WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2014

Spent a nice time out in the lawn, sitting in the sun with a tall drink and working on my crochet project for Super 17. It's going fairly nicely, considering I haven't done any crochet for, what, 30-some years? Still had my needles, though!

Apollo kept watch for me - occasionally he'd hear something and would have to growl at it. He also enjoyed stalking whatever tiny creatures rustled in the tall grass. Later on, the Northern Harrier hawk came a-hunting, and landed on the other side of the lawn. Luckily the cat stays close to me!

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2104

 They had to cut down a cedar tree on one of the lots at the Highlands, so I asked if I could gather some of the bark. Of course, it just so happened that Cathi was in Oregon to see her dad, so I dragged Cory along for some extra muscle.

 It was much needed, and very appreciated!

This is only a small part of the haul!

 Time to get the beer bottled! First, it is siphoned out of the carboy into a huge bucket, and the last ingredients are added - sugar to create the carbonation after it is bottled.

 The carboy with all of the left-over sludge.

 Bottles are washed and sterilized, and drain on a very cool borrowed bottle tree thingy.

 Also borrowed a very cool sterilizing thingy!

  Then, the bottles are filled, one at a time with the siphon hose.

 Finally got to the bottom of the bucket!

 Last step is capping - another borrowed item, a very cool bottle capper!

And, out of the five gallon batch, 48 12-oz bottles! Many thanks to Tarey and Rhonda for lending their equipment, and especially to Cathi for all of the help! Definitely not a one-person operation. Now it's the waiting game - and hope for some tasty brew!

SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2014

 This garter snake was in the top of a rhododendron bush, just the right height for me to get some photos. It didn't seem to sense any danger, and let me get the camera close to it's head. It was fun trying to capture that tongue flickering in and out!

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014

 Trying my hand at making a nice face cream. When I was in Italy, I bought a jar of cream at the market, made with olive oil, sunflower oil, beeswax and lavender. So I wanted to try and recreate that, since I have used it all up.

I gathered the same ingredients, but my beeswax and lavender oil are made here on Whidbey. I also added some Vitamin E oil, which will help preserve the cream, and help with dry skin. I'm looking forward to using it and remembering my wonderful trip to Italy!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014

 The full moon will be in a couple of days, but it looked pretty full tonight as I watched from the ferry. The Mukilteo Lighthouse matched the moon's intensity.

Hard to get a sharp photo once the ferry is underway! But I love the color and reflections in the water as we pull away from shore.

TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014

Carol got a new car! It's her first brand new one, and she is tickled pink! It's a Camry hybrid.

MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014

I am back on the International Space Station alert email list, which lets me know when it will be visible. The past few days it has been just after sunset, always a lot of fun to see! It's that little white dot at top center!

SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 2014

The most amazing sunset today - under a dark and lowering sky, the sun popped out from the bottom edge of the clouds, and sent a golden-red glow across the tops of the trees. And then it was gone.

SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 2014

 Working on a fun project - it will be a journal/art supply travel bag. Will keep you posted as work continues...

FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2014

 Poor Gertrude - she was happily playing outside, when that big, mean Apollo showed up on the deck above. She climbed up to her spot between the beam and the floorboards, where he can't get at her. So he sat on the deck above and looked sad. They held position for most of the afternoon.

Above Apollo you can see a plethora of cocoons on the underside of the handrail.

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

 Some more caterpillar photos - now they've cleared the plum tree of it's leaves. Pretty icky, but in a few more days they will be pretty well done, and then there will be cocoons everywhere. The trees will recover and regrow their leaves.