Well the “summer” (May/June/July/August) in the Seattle area
finished by setting a new record for a dry – less than one inch of rain for the
entire four months. Of course with all
the smoke from the numerous, almost continuous forest fires in Oregon, east
Washington & BC thru-out those months, it wasn’t that sunny most of the
time.
Saturday late morning, 01SEP, we headed to a Parson Russell
Terrier (aka Jack Russell Terrier) breeder to possibly rescue/adopt a dog. As we noted in our BLOG we had to put our
last dog Gumbo (also a Jack) down in Alaska, July 2015. Now we feel comfortable with bringing another
dog into our life.
First we searched the internet to rescue a Jack Russell. For some reason we found only one website
covering Idaho, Oregon & Washington; & that site listed only eight dogs
(with only two nearby)? It was also
discouraging that the site charged for their service ($200+), & had what we
felt was an intrusive vetting questionnaire.
We know as a non-profit they need to cover their costs, & they are trying
to insure adopters truly know about this hi-energy breed to ensure the dogs don’t
end up in rescue organization again; but we felt there had to be an easier
process?
Anyway, we eventually learned of a kennel about two hours away
that had two dogs that the breeder wanted to place with a family (or
families). We drove to the kennel planning
on adopting the older female; but headed home w/two dogsJ!!! Meet Bella the eight year old female; &
Rocket the one year old male.
The next day, Sunday, Corrie spent the morning buying
replacement dog stuff. That afternoon
was the Danker’s annual end of summer party for those that live on our section
of Reiner Rd. Even though we only see
each other once a year at this gathering, as always it was great to reconnect,
& a great end to the summer!
Sunday evening, 09SEP, we headed into Monroe for the yearly Bird
Night Out. This event is timed for the annual
return of Vaux Swifts as they migrate south for the winter. Unfortunately we missed the town sponsored
event by one day (ie yesterday). But
fortunately the swifts use the chimney at Wagoner school for several days on
their migration. Historically the birds
used “hollowed-out” trees for this; but thanks to loss of habitat, they now
depend on large abandoned chimneys (note – every “large” chimney is not
suitable). Quiet the sight, next year we
will get the date rightJ!
In late summer and early
fall, migrating Vaux's Swifts seek nighttime shelter in chimneys in the West,
Chimney Swifts in the East. A gathering of swifts waits until dusk to descend
into a chimney. The swifts enter in a continuous swirl. Each swift drops into
the opening with wings raised, feet first, to hang upright for the night by its
claws. To see a real swirl of swifts, visit Monroe, Washington, during the
month of September.
Thursday, 13SEP, Dan’s sister Sharon & husband Tim stopped
by for a visit for several hours.
Readers of our BLOG know that they reside in Kerrville, TX, & we
usually visit them once or twice a year when we were full time RV’ers. They have traveled to Washington to take care
of family business, & visit family & friends. They will return on Sunday, 16SEP, to spend a
couple of full days with us.
Sunday our daughter Rebecca, husband Raymond, grandkids Jaxson
& Mason drove over for a family dinner w/Sharon, Tim, & us. Late morning Monday Dan & Sharon visited
their aunt Mary Ann Lee in Sumner, WA (last visit three years ago). But first was lunch at Dairy Freeze (highly
recommended).
Sunday morning, 23SEP, we drove to Rebecca & Raymond’s house
in east Bremerton for grandson Mason’s fifth birthday (actual birthday
tomorrow, 24SEP). After arriving, we all
then loaded up two vehicles & headed to North Beach County Park (Jefferson
Co) for Mason’s favorite activity – hunting for sea glass. Several hours later we headed to Port
Townsend to find the town packed because a local film festival was
wrapping-up. Late lunch was pizza al
fresco from Waterfront Pizza & ice cream from Elevated Ice Cream. Then back to their house to open presents;
before taking the ferry home to Edmonds – naturally the ferry line was a one
hour waitL
Friday morning, 28SEP, we discover Dan’s phone no longer
charges. He spends most of day looking
for repair shop to fix USB port. Turns
out Motorola phones used to have USB port soldered directly to mainboard (ie
repair not possible); newer Motorola phones can now replace USB port. So back to Verizon to get the cheapest so
called smart phone they have. That afternoon
we headed to the Edmonds ferry to pick up grandkids; followed by their favorite
- dinner at chick-fil-a.
Sunday, 30SEP, we meet Rebecca & Raymond at Marymoor Park,
Redmond, WA, for Cirque du Soleil’s VOLTA (see below BLOG for last Cirque
production we saw). Two things we noted
right away were – everything was much more expensive; & the freebies (ie
lagniappe as Cajun say) are pretty much goneL! First tickets are now $15 per person higher;
parking has gone from $10 to $20 (note parking is run by Marymoor park not
Cirque); & forget refreshments. As
to freebies, it used to be as you entered the gated area you saw some of the
costumed performers walking around (not the main personnel but lessor
characters maybe involved in moving props, etc) – there were none this
time. Same thing for the entrance tent
where the concessions were; we are used to seeing one or two costumed
characters & maybe display(s) about other Cirque history or shows – no more. The only things to look at are the expensive concessions.
We would rate this show in the middle of all the Cirque shows we
have seen over the decades. One thing we
would say is it is clearly aimed at a younger crowd. Some acts are based on what you see on TV advertised
as extreme sports – trampoline/parkour, multiple gymnastic rings at one time, bmx
bikes, skates/skate boards, etc. As well
as a heavy metal rock guitar musician.
Must say that the grandkids (Jaxson & Mason) were enthralled!!! But we are starting to question if the expense is
worth it?
Other than that, the month of September was spent –
>trying to adjust to having two high energy dogs around
>harvesting the last of the vegetable garden (way too many
tomatoes) & preparing beds for next season
>lots & lots of canning
>getting broken truck window from end of August replaced
>many trips to Freightliner to check on RV repair
>and as always medical appointments
