ROBUST DAY

Early robust birdsong before dawn had fully lit the sky.

Early robust morning coffee aroma blending with the unfolding day’s scents.

Now I know why Bob liked this time of day, best 😉

I checked my FB Page; and had a Friend Request: granted 😊 We’ll see where it goes; I’m not good with new friendships. I’m too much for most people – too vociferous on too many topics; too much energy for people my age (65½); too interested in what’s going on, that in any way affects my personal life/livelihood; too much woman – just plain too much for most people. It takes a robust person, comfortable in their own skin, to be in my Tribe.

Then, I checked my Blog … and saw that one of my posts had been featured in the‘Craftastic Monday’ Blog Hop – I am glad others will be utilizing my patterns: they have been designed for a worthy cause.

Featured on 'Craftastic Monday' Blog Hop.

(http://www.sewcando.com/2022/05/craftastic-monday-link-party_22.html)

As I was shutting the laptop down, Pam called and asked if I wanted to go walking with her out at Willow Grove; she knew it was Little Cloud’s birthday today (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/05/little-clouds-birthday.html), and she knew my spirit needed to be uplifted – plus, I’m always up for a stretching of the legs 😊

Pam and I go back a loooong way in friendship: just out of high school. New brides – new mothers. We lived in the same small hamlet town. For a while, we attended the same local church. We know the same people.

The walking … and the talking, is easy and carefree. We’ve been friends a long time.

We noticed the river was busy with fishermen, hoping to land a nice fat salmon. We also noticed that viewing platforms are being built out over the river in specific places. I’m not happy to see this new development: Discovery Passes requirements to utilize the Park, are sure to follow ☹

Viewing Platforms being built at Willow Grove.

When we’d finished our morning walk, I dropped Pam off at her house and came home to plant my sprouted bush beans, cucumber, and corn seeds; and to broad-spread carrot seed in two planter boxes: rain is forecasted for the weekend, but the seeds needed watered this afternoon … especially the sprouted ones, if they are to robustly thrive.

As I was watering the various seeded boxes, I noticed that tiny apples were appearing on the Patio Apple Trees. I hadn’t expected any because of the late-season surprise snowfall and continuing cold snap that delayed Spring, here. But I am happy to see these little robust fruits!

Apples! Apparently, the surprise freeze didn't stunt the output.

Baby Apples on both trees.

After I was done dinking around in my garden area, I came inside and washed my muddy fingers; and got ready for my Zoom Meet with what I assumed were friends. Things went south quickly – remember how I said I am too much for some people? Well, until tonight, everything had been moving along smoothly and amicably: tonight, I didn’t grieve the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings robustly enough to satisfy everyone. People who are pro-choice (which is actually pro-abortion, just a pussy-footing way to embrace it), were robustly upset because I said “all lives matter” … that comment started a race war … and I just left the whole damned thing to fall in on itself. I also will not be attending any more of their Zoom Meets. I don’t make room for that kind of nonsense in my life.

Especially with people who claim to be Christians!

Admittedly everyone (except me, because I don’t have a TV running 24-7-365 in my home & I don't subscribe to the news rags), was highly emotional to start with, because of the shootings; but the race-baiting really was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. I don’t engage in those types of games: and those types of games have NO PLACE in Christianity.

Elohim does not see people by the color of their skin. And Christians should be above that type of sterotyping.

Though they were very robust in their hypocritical piety – they lacked the robustness of a solid Christian foundation. In short, they showed themselves to be very shallow people with a racist bent (they assumed I am 'white' because my skin is light). It was a sad revelation (they courted me - I did not seek them out); but it did show just how critically divided we, as a Nation are.

And I should have known it would end this way, because they showed themselves at the Sedar, when they were snarkily, and kinda angrily surprised that Stan (a good looking black man) had married a white woman; rather than 'one of thier own'.

The girl with the braid is Stan's wife.

I should have known that they would also turn on me when hot-topic buttons got 'touched'. I was tracked down after the Seder, and pressed to join their Zoom Meets. I see now that I was just a body count to meet their Meet status. In the angry byplay, I found tonight, that I had not been fully embraced as a Friend: friends do not devour one another.

And I never engaged in high school popularity games – I don't intend to, now. Especially when they are poisonously tinged with racism in all it's ugly showings.

