Where's the AC?

Was it hot at your house?

Well the one nice thing about going to work is they have AC there. Our house does not get too hot until about 4pm. Then after about 7pm it starts to cool off again outside. So during that 3 hour window you can get a little sticky. Yesterday we went to the Washougal River for a swim. I was amazed at how warm the water was. I guess the 100 degree day warmed it up a bit. I tried to call the Deans to go with us but I think they are out camping at the coast. I bet it was beautiful there.

So what is going on in everyone's summer days? Camps, kids, BBQs? We had friends over on Sat. for an early B-Day party for Greyson. My summer calendar is filling up fast, are there any dates I need to save besides the labor day weekend? When is the family reunion? Third Sunday in a month, right???

Gotta run to work. The boss has flown over from back east to meet with us so I better not be late.
-Mel

Con"grad"ulations

He graduated with honors: Mr. Magna Cum Laude

One Hail of a storm

So, we had a severe thunderstorm roll through the other day and this is one of the hailstones that fell from the sky. It was a truly amazing sight to see these things falling and hitting everything. Both of our cars now have hundreds of little dings all over them. It was actually kind of scary and India and Tucker were really scared. It actually broke the back window out of a teacher's car at school. There was also a funnel cloud reported in the Prineville area but it never touched down. It lasted all of about 5 minutes and was one of the most intense storms I have ever seen.

Mosquitoes

Today the mosquitoes came out!!!
It all started at about 3pm. I was pulling dandilions out of the lawn and Ada was assisting. At 3pm precisly the mosquitoes started to swarm. I had 4 bites in a matter of minutes. I looked over at Ada and she was snapping on both sides of her body. Being the smart oposing thumb creature I am I quickly ran for the camping supplies where I dug out the 50% deet solution. After a light layering I put 2 extra sprays on both arms that I smeared on Ada's back. I didn't want to see my dog suffer. A couple hours later Ada and I went for a 2hr hike down to SR14. When we stared Ada had 3 bites on her. When we returned I only had the 4 bites I started with however Ada had 30-40 new bites. Anyhow, we are home and Ada is itchy. I guess the temperature was just right for mosquitoe hatching today. Hopefully the bats living in my chimeny will be out taking care of the problem soon. I did yard work and car washing all day and Greyson did some sort of seal replacements on his car. I tried to get Greyson to play tennis but I think he is tired of getting beat, so I went for a jog down by the river instead.

-Mel

Count the dean family inRE: [SPRAD Family Blog] strawberries

We definitely want the jam and applesauce session again. We were just talking about it with Brian’s parents this weekend.

Tennis anyone?

Greyson and I are back at our tennis. The weather hasn't been that great so we have only gotten in 3 trips so far. We are better then we were last year at this time but still have some major issues to work on. Traci said that she and Tim are taking lessons this year so I think we will definitely have to have a tournament at some point. Get those Porter kids educated on the fine points of ball boy/girl duties. I have also been working out but am not seeing any results so far. All I have is a stiff neck, sore hip and popping knee. We tried to go play rec. v-ball last week but there was some event using the gym. We don't have high hopes for the quality of play but we thought we would give it a try.

The chicken missing a bunch of feathers was giving herself a dirt bath today. I didn't know chickens did that. And when she was laying all cool in the dirt the other mean chicken came and tried to peck more feathers out. Our garden is doing alright but we have bugs chewing on our green beans and basil and there just isn't enough sun to make things thrive. However, the lettuce and spinach are happy campers.

Greyson and I (alright mostly me) have been pondering kitten choices. We were talking about getting another siamese and then I saw bengal cats that are pretty cool. Then I looked at their price tag.... And I haven't told Greyson but I might want to get 2 kittens at once. So that means I probably won't be getting them for a long time.

Work was slow the last couple of weeks but should pick up soon. I am heading down to La Grande area for the week of June 19th and July 3rd to do some plant, animal and wetland surveys. Greyson is busy getting his business card and website together. Ada is now on stimulants for the rest of her life to keep from dripping. Miles is in hunting mode when he isn't sleeping. The hummingbirds are mad that I didn't keep their feeder full yesterday and have dwindled in numbers today. I am thinking about washing the car but that may have to wait until tomorrow. That's all from me for now.

-Mel

Dean family update

Well…Emma did give herself a haircut- on one side- but she has such thick curly hair- it wasn’t real noticeable.  I need to take her in for another “real” hair cut here soon.  Our trip to Neskowin turned out to be a disaster- with a rude salesman, bird poop in their pool and no beach access- so I asked my husband to pick up camp- and we headed out the next morning.  We found a great campsite called Sea and Sand- near Lincoln City- thanks to Mom and Dad’s guide to camping in the Pacific Northwest book.  We plan to spend the summer checking out these sites rated 9 and 10’s in their book (actually I”ve ordered the newer version- and will return your book mom and dad when I see you again).  We are scheduled to return to Sea and Sand June 23rd and 24th.  We are then going to try out Cape Disappointment that following weekend.  Its pretty amazing how fast the state parks fill up- so I’m trying to book ahead.

Sea Haven looks and sounds great- the Dean family is excited…it sounds perfect for lots of small kids.  I’m counting down the days to school being out- I just wrote my biology and forensic science finals.  I’m still waiting to hear back on two other grants I wrote.  Kalena is keeping us busy- her height and advanced climbing skills- keep us from sitting down and relaxing much.  Her big sister likes to let her escape to the outdoors- so that’s also been a challenge lately.  Brian has been busy with work and fixing the truck.  He’s told me all about the mechanical details- but as my family knows- most of this makes very little sense to me- so I would not be able to repeat the problem- but I did hear the words brake pads and rotors- often.  Brian’s parents have a new filly- their pregnant mare gave birth a few weeks ago- so we are headed down to Creswell to celebrate his grandparents 70th wedding anniversary and to see the new baby.  I’m going to take lots of pictures.  Well I need to get back to work- it never ends.  Take care.  Oh- Porter children- my community ed class is July 10th to the 14th if you would like to attend? Its from 2-4 pm- science camp in my classroom. 

they're back...

I have been on hummingbird duty the last couple of days. They go through about 3 refills a day so I have to make up a batch of sugar water every morning to keep the three feeders from going dry. I tried to get a good picture of them but this is the most I could get. There are about 6 in this picture. I have seen 8-10 at one time so there must be a bunch of them out there. I braved the rain for a bit today to go cut off all the old lilac blooms. I will try to get the rhody's done tomorrow.

I was in Olympia for the last part of the week at a training for writing WADOT BAs. A BA (biological assessment) is written whenever a federally funded or sponsored activity is planned to address the actions of the project on threatened and endangered species. They had a very hard test at the end of it to qualify for writing these assessment and I am not sure if I passed or not. I went with my new manager and he is positive he didn't pass. So we may be having some more study sessions before the next testing session in a couple of months. I also have a new project at work to go down and help with wetland delineation in the La Grande area and then do some GIS work for that. I also have another wetland delineation to assist with for a new waterpipe project in Washougal that is going to be built across the Washougal River. I am feeling a little happier with the new possibilities arising in my job.

I am sick of this rain. Isn't it supposed to be summer soon?

-Mel