seeds to get things started in the non-boxed areas. Corn, squashes, cucumbers and maybe tomato plants. Brett, Liz, Allison and Jason are in line to add some new soil to the boxes in the near future and then we will be ready to roll. The boxes will house the lettuce, onions, beans, peas, etc. More updates on the garden as we head into the growing season. It was just a very earthy day!

A Sunny Day at the Beach

As Mr. Lincoln and I settled into our deck chairs to do a little reading this sunny day, 2 nice looking, younger couples made their way down the beach to set up "camp". We watched as they pitched a tent, lay a blanket in front of it's door and arranged a cooler and bags for their rare day in the Oregon sunshine. After they checked out the rocks and waves, Linc and I set to work reading about the Japanese in WWII here in Oregon and the couples went on their way for a nice walk down the beach towards Kyllo's.

A little later I heard yelling and saw one of the couples running back our way while the other was yelling. I checked the waterline for an emergency situation but everything looked calm. The running couple turned up the speed and headed our way...only more towards their tent/campsite. As I looked down, you could hardly see the blue and white tent. It was covered with seagulls. First, an EMPTY potato chip bag, then an EMPTY bread bag and finally all sorts of EMPTY bags blew off in the breeze as the couple sped towards their picnic. I did rush in the house to grab my camera but by the time I got back, the gulls had dispersed because of the human intervention. The people were very disappointed that their picnic had been invaded and devoured. The rest of the afternoon they had to take turns guarding the place as the seagulls continued to surround the tent just waiting for another chance. I'm not sure much was left but if that was my tent, I'd be protecting the beer for sure.

So the pictures are of a dejected picnicker and then someone in front of the tent on guard while the gulls stand in wait to capture the beer!

We don't have bears like camping in the woods, but those seagulls can sure behave like a scene out of "The Birds" and ruin a good picnic. Good thing for sunshine! It's just the right kind of day to eat out in a restaurant.

Ocean View

Ocean View by Eliana Kaufman
Age 9 Spring Break 2009

White waves, blue sea
Sunny sky, you and me.
Always moving towards the shore,
Puts me to sleep and then I snore.
Watch the ocean, you and me,
Watch the boats sail out to sea.
Many birds down on the sand,
Swoop down from above before they land.
Tide goes out and rocks appear,
We climb on them, far and near.
Trees surround the rocky bank,
We imagine walking the plank.

Whew!

It has been Spring Break this past week! At first, Lincoln City seemed a little quiet for this time of year, but after the first few days last weekend, more people showed up and the town is alive with visitors. We even had visitors. Allison, Jason and the girls came over last weekend and the 2 older girls stayed her for a little extra Grandma and Granpa time. Dena still had daycare available when Mom and Dad would be working, so she went back with them.
We headed back to the Portland area for most of the week and on Tuesday, Allison and I took the girls to see the play "Goodnight, Moon". Dena (2) still keeps saying "I loved it" but claims she didn't like the cow who kept trying to jump over the moon and would fall. I think she thought the cow was getting hurt and it bothered her. But she loved the bunny! Allison could quite get the tooth fairy's resemblance to Elvis?
Wednesday, I had all 3 girls and even St. John came over in the afternoon, so I was surrounded by my grandchildren. Dick and Lincoln (the dog) showed up on Wednesday night so Dick could golf on Thursday. Then, Linc and I headed off to Brett and Liz house Thursday morning to babysit St. John all day while Linc played with their dog, Tillee. Allison called and all the girls showed up so we could go have coffee at St. Honore, the French bakery. Yum! That evening, Brett and SJ escaped to at our house since Liz' "book club" was gathering at their home. Finally, on Friday, I watched Eliana and Sarina while Dena went off to her daycare "school" and Allison and Jason headed to work. St. John came over for a little while too so the older girls again had fun practicing "babysitting". They like to entertain him with their dancing and he seems to enjoy the show.
Friday night we capped things off with Allison, Jason, Dick and I going to the Lakewood Theatre to see "A Flea in her Ear" while Brett and Liz took their turn babysitting all the kids. Grandma Sue had enough kids by then and needed an adult night out before heading back to the beach. I am exhausted from all that youthful energy, but it's just Spring Break!

Organic Gardening

Today we did our pre-gardening. We are required to attend a meeting every year as we return to our organic community garden and today was the day. Yes, we will have scarecrows again this year. We even signed up for our mandatory work session to help the community garden with maintenance in May. Dick and I then went directly to our garden space to clean it out. We are moving to a larger space! A few asprins later, I can say our old plot is clean and ready for the next person. Brett came by to help and we even left the old place with new bark for the walkway around its border. Then we transplanted our rhubarb to the new space. The new plot looks like it has great soil and is already for us to plant. We were informed the water would be turned on mid-March and frost season ends mid-April so we are ready to go. Now for the planning and waiting for that warm weather and no more SNOW! It's just spring fever.

Tank turns 15 !!!

Many of you have met Tank, Brett's big, black dog, who lived with us on Turner Rd for years. He is getting old and grey but just celebrated his 15th birthday with a dog party. 15 is very old for a large sized dog. Tank is getting a lot more grey, creaky joints, and is losing his hearing but he is still a shiny-coated, easy-going, friendly dog. You just might have to shout a little to get his attention.

Brett and Liz held a party for him on Valentine's day and since a number of large dogs were involved, they held it at Lexie Dog, a new doggie place in downtown Lake Oswego. The main play room was decorated with streamers and balloons. There was a big sign on the door declaring "Welcome to Tank's birthday party". Brett did a great board showing pictures of Tank as a youngster, teenager and many of his trips backpacking and snow shoeing. There was a "human's" table with lemonade, cupcakes laid out in the shape of dog bones and snacks for nibbling. Then there was the doggie table with a banana and peanut butter cake with cream cheese frosting. YUM! There was a bowl with heart shaped dog treats and a party favor for each dog with more heart treats and a doggie donut in each bag to take home.

Tank's friends included Tillee (Brett and Liz' other dog) and her sister, Poppy who are both Bernese Mtn. Dogs, 3 Portuguese Water Dogs (Shasta, the mom and brother and sister, Jamaica and Mr. Lincoln. Lincoln is our dog), a Rottweiler and another non-denominational dog. They all had a lot of fun chasing balls and each other. Then the fun began with bobbing for apples. The Portuguese Water Dogs won the prize for the "Dogs in the water the most" and Tillee won for most apples eaten.

Next, the dogs were grouped together by who got along best into smaller side yards and Tank remained the center of attention when his cake was brought out. We weren't sure how all the dogs would do in one location with food around so we played it safe. Once Tank was able to spot the cake, he licked the frosting happily while Brett took pictures. We cut up the cake and all the invitees inhaled their pieces. The humans were then served cupcakes to round out the day.

It was a wonderful tribute to a great dog. Tank took his glucosamine and pain pills ahead of time and seemed to enjoy watching all the youngsters make fools of themselves. It was just a man's-best-friend day.