I won’t miss them.

I’m sure they won’t miss me.

And I’m robustly okay with that 😉

pelosi BARRED FROM PARTAKING OF COMMUNION

ALL CHURCH LEADERS – across domination boards - SHOULD FOLLOW SUIT!

pelosi barred from partaking of Communion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWz6Em-H_8I

pelosi is a wickedly narcissistic person, who truly believes she makes her own rules – and that everyone else needs to fall in line with her dictates.

biden should also be barred.

Known abortion supporters in local churches, should be barred from receiving Communion, too.

ABSOLUTELY.

LITTLE CLOUD’S BIRTHDAY

 

Today is my daughter’s 48^th birthday.

In 1974, I didn’t know I needed a husband – I knew I wanted Bob in my life … I just wasn’t sure marriage was the ticket. But Elohim knew: and Bob knew. I’m glad I “came around”, and understood it, too 😉

When we brought our baby daughter home, I wasn’t sure I would be a good Mother – I hadn’t had any good role models to draw from. But Elohim knew … and Bob knew. And I was. I wish with all my heart that our daughter would come to understand it, too, before time runs out.

FORGIVENESS POST: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/10/forgiveness.html

Today is Little Cloud’s Birthday.

I hope it is a good Day for her; wherever she may be.

1st BD; May 24th, 1976

1976

Cat Steven’s – ‘Wild World’ song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtX5xDzaMro) 

She was the sparkle in her Daddy’s eye (Bob wanted a girl: I gave him a girl), and she was the joyous hope in my eyes. I am still hopeful.

1975

But I’m not going to dwell on should-of’s and what if’s.

I'm going to be doing all of this before nightfall.

COUNTRY CLAY

Rain is forecasted for Memorial Day Weekend, so I decided to get the Plot Bouquets made up this morning … and ferry them to the Eden Valley Cemetery.

Bob by Eden Valley Cemetery entrance when I was placing bouquets on Grandpa & Grandma Smalley’s Plot; May 25^th, 2009. Now, what’s left of Bob is there, permanently.

Grandpa & Grandma Smalley's Bouquet - L; & Bob's w-solar lamp - R

Dad Hargand's Bouquet - L; & Bob's - R

Snugly packed for safe transport.

Eden Valley Cemetery from Heron Pointe; via Ocean Beach Highway - 53 mins.

Driving the Eden Valley Road, I was crowded to the side of the road by 2 bicyclists on those fat-tired bikes … I was content to follow them at a comfortable distance, but the man seemed nervous about his wife as she wobbled ahead of him, and with a thin-lipped grimace, waved me around them. I knew I should have stayed where I was, but I could see how nervous he was that I was even there, behind them as they wobbled along on those silly looking bikes; so, I drove around them v.e.r.y.s.l.o.w.l.y. and totally mudded my car out going through the wet patch I had been crowded into. I was not happy when I arrived at the cemetery and saw the Highlander. It would need washing when I got back home ☹

I had been listening to the Tracey Byrd CD Bob had burned off a few years ago; maybe that’s why I cried after I slipped Bob’s bouquet arrangement into the wrought iron marker, at out Plot.

Tracey Byrd – ‘Trying Not To Love You’ song:(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quEK8uoJT5c)

I’m not really trying not to love Bob … but I am actively rebuilding a New Life. It’s hard – the intense love I had for Bob is still very much alive. I know my heart will always belong to Bob. It was always his; his physical death does not change how my heart still feels.

But the tears, today, did surprise me. I’ve been able to visit the cemetery for a while now, without tears – I wasn’t expecting them to roll down my face today.

But they showed up: and slowed me up for a few minutes.

I didn’t dilly-dally around getting back home like I normally would do: at $5+ for a gallon of gas, I just drove straight there, and back; I am not a rich widow. Since the obama-biden coup, my dilly-dallying has been sharply curtailed. When I parked the car at home, I got the car washing stuff out of the shed and got busy washing the gunky clay spray off the Highlander.

Mud-splashed car needed washed when I got home.

Front, sides, undercarriage, tire wells ... e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. needed to be sprayed down before washing could begin.

Half of a hatched bird's egg; it matched today's sky color.

A black hawk helicopter flew overhead – and was so low in the sky, its bulk shadowed the car as I hosing off the front end.

