Gift of RA

I wanted to give an update on things happening around home.  A couple of changes to the look of the house – John Van Zanten came by in December to give us the view back, though I notice each year there isn’t that big a change as there once was.  Yes, we can cut the trees and branches on the bank – also improves the Allen’s view – but the people who live below and across the street aren’t trimming their trees.  So not as much view as we once had.  I am certainly not complaining because the view is still spectacular and the Olympics are looking particularly gorgeous with snow on the upper level.  At one point, even the foothills were snow-covered.

As you see, still some trees in front of the view

Snow on the Olympics means lots of rain for us  – also means we don’t see them too often.  It’s such a treat when the sun shines and they are out in all their glory.  I never tire of seeing them, or watching the traffic on the Sound.  There has been a large ferry going up and down the Sound – we think it is a new one that is being test hopped.  Wonder where it will be based.

Speaking of mountains, we don’t see the big snow cone very much – it seems to stay behind the clouds much of the time.  Sometimes we see an outline – maybe I am just not out and about when the old man comes out in glory.   Eddie doesn’t see Mt. Baker any more since he doesn’t go up north any more.  He is quite happy where he is, though the commute to Bellevue has it’s own spanners in the works.

John also cut some other things for me – the rhodos, camellia and lilac on the east side of the house were getting much too big for the space.  The lilac was dead in the core, the rhodos weren’t very healthy, so it was a good idea to cut them down.  The camellia was very healthy, but is was much too big for the flowerbed.  No point in giving the four-legged creatures easy access to the roof and possible the attic.  The house looks a bit bare now, I need to find things that don’t go higher than the window sill.  Wonder what Mom and Dad would think about the changes.

The dark lilac is the only thing left – still in good shape.

It’s beginning to look more the way it did in the beginning, except the trim was brown.

Along the sidewalk by the porch were two camellias, I had them cut down too.  They are gorgeous when they bloom but are also very messy – they drop blossoms on the sidewalk and if we don’t rake them every time we turn around, they get slippery.  There is also a large patch of moss right there, not sure the sun penetrates through the leaves enough to prevent it from forming.

I don’t know if it is voles, moles or gophers making mounds in the yard – we seem to have quite a crop.  They are getting to be huge – when there were three in one small space, it looked as though Mom and Dad were showing junior how to do it – a huge mound, one not quite so big and then a small one.  Junior has certainly gotten the hang of it, now they are all over the front yard.  Delores isn’t over with her rake and mole repellent – now Eddie goes out and pounds the mounds down.  The rain has not been conducive for him to do anything lately – hasn’t stopped the moles.

Down the hill from the porch

North end of the yard

The whole lawn looks like this.  Well, it’s not a golf course lawn.

Now I find little divet along the sidewalk to the garage – not sure what makes those little holes.  At least golfers fix their diets before they leave the hole.  Nature is amazing and certainly puzzles me a lot of the time.

Good Heavens, there is sun right now.  We haven’t seen a lot of it and it is supposed to be nice tomorrow.  I heard from my sisters – one in Nashville, one on the Jersey shore.  They both had lots of snow but didn’t lose electricity.  They sent pictures and it reminds me all too much of our adventures in snow while living in the Eastern half of the country.  One thing, the roads are usually plowed quite well – just have to dig out one’s drive after the plow goes by.  The snow is gorgeous and when the sun shines, it is magical and pristine.

P. S.  I finally got my photos to show up in iPhoto and there were a couple from Toronto  when we were in Niagara Falls.

This entry was posted on January 24, 2016 at 10:34 am and is filed under Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.