Miscellaneous Stuff!

Yucky, you say?!  But that is what the blue-green algae looks like on our nearby lake.  They’ve closed down most of the parks in the town that are on the water’s edge, warning not to drink(?) the water, or swim in it…as if anyone would!  This nasty stuff not only looks bad, but has the odor of an open sewer.  Even on my trips to Safeway, which is about 15 blocks from the water, the smell is enough to knock you over.  Imagine living on the shore.  We had this same algae last year and are SO glad our houseboat is out of it this year and safe at home.  Some places take high powered water hoses and try to wash it out away from the shore, but it drifts back.  I’m afraid the only cure for it is to wait until rains come and wash it away.  We don’t usually see that until October.

Other than that, not a lot has been going on here.  It’s been warm but not unbearably hot here.  The lawns have turned mostly blond in the forever-sun and the fire danger climbs.  The winds keep me awake at nights sometimes.

Work has been good for me this summer with August promising to be another busy month.  School sports starts gearing up in August as well (even though school doesn’t start until after Labor Day for Max) with soccer tryouts and practices.  There is also a freshman orientation later in the month that Max is looking forward to.  No word yet on the new Band instructor---but I’m trying to dig up some news. 

The chickens are doing great, but no eggs yet.  They are all growing and Charlie is in good voice.  A few nights ago he started crowing at 1 in the morning, so Hubby went out to see what was up.  Nothing appeared to be wrong, but he might have scared something away that was frightening the chickens (who nest in their protective metal shed at night).  Upon Hubby’s return to the bed, Charlie was silent….for the rest of the night too.  We blocked a couple of iffy spots near the fence bottom of their yard the next day.  No more night crowing!

Enjoy the rest of the summer and no complaining about the heat---winter will be upon us sooner than you think!