Clumps of wet clay was littering the carport pavement. Those would have to be hosed away before the warmth of the sun hardened them in place, making them difficult to remove.

I had just finished washing the car, and was preparing to back it up further into the carport so I could clear up the muddy clay clumps mess, when Coal Creek friends called and invited me over for a chat session followed by Supper. I said I needed to hose the mud clumps off the carport pavement, and I’d be there in about half an hour: I didn’t bother changing my clothes – I just slipped my feet out of my soaked sneakers and into flip-flops: we’re country folks, and knew they’d understand if I showed up ‘as is’ 😉

WHITE TAIL TRAIL~Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

I was up at 5 A.M. this morning.

By 6 A.M., I was cataloguing the Daytrips I’d made Solo Lobo; by the time I got to the last Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge walk of 2021, around 9 A.M., I was in the mood to drive there and stretch my legs a bit 😉

So, I did 😊

There was a lull in the rainfall – and because I have a cold sore on my lip, I didn’t want to be around people: the Wildlife Refuge Trail was perfect for a house escape.

I’ve always had cold sores on my lip – same place, all my life. They usually appear sporadically in the winter time and disappear completely in the Spring: sometimes a stressful situation will cause them to show up; but I haven’t had one in years. Until now. These past 9 days, there’s been a lot going on, and though none of it personally applies to me – it does apply to the lives of five of my friends, thereby applying to my life, indirectly. Hence the lip blister.

Cold sores are reported to be contagious, but Bob never got one … and we kissed. A lot; we were married for 44 years, and Bob never suffered a lip blister – or any other type of blister (me neither; only on my lip, right side). Stacey never got one either – if she ever gets one now, it’s not my fault. I was extra careful when I could feel a blister building up to a full-fledged appearance: I carefully hugged Bob and Stacey, but never kissed them until it disappeared. And I applied a liquid Campho-Phenique to the blister, which burned like hell, until the gelled stuff came along: it smells the same, but doesn’t make my lips sting, or my eyes water. I am thankful.

But people are weird about lip blisters, and I didn’t want to feel like a leper today – so, to Skamokawa, I went 😊

I topped the gas tank off before I got out of Dodge, and noticed that there had been a 51-cent price hike since I topped the tank off on May 4^th: The Highlander has barely left the carport this month due to all the rainfall.

Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge from Heron Pointe; 25 mins.

A 51-cent price hike; right on schedule: the political games never end – they just take a 6 month hiatus >:-P

Steamboat Slough White Tail Trail Hike: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/steamboat-slough-and-white-tail-trail-loop

Driving to the Trailhead, I was happy to note that the dangerously leaning tree hovering over Steamboat Slough Road, has been removed; thank God. That thing scared me every time I drove under it to get to the trailhead; I kept expecting it to fall all the way over and crush the Highlander, and me. I’m glad it has been removed.

Leaning tree; August 14^th, 2021. Gone, today.

When I stepped out of the Highlander, the first thing I noticed was a striking red clover patch just to the side of the trail entrance – I learned today that the Name of this trail I’ve been walking solo lobo for at least 2 years on a fairly regular basis, is called White Tail Trail. I’ve been calling it The Center Trail; but that’s misleading because a Center Trail Road already exists with that name.

I stand corrected, and I will used the correct Name from now on 😊

A patch of brilliant red clover.

Tommy James & The Shondells – ‘Crimson and Clover’ song

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2GGz_O0eZ4)

The pink clover is the red clover at maturity.

It made me smile, remembering my niece telling me during a phone conversation, “You and Uncle Bob always liked that Crimson and Clover Song, didn’t you, Aunt Val?”

Yes, we did 😊

The song fit our young life, our lifelong passion, and our marital bliss.

Bob and me; 1976 – married 20 months & rolling in clover.

I was the only person on the trail today – I usually am, but sometimes an occasional bicyclist will breeze past me, and motorists will drive the main road that is still intact to fish off Hornstra’s Beach (Hornstra was a farmer that owned this piece of land before the State forced him to sell to make way for the Refuge; he was paid a pittance for his property – including the beachfront that carries his Name).

I thought long and hard about that when I saw the scattered feathers on the trail. There was a large red fox colony on Hornstra’s property – when the school bus would drive past, they would come out of their dens and watch it lumber down the roadway. They were so cute. I hope some escape the hunt to eradicate them. And if they are still around, I hope they stay hidden 😉

Purple wild vetch.

