A big fish story

We had a very brief visit with my sister-in-law, Karen, and niece, Melissa, yesterday. It was wonderful to see them, especially Melissa. She lives and works on Whidbey Island in Washington state, so we don't see her nearly as much as we'd like. Yesterday was her last day in Raleigh, and although we stressed to her that she shouldn't feel any obligation to try to see us this time, she (and her mom) insisted. They ended up driving almost six hours total (round trip) to spend only three hours at our house! Melissa's flight home was at 6am this morning so they couldn't stay any longer than that. Gregg and I were both touched that she made such an effort for us. 

George and Poppy adore Melissa

Melissa works as an environmental legal expert for Whidbey Camano Land Trust, which is kind of her dream job. She stays in a beautiful little cabin on the island that looks like something from a fairy tale, and spends most of her free time outdoors, hiking and swimming and backpacking and having adventures. Karen made her tell us a story about an experience she had earlier this year that I wanted to share here.

So, one day back in the spring Melissa was out paddle boarding in the ocean with a friend. They were about 30 or 40 yards offshore, not very far, but the tide was high. A bunch of seals were swimming around them, which she said was cool because they're friendly and harmless. But then, all of a sudden, the seals disappeared and everything got really still. It seemed strange. 

Just when she was starting to wonder why things felt so strange and why the seals disappeared......an orca whale swam up beside her! It was up at the surface, not breaching but with its uppermost parts sticking out of the water, and it was less than 10 feet from her! Can you imagine?

Of course, being Melissa, she said she stayed calm and watched it until it disappeared beneath the waves. She said she didn't really feel nervous (until after it was over) and just watched in awe as the giant swam beside her. Then, just as quickly as it had arrived, it was gone. 

This will be a cherished memory for her for the rest of her life. As for me, I think I'd have had a heart attack on the spot! 

Sixteen!

 

Way back on August 9th, 2010, I wrote my very first ever blog post, so that means today is Sparrow Tree Journal's 16th birthday! 

I can hardly believe it. When I started I had no clue that I'd still be posting here all these years later. I also didn't know how important the friends I'd make along the way would become to me. You all add color and richness to my life, and for that I'm truly grateful. Thank you for being here!

xx

Jennifer

This will be my 1,649 published post. 

A change in the air

It's subtle, for the most part. A shift in the angle of light in the afternoons, slightly later sunrises. The green of the vegetation outside my window looks older, tired. Several days of lower humidity even though it's still hot. Summer won't last forever.

Some signs are NOT subtle. I took these pictures at Walgreen's and Sam's this weekend:

As much as I look forward to autumn, in my opinion it's way too early to be thinking about Halloween. But that's retailers for you. Always on to the next opportunity to sell us something. 

A very grand birthday

There's a big family event coming up next week up in Raleigh, NC. My late mother-in-law's husband, Lou, is turning 90 years old! His son and daughter have planned a large party to celebrate and of course we were invited. You'd never guess he's ninety years old. While naturally he's slowing down some, he still functions like a healthy seventy-something. Drives, plays golf, lives alone with minimal help, and is still pretty mentally sharp. He never seems to change much as the years keep rolling by. If only we could all be so lucky, huh?

Gregg's brother and sister-in-law will be driving up from Jacksonville (Florida) for the party, and his niece Melissa is flying in from Washington state. His sister Karen and her son and his family live in Raleigh, so of course they'll be there already. Coincidently, Karen shares a birthday with Lou, which is part of the reason her daughter and brother are traveling so far to be there. Lou has his own big family from his first marriage (he was a widower in his 60s when he married my mother-in-law): grown children and grandchildren and in-laws and old family friends.  

Unfortunately, Gregg and I decided to send our regrets and not go. The biggest reason is that Gregg will be starting some major dental work a few days prior to the party, and he's likely not going to feel up to it. It's a three-hour drive away, no fun even without a sore mouth, and large social gatherings really aren't his favorite thing to begin with. He's also going to be somewhat self-conscious about his smile until the dental work is complete. I'm sure Lou will understand.

We will get to see Karen and Melissa, though! When Melissa heard that her favorite uncle wasn't going to make it up to Raleigh, she made a plan with her mom to drive down to see us for a few hours the day before she flies home. I can tell Gregg's really pleased about it. And there's a pretty good chance that at some point next weekend his brother Gary will stop by on his way up or down I-95 (Florence sits right alongside I-95 and there are two exits within a mile or so of our house). It will be good to see any or all of them!

This morning I mailed birthday cards to Lou and Karen, since they share the same day: August 4th. I hope they make it in time. 

July is winding down

I'll be so glad when this summer is over. It's been dreadfully hot, even by South Carolina standards. I seem to get less and less tolerant of the heat the older I get, and I just can't seem to enjoy anything this time of year. Even my friend's pool offers no relief; the water is as warm as a sauna. Forget doing much of anything outside, with heat values over 100 degrees day after day. I realized today that one of the reasons I don't mind working all summer is that I'd just be sitting inside my house hiding out in the a/c. I might as well be at work in the a/c earning money. I get paid for 30 more days of work each year than the teachers do, and I wouldn't be going on vacation during that time anyway. 

