Been a bit soggy here lately, this deer was enjoying a rest in a short sunbreak.


This shot does not do the rainbow justice! It really felt like it was looming.

Well, we survived the most recent snow/ ice storm. Seemed kind of early for around here.
That is Loius passing by.

One thing that occurred to me is we like that the puppies are light colored for when it is dark/ or dusk out. They are a lot easier to see. Not so much so in the snow…
Below: Bailey


Suzi was at work planning on taking the bus home when the storm hit. I got an email cancelling the bus to Monroe that she was planning on taking. (bus turned out to be a victim of the icy roads in Seattle) So I put the camper on the truck and went to town…
This is what the house looked like when I left.


This is the driveway…


This is the drive to Monroe…


Overall it was an uneventful trip to Bellevue. We spent 2 nights in Joe’s driveway with our camper.

Joe did not fair so well. Every one is ok. But he was taking Carisha home from work down in Factoria, and even though Carisha and I told him not to go up Kamber road, he did… just as he was almost up the steepest part, The police car he passed turned on his blue lights. Joe thought he was being pulled over, took his foot off the gas, realized he would never get up the hill, so he hit the gas, oops he lost it, and did doughnuts all the way back down the hill… he pushed a suv that was in the street off of the street a bit, continued down, barely missed the cop car, and hit the curb with such force it is not drivable. Joe called me right away, and as the cop arrived at the van I heard him say “sir your vehicle is totaled” eeek
Runs good still, Washer fluid container was the only fluid victim. Door and hood still work. Soo…

Below: The white vehicle in the distance is the suv he hit.


On a side note, when Joe saw the suv in the morning he was shocked, it evidently got hit again after he had hit it. Too bad we did not think to have him take some pics…

It has been an interesting week. Joe wanted to get a car, so we figured his budget out, $500, yes, five hundred. We called uncle Ken who is a mechanic and went thru the Craigslist want adds. We found a 1996 Plymouth Voyager with 208,000 miles. It is a 5 door 7 passenger van.



It did not run. I went out to look at it and the guy said it ran yesterday, but today it did not run. He thought it was the fuel pump, but he had just replaced it 3 mos ago. He did not have time to mess with it, so that is why so cheap. He has done a lot of stuff to it, like tires, breaks, transmission flush etc. Ken said it was a crap shoot, but we had a feeling, so I got it. Ken came out yesterday to look at it. Since there was no pressure for the fuel, but the gage said over ¼ of a tank. We put some gas into it, and voila it worked, the van started right up. Runs great, handles great, passenger window has issues opening and closing, but hey…. $500 bucks a tank of gas and Joe is on the road… He lives a charmed life!

Natasha is enjoying the flowers the neighbor gave her... ;)

Looks like the beginning of fall is just about here… the Vaux’s Swifts are back at Frank Wagner Elementary School in Monroe, Washington. I don't think I have ever noticed them this early... but maybe it is just me...



The nest is supposed to be the second largest nest in the nation.



Here is a video of the swifts leaving the chimney in the morning. At dusk they return.


Monroe Swift Night Out will be September 11, 2010 4 p.m. to Dusk complete with a spaghetti feed. For more information http://monroeswifts.org/swift-night-out-2010/
I noticed a camera added to the top of the chimney, it would be neat if it was on the web...

Justin (my nephew) and Tasheena had a beautiful wedding on the lake in Coeur d'Alene Idaho, On Friday August 6, 2010.

Click here For some pics I took over the day.

Congrats Tasheena and Justin!

Found this Osprey nest complete with babies on the edge of downtown Bellevue, WA.

I think the most exciting part of the trip was watching Bailey catching the frisbee.





Every time we would go out, Mike would have to figure out which direction was best for throwing the frisbee, since the wind kept changing directions.



When Bailey would miss catching the frisbee, she would often completely disappear in the sand.



