I love a parade

At the coast last weekend we watched a great little 4th of July parade go by. It was Ole's first parade and his first time trying candy--what a happy kid! I'll spare you most of the photos because for some reason I felt a need to photograph every single float and classic car, but here are a few:

I asked if they dress up the dog for other holidays. "No," she said, "just the 4th." "Christmas?" I asked. "Well, yes, Christmas too."

Waiting for the parade with Grandma and Grandpa.

The veterans' float followed by a member of Tokeland's awesome unicycle club.

A sleigh of dogs. I'm not sure what that random shoe is all about.

He watched intently.

The pirate ship

Cool kiddie barrel cart

His Mariners cap literally brimming with booty.

Keeping cool

Summer turned HOT this week, and with no end in sight, we are all about keeping cool outside. That means water! It started with the plastic pool and now we're getting creative: add a slide and a garden hose to make a water slide. He quickly figured out that he can slide much faster in the buff.

Alex showed him the fine art of running through the sprinkler.

And this one should be captioned, "I don't know," a familiar phrase around here these days. It cracks me up as it's always accompanied by a dramatic shoulder shrug.

Flying jewel

I'd heard the distinctive zip of hummingbirds through the yard, so in early May I hung a new feeder near the front porch. I was so pleased when it was discovered that very first day. They've been coming every day since, zooming in and out of the yard. Thinking I'm hidden in the shadows of the porch, I slowly raise the camera to catch a shot. Each time I do, they disappear until the camera is put away (I've taken photos of every flower in the vicinity while patiently waiting for them to return).
Finally, oh finally!, I got one:

It's Calypte anna, Anna's Hummingbird, a permanent resident here in the northwest. I'm amazed seeing their display dive in the yard--the male flies a hundred feet in the air and then zooms straight down at nearly 60mph. They spread their tail feathers at the bottom of the dive to make a distinctive squeak. All to woo the ladies.
I could go on spouting hummingbird facts all day, but I'll get to my point.
Given their camera shyness, I was surprised when one flew right in the house this week. It was befuddled by all the windows in our dining room, trilling and pecking its tiny bill against each pane of glass, before finally giving up and perching on a high curtain rod to assess the situation.

I opened the french doors wide and tried some gentle shooing to no avail. Eventually, I did the thing that made the most sense--I hung a feeder from the chandelier and left it alone. Soon it had zipped away back outside.

So Ole, I said, what do you think of hummingbirds?

Oooooo!

Indeed. We've thoroughly enjoyed our new bird friends.

Woodn't it be nice?

This heaping pile of logs has graced our yard for several months now. We finally tackled it last month with the help of our trusty friends David, Scott, and Portia. With the chainsaw and log splitter roaring, we worked together without speaking, occasionally pointing and nodding.

Hour by hour we whittled the pile down until it was nearly gone. Then misfortune struck. After a quick lunch break, the splitter wouldn't start. Each of us tried to start it in disbelief. We moved on to other projects while the logs just sat there, taunting us.
A couple weeks and one can of starting fluid later, we were back up and running. Starting fluid, by the way, is some sort of magical spray that seems to start any broken engine. Alex and I finished off the pile in a couple of hours on a beautiful warm spring afternoon.

Then we just sat back to admire...

Raked and re-seeded and ready to grow.

We figure that we've got nearly five years of firewood split and neatly stacked. I can't tell you how nice that feels.

Mother's Day

I celebrated Mother's Day this weekend as a mother and a daughter. Ole gave me a little free time to rejuvenate with a solo bike ride while Alex visited his mom. Mom and I enjoyed our long-standing bonding activity--shopping. We browsed a Camas antique store to help furnish their new house. I got to sleep in and breakfast was served to me when I woke. All in all, a great weekend!

I am one lucky mama

Beautiful

The beach

My parents moved into their new house on the Washington coast this weekend. Of course, there was the customary Pacific Northwest welcome--rain. After (most of) the boxes were moved we hit the beach!

It was Ole's first visit to the Pacific--he ran straight for the surf.

Spring trim

Our handsome angora buck Milton and this corner hydrangea bush both got a buzz cut this spring. The hydrangea was much more cooperative, but trust me, the results are equally stunning. Here they are before:

Hunky husband and shaggy goat

Shaggy shrub

Here's the behind-the-scenes gory details part::

Freshly shorn mohair litters the front stoop.

Ole pulls out heavy machinery to haul the dried hydrangea blossoms away.

Here it comes, the big reveal: Ta-da!

Milton The Trimmed

Hydrangea...go forth and blossom!

Okay, maybe it's not so dramatic, but I've crossed a couple things off my grand spring to-do list, and that's something.