I've had a little bit of fun this summer, though. I've read two books recently: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (for my book club) and then the new book by Daniel Mason, Country People. The Midnight Library was a quick read and mildly entertaining, although nothing really special. It did lead to some interesting conversation at book club, though. Country People is wonderful. Daniel Mason wrote one of my all-time favorite novels, North Woods, so I ordered a copy as soon as it was released. I really enjoyed it. Reading is great fun when you're stuck in the house!

Then Marla came over last Saturday afternoon and spent several hours with me. I made strawberry daiquiris from some of the fresh local strawberries I'd put in the freezer back in April, along with some snacks: a hot Rotel dip in the crockpot, cold sour cream/ranch dip, potato and tortilla chips for dipping, King's Hawaiian Ham and Swiss sliders, and caramel turtle brownies. I also made a pitcher of iced tea for when the daiquiris got cloying (which never happened, haha). 

The dogs were absolutely thrilled to see her, as usual. She was actually with me the day I first met George at the Darlington County Humane Society back in 2013. She loves both the dogs like she loves her own pets, and they know it. As soon as I saw her car pull into the driveway I announced, "MARLA IS HERE!" and Poppy and George nearly tripped over themselves running for the door to greet her. 

Speaking of the dogs, we used to sometimes call Ginger "Gingerbread". This afternoon, Marco called Poppy "Gingerbread" and when I said, "That's not Gingerbread, silly. That's Poppy." he sat there for a second and then called her "Baby Bread" instead! How stinkin' cute is that? It makes me so happy that he hasn't forgotten Ginger even though she's been gone almost 6 years now. We still miss her so much.

Today was the first day back at work for the teachers and most of the staff. It was so good to see everyone again and to meet the new teachers coming on board! We started the day with a catered breakfast and some time to catch up, which was nice. After that my office was a popular place, because as the bookkeeper I had the teachers' supply checks to give out! (Every teacher gets a $400 check at the beginning of the year to spend on whatever they want for their classrooms.) 

Tomorrow most of the staff will be at professional development, including me. I'll be up at one of the administrative buildings all day for the annual bookkeepers' meeting/training. It was great the first year or two when I was still a newbie, but these days it's just a lot of the same old, same old and boring PowerPoint presentations. It will be good to see the other district bookkeepers and the accountants, but other than that I wish I didn't have to go. Still, I marvel every day at how lucky I am to have a job I love. I got my updated salary letter the other day and this year I have an annual increase of 8%...a really solid, nice raise! So I won't complain about boring meetings and training sessions. 

The students will return next Wednesday, so summer break is winding down for them, too. 

Strays

So, we're still feeding the feral mama cat and two of her original four kittens that I wrote about previously. 

The two little tabbies disappeared a while back, but the others are still around and growing up fast. I know we shouldn't encourage feral strays that we can't afford to keep, but we can't stand to think of them going hungry or not having fresh clean water to drink. 

I mean, just look at this cute little cat family:

The kittens show up twice a day, usually accompanied by their mama, and wait by the fence for us to bring out some Meow Mix. The youngsters back away while we put the food out, but they're getting bolder by the day. Mom, on the other hand, never runs and prefers to stand her ground when we approach. She usually growls or hisses a little at us, too. (Some gratitude! Ha!) 

Here she is on her favorite place to hang out, a tiny concrete bench over on my neighbor's side. When I took this photo she was opening her mouth to hiss at me....

...but the hiss quickly became a yawn instead. :)

A film on the Fourth

July is here, and with it another (almost) record heat wave. It's not even cooling down very much at night. In fact, I think it just gets more unbearably humid as the sun sets. I hate the feeling that I'm missing out on so much of the season, but I just can't stand the heat. The motivation to do much of anything just isn't there!

Speaking of which, the 4th was the hottest day of the year so far, so we stayed at home. About two miles up the highway (at a large soccer complex) the city put on a big event: live music, food trucks, games and vendors, and then a drone light show followed by a massive 30-minute fireworks display.  It was supposed to go on until 10:30pm, and it sounded like it did. I'm not a fan of large crowds on a good day, much less when it's 100 degrees outside. So instead of going out, we grilled hot dogs and fresh corn on the cob for our supper and had ice cream for dessert.

When it started to get dark, we watched a movie: Project Hail Mary. I'm not usually much of a sci-fi fan, but I like Ryan Gosling and the movie had great reviews. And I absolutely loved it! The special effects were better than fireworks, and the story was just wonderful, full of sadness but also hope and quite a bit of humor. It was, without a doubt, the best film I've seen in ages and a great choice for the Fourth of July. I plan to watch it again soon. 

Slim pickings and a question

Here are some of the scant handfuls of veggies I've managed to harvest from this year's struggling summer garden. Not pictured: a quart size Ziplock full of green beans and a couple more cucumbers (they're in the refrigerator). Sadly, these photos are the sum total of my tomato production so far. 

I got exactly one Black Sea Man tomato before all three of the plants got a disease and died. It had a nice flavor, but still....one is just enough to be a tease. 

I did slice it thin and tried to make a nice presentation of it. :)

Finally, I have a question for all you vegetable gardeners out there. I bought a 4-pack of what was supposed to be yellow crookneck squash plants at Lowe's a couple of months ago. I'm not sure what these are, but they're decidedly NOT yellow crookneck squash! 

Can anyone identify this for me? Please and thank you!