My Happy Place: The Yard

On the 12th, Nathanael brought his boys to our place.  While Annie watched the four little kids, Nate helped me with yard work.  Somehow, Randy also heard about the work day and joined us.  With two strong helpers, we made huge progress all around the yard.

I'd just purchased a pipe cutter and we used it to create posts for my garden out of steel pipes that had been laying around the yard for thirty years. 
I also repurposed 4"x4" fence posts for my two new garden trellises.  Randy helped me install the posts for a 20' trellis for my non-cherry tomatoes, and another 8' one for the  cucumbers I will grow.  Nate topped the Gravenstein apple tree.  And both of them helped me haul Alder logs from where they'd been left by the tree-trimmers back in 2019.  I will split them and add them to my firewood supply.

Nate and I also found timbers I had not noticed in our wooded area that I rarely explore.  We hauled these out of the woods and I later turned them into low steps in my new expanded garden. 

Charis and Jonny helped a bit too.  They carried small apple tree logs after I chain sawed the tree into woodstove sized pieces.  They also had fun making mud soup in one of my planter pots, even picking green onions to add to it.  Speaking of buckets, I've collected scores of all sizes of pots and buckets from all over the yard.

Nancy and Annie worked on clearing away some of the tangle of forsythia, climbing roses, and blackberries outside the library window.

His Father's Eyes and His Mother's Mouth

Jean asked that I visit from time to time to let her get a break.  On Thursday the 24th I made my first trip to Berrydale for the sole purpose of spending quality time with Galen.  Of course, I still got to play with Luna too.

On this first visit, Joel took the opportunity to give Luna a bath in the tub.  I also collected dog hair which is said will scare away rats and squirrels from garden areas.  

A Surprise
Sitte Visit

On the 28th, the Sitte's made a surprise visit at dinner time.

Charis and Valerie found Galen very entertaining.

Early in the month I had promised Joel one of my Mystery snails, which I presented on this visit.

Nancy and I made a return visit to their house on the 31st.  I held Galen, and fell asleep on the couch, while Nancy helped prepare for an April 2nd gathering to welcome my sister Laurie and her husband Tom on a rare visit to the Northwest.

Bits and Pieces 

After a 12-hour mediation session on March 3rd, a settlement in the assortment of lawsuits between our west side neighbor and a multitude of defendants over water damage to their property, which we first learned about on Halloween 2020, may have been reached this month.  At least my own stress level has finally relaxed.  This would have been a bigger crisis for us had not PEMCO stepped in to fund our legal defense and settlement cost.

Senate Bill 5078 passed in Washington State this month.  It prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution, selling, and offering for sale of “ammunition feeding devices” with the capacity to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The bill goes into effect July 1.  While this new law will do great harm to the firearms industry in Washington, it does not outlaw the possession of standard or large capacity magazines that were purchased before July 1, 2022.  My own magazines are not in jeopardy since I had not planned to add to my collection.

I'm a stock trading coward.  I've been out of the market for many months, expecting the current bubble to burst.  The war in Ukraine makes me especially leery.  But inflation pushed me into making a single trade this month.  I bought 5000 shares of Nokia (NOK) at $4.85 on the 10th and sold them on the 18th at $5.31, locking in the $2,300 gain over just eight days and about 15 minutes effort.  Had I held the stock until the 30th, I could have made another $1,400.

Sunday the 27th was my first visit to church since the start of the pandemic.  I went to UPC with Annie and the girls while Thomas was back in Connecticut visiting his brother Tim.  I was surprised to see two new high-rise buildings in the University District.

Toward the end of this month, Susan suffered a minor heart attack, if any heart attack can be said to be minor.  She received a stent at Evergreen Medical Center and is resting at a friend's condo in Kirkland.  Nancy visits when that friend needs to be away so that Susan is not left alone.  This has been a huge surprise to all of us since Susan is such an avid biker and skier.

While Galen was down for a nap, Jean caught this photo of me doing the same.  I would nap every afternoon if I wasn't so behind on my cleaning out, studying, and gardening.