Natural dried Teasel heads - very hard & prickly Teasel:

(https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/identifying-weeds-teasel-dipsacus-fullonum)

Online pic of teasel head.

Teasel; flowering.

Health Benefits of Teasel:

(https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/teasel/)

Red-headed-pearl type grassy lower along the trail ...

Lilac& White lupine.

Bicolor blue Lupine in forefront, yellow Scotch Bloom, & purple lupine in background.

Lupine with lilac and pink blossoms.

Trail kill ...

Out-going geese; flew right over my head; they fly FAST!

In-coming geese - again, flew right over my head; I must have been standing on the goose runway. LOL

Geese in forefront - Mallard in the background.

The greedy Columbia River is still eroding the riverfront acreage.

Even though I walk the trail solo lobo now, I remember Bob walking it with me in 2017. Bob’s presence will always be with me. No matter what I do, or where I go: 44 years is a long time to share a life together. We did e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. together. It is impossible to separate the past from the present – it dovetails: its dovetailing is carrying me into the future with confidence.

Bob in January 2017; we had no idea he'd be in Heaven by January 2019.

Birdsong was all around me.

It was soothing.

It’s been a week; soothing is necessary.

Yellow flag lilies peeking out through the marshy tangle of swamp grasses & driftwoods.

An Egret on the mud flats.

St. John's Wort; another patch of yellow ... it sure brightens up the gray day.

A bit of raindrops; between a misting and an actual raining.

Had to escape the coop; hopefully the stress blister will settle down and go away.

The death hit hard. There was no sign at all that the Grim Reaper was hanging around Linda, waiting to pounce.

Turning the car towards home, I decided to take the Brook’s Road - a jump road - that exits the Refuge land. I was hoping I could get all the way through without any handicapping snafu’s 😉

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the road has been tended to  – not perfectly, but enough that it was no longer a hazardous minefield. Joy and jubilation! Last time I drove it, it was a mine field of deep potholes, blacktop worn away to the gravel road foundation, and grass growing up through the road cracks that whisked along the car’s undercarriage: it was more a goat trail, than the road it used to be: but, it’s a passable road again, now 😊

Brooks Slough Road has been tended to. YAY!

(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/07/convergence.html)

I crossed over Ocean Beach Highway onto Risk Road, intending to merge with the Elochoman Road which would take me over Beaver Creek Road – depositing me onto Ocean Beach Highway again further up the road towards home.

Plus, it’s a nice country drive 😉

But, Risk Road was closed! I hailed some locals and asked, “What gives with the road closure?” I was told there’s a project underway: no elaboration … I found the explanation later on at home – online.

This side road looped me right back to the Game Refuge Entrance.

Closures for the Ferry & for Risk Road: https://www.waheagle.com/story/2022/05/05/news/closures-ahead-for-ferry-risk-road/20778.html

When I got back home, I saw that the herb transplants I’d ordered finally arrived. I was glad … but I was also peeved; I have been home for weeks – and the one day I finally decide to break out of Dodge, Territorial Seeds decides to engage with UPS! Thank God they hadn’t been lifted by light fingers while I was gone. Because candy scott (the Park manager, here) does not do her job efficiently (like background checks, as she’s supposed to do for those wishing to live here), there has been an increase in thefts by bold thieves that troll carports where cars are missing, to lift and make away with anything and everything not nailed down (including cars – in broad daylight).

French Tarragon - VERY pungent and can cause my lungs to seize up; but I like the flavor in meals

My fuchsia bloomed! I hope it thrives & over-winters excellently. 

The Park, once a nice little neighborhood (That’s why we moved here in 2017: before candy became ‘manager’ and half the Park packed up and fled), is filling up with questionable characters – the main one being the current “Park Manager”. Murder and mayhem: that is candy’s MO.

I did not want to dwell on candy’s ineptitude. Dwelling on her rotten character and her slipshod way of doing business, would only lead to why I am now a widow ☹ I did not want to dwell on thoughts concerning candy scott.

Instead, I redirected my thoughts, and got busy busting my ass. Literally 😊

10-minute Core Workout for Seniors: Blast Away Belly Fat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gBaZupuqwc)