Check out the height of the catch…





Suzi and Carol tried to distract Gator from the broken crab parts, but sometimes it looked more like them playing soccer with each other instead of with the dog…



I think we all had fun!

Even though it was cold and windy we spent a lot of time on the beach.





The design the beach made was neat looking.





We occasionally took Ginger and Sam on the beach for old dog time.

Suzi and I went next door for dinner at one point. Gator was learning the ropes of being tied up outside. Samantha was a great example...
Bailey on the other hand was having a bit of a problem getting herself all tied up.

Then there was Ginger the dog of choice, she got to come in. At one point Mike stood up for a moment, and Ginger scrambled over and stole his spot... it did not last long...

We brought the whole herd.
Here Louis is on his cushion, where he spent most of his time. Gator and Natasha were checking out the view with him.



Natasha did take the occasional nap with a dog. Here she is with Bailey.



Gator and Ginger were tired from playing on the beach! Did I mention it was cold?!?



Here Ginger, Bailey and Gator took a quick nap together.



Of course while all this cuddling was going on, Samantha was outside napping. With her fur coat she seemed to enjoy the cold. When ever the sun would come out she would move under the truck for some shade.

We spent the rest of the weekend at Pacific Beach State Park with Suzi’s parents.







Our rigs:



It was cold and windy most of our stay.





The first night was the best sunset.

We took a trip this past weekend.

We left last Wednesday evening after work and stopped at Millersylvania State Park just south of Olympia.



There is a lake off of the day use site. Then the campground had trails and a lot of old growth forest. There was a clear area with power sites for the larger RV’s but we chose a site in the trees (away from the majority of campers) We were told the campground was full for the weekend. We noticed the sites are quite close in to each other. There were alot of trails to explore, and the campground was created by the CCC in 1935.

Check out the wing span of Louis' bird: a red shafted flicker wood pecker.



That is a 5 qt icecream bucket.
I got the shot off of the video clip.

The cats have been causing a little too much excitement around here the past 2 days. Yesterday Suzi came home from work, and found Natasha playing with a mouse in the bedroom. We caught it with a gallon bucket (boy was it a fast and scared little mouse!) Suzi released it by the garden.

Then we moved to the kitchen only to find both cats interested in something under the washing machine. We got out the bucket we had just used and the critter came out from under the washer. It was a small mole. Not so fast and easy to catch... Suzi took it to the same bush by the garden and released it... as an after thought, I am worried the mole will find my garden... oops

Then today, as a highlight I heard a cat come into the house, it was Loius. Then I heard a ton of crashing about in the dining room, Gator came running terrified to me in the living room...
I went to the dining room to find a bird flying around, with Louis jumping up on occasion and knocking it down. It was not a tiny bird mind you, not sure what kind it was, grosbeak or something. It was all just a blur. I managed to catch it in the same handy bucket, which surprised me since it was flying around the room. Louis knocked the bird to the floor, and I swooped in with the bucket...
Louis looked confused when the bucket covered his prize.

Here is the video of the release...



I was glad to see it was able to fly. Loius celebrated by rolling in the dirt...



Ok, I have had enough excitement for the day!

Just a couple of cute shots of the fawn that spends time in our yard...

This past Saturday night Suzi and I went to see a Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees baseball game. It was a beautiful day for a ball game!



The roof was open.



We had a view of Quest field, where the Seattle Seahawks play, from our nosebleed seats…



Saw some planes… must be on the flight path to SeaTac Airport?



But back to the game…
There were 42 ½ thousand fans on hand for the game.



Our favorite pitcher Felix Hernandez was pitching.
See the ball… that was 97mph!



Got to see Ichiro.



But this one is for Norma. (That‘s Derek Jeter of the Yankees).



Our tickets were a special promotion for Suzi’s work Group Health.





We spent most of the game SEA 0 NY 1 , but then Lopez got a grand slam home run!



The Mariners held on for the win! [SEA 4 NY 1] A rare occasion this season.



It was a lot of fun, and the crowd was electric!