Summer's Here...So is Fire Season!

We have a small troupe of chipmonks that like to steal food from the bird feeder out on the back porch. The kids have affectionally named them, "Chip-monkey Goodness", and they get rather excited when they are at the feeder in the mornings. I finally got a decent picture of one of them, so here it is.


Well, I suppose since the temperatures were up so much on the 4th of July, it shouldn't be a surprise that we have a nearby wildfire. The Easy Street fire started around 2pm on saturday, in the hills north of Wenatchee. I've heard it was started by pyrotechnics, but also heard it was someone 'breaking' the burn-ban by trying to do a controlled burn. Don't know what the truth is, but that person has been charged by the authorities. Today, I drove up highway 2 and could see the blackened hills, and it was pretty clear how close the fire came to some of the houses on the hill. There was no visible smoke today, and the spokesman on the radio says it is now 80 percent contained, and hope it'll be fully contained by tomorrow evening. So, a little excitement, but it is far enough away from us that we need not worry.





I have to say that I had such a good time going to that last quilt show (alone, mind you) that now I want to go to a show every weekend! Unfortunately, there isn't a quilt show being held every weekend....I'd be luck if I could find one per month! I have a few on a list that I plan to go to. If you know of a quilt show anywhere in Washington (shoot, even Northern Idaho), please tell me about it! I just may go!

I had a blast from the past...When I was in fifth grade camp, the counselors had us all singing a tune called "I've Got the Malathyon blues." The jist was that it was a 'bad' thing for the spraying back then. I recalled this recently, as there are a couple of guys spraying up river here to spare us the bad mosquitos. THANK GOODNESS!!!! We're quite thankful for the relief (really, it was so bad that they could drain a cow dry in about 5 minutes!). Anyhow, it made me remember back in the day when California areas were being carpet-sprayed with Malathyon (targeting the mediterrainian fruit fly) from teams of helicopters flying overhead. I can remember the rumble of the windows as the helicopters flew over. All I knew is that even though it was fun to watch the helicopters, it was bad to be outside when they flew directly over our house. One time, I got caught outside, and was so scared that I didn't know which way to run...A neighbor man ran out in the middle of the street, grabbed me under his arm, and ran us both into his house. Like he was saving me from poison...it was dramatic. Anyway, I don't know what the concentration was back then, but the spray they're using out here is quite dilute, 'not enough to kill a fly, just a mosquito!" So the kids are enjoying watching the tracter come through, spraying for mosquitos. It has helped tremendously!