Archive for ‘June, 2015’

And the heat goes on

And it kept going…topping off at 94F! Even now, at 7:00 p.m., it is still 89.

It is supposed to cool into the 70’s by the coming weekend and as this kind of heat is unusual this early, I originally thought it would be fine for these few hot days without the A/C.

Thankfully, I changed my mind this morning and got the behemoth ready to go. It has been keeping us comfortable and I will really appreciate it at bedtime, I know!

Bear went out a few times, but only briefly. Even Auggie came in early in the afternoon.

Meanwhile as the dinner hour approached, I rethought my original plan of oven roasted corn and asparagus.

The new plan was shaved asparagus salad…

…with white beans and a parmesan vinaigrette. I put all in the frig to chill along with some canned salmon.

A bit later, as I was mixing everything up, I noticed Auggie on the front sidewalk. His door was open, but I guess he decided the cool concrete sidewalk was the spot to be.

A cool, refreshing supper as the heat goes on.

Summer weekend

Montana does not usually jump the gun on Summer. May is typically nice with some warm-hot days and then June is cool and rainy, before it warms up for real in mid-July.

But this year, although June started cool and rainy, it did not last long and we’ve had several days in the 80’s with today hitting 88!

Saturday was a chore day which included setting up sprinklers as those few days of rain were not going to last through the forecast heat – we are to be in the 80’s through this coming Friday.

I started on weed abatement going through 4 gallons of white vinegar. This will be ongoing, but a first attack has occurred!

Wild Thing is home after a short stint at Billy Bob’s RV for normal maintenance plus new brakes all around. There is more to do, but all safety and engine stuff is done. I spent some time cleaning inside, flushing the fresh water tank/plumbing and organizing the basement storage. She’s ship shape!

I was beat by early Saturday evening, but the good news is Sunday was a “do whatever I want day”.

Bear and I hopped in the Jeep and headed to town for a few items. Several weeks ago, my neighbor told me about a back road to town. We took it. It is beautiful and bonus: a nice place to stop for a walk with Bear along the river:

There is another fishing area on the other side of the road with a pond. This river spot only has access to the river, which is running high and fast so all of the fishing activity has been on the other side the 2 times we’ve stopped…

We had this little spot all to ourselves.

Plenty of shade, great view and a nice breeze off the river – perfect!

A new kitchen acquisition: ice cream maker. And this week’s flavor is Key Lime!

For a summer treat, I used graham crackers to make key lime ice cream sandwiches. Yum and so refreshing … like frozen key lime pie.

And the first sweet corn of the season rounded out the weekend’s summer eating.

I’m tired – the chores and the first real heat of the year…but still, a great Summer weekend.

Rainy Day!

It rained most of the day.

Sometimes a drizzle, sometimes more.

We needed it badly!

But after weeks of mostly sun, it was a bit of a shock and we all kind of avoided being outside.

Bear does not like wet feet. Snow feet are not so bad, but feet wet from rain…when we did walk, he stopped often to clean his feet. I suggested waiting until the walk was done and doing a cleanup when we got inside. My advice was ignored.

And still, much cleanup to do once inside.

Auggie was stoic…mostly.

And finally, all gave in…

…to the rainy day!

This ‘n that

Sometime over the weekend, I noticed a new status icon on my Windows 8.1 Task bar…

A mouse hover displayed the icon hint: “Get Windows 10” !

A Click on the icon brings up the Windows 10 reservation dialog. If you haven’t reserved, there will be a reserve button in the vicinity of the red circle above. I reserved before taking a screen capture.

The buzz is that Windows 10 will start rolling out on July 29 to those who have reserved.

Color me excited!

Meanwhile, after a warm and VERY, VERY dry April and May – scary dry…we started getting rain. A couple of days about 6 drops. Then some pour little cloud released a downpour that lasted maybe 3 minutes. It was like teaser rain.

But yesterday, with flood watch warnings and a forecast of possibly severe thunderstorms with wind and hail…a gentle, steady rain began. It went through the night and continues this morning. It is the perfect kind of rain to have after such a dry spell as it is soaking in and not running off.

Not everyone in my house is as happy as me about the rain…