Lawn Art

Over the years, Velda has collected (or has been given) a number of pieces that she has added to her lawn art.  Including broken pots.  This is moss from Scott and Allison's yard.

Old Sinks from the Schei family farm.

Old wheelbarrows that have worn out and now filled with sedums.

An old cultivator from the Yakima house that Velda's Dad used.

Bug art from Christopher.

Quail art...

 

A sign that says Po Po's Garden from Allison, Scott and James.

Recently, we commissioned a piece of art.  We started wanting a gate but it turned out an arbor would be better.  The artist (Steve Edwards) made us a beautiful piece that moves in the wind.

It's hard to capture it on camera.  We are really enjoying Steve's sculpture and his vision for our garden.

Cousins From Up North

Velda and Judy were able to become reacquainted with their relatives from Vancouver and Brandon, Canada after the funeral of their brother Gene who is Velda's cousin.

We enjoyed our time together. These cousins are the children from Velda's mother's older brother.  It was interesting to see the family resemblance.  They enjoyed seeing Velda's gardens for the first time and it turns out they are all avid gardeners too.

 We agreed that we need to see each other again very soon!

Little Helper

We had a little helper last weekend and he had lots to do while he was here.  He picked some berries.

He rolled some pie crust.  Velda made a fresh peach pie from Carolyn's peaches.

He mashed raspberries for the jam.  As he mashed, he lifted some raspberries to taste.

He did eat his share.

He shared some laughs with Po Po.

He helped bring in a large zucchini.  He kept saying, "Too heavy - too heavy".

This was one large zucchini.

Then he climbed the ladder to pick Asian pears.

Yes,  I was back up support to make sure he did not fall off the ladder.  When I told him we had enough and it was time to come down, he said, "Don't want to".  This boy loves to climb.

He enjoyed his pear.  He has no problem getting his fruit servings over here.

Baby Shower

On Saturday, there was a baby shower for Allison.  Katie's arrival is scheduled for October 11th.  It was an absolutely beautiful fall day.

Mel, her next door neighbor and Christina, her sister-in-law gave the shower.

 Relatives and close friends from the area came.

Velda captured the event with her camera.  Someone even captured Velda.

They had games.

Great-Grandma Ruth was one of the winners.

And Ann-Marie

And Patty...

They enjoyed a wonderful brunch.

Mel's beautiful dahlia flowers

Allison received a number of nice gifts.

And the guys watched the kids... while they enjoyed Scott's beer, pizza and

watched college football games.  All the little boys called me Grandpa - which I enjoyed since it was  Grandparents day weekend.

Fruit and Berry Harvest

This years fruit and berry harvest has been great, even though we have had more than our share of critters (deer, rabbits, squirrels) stealing from the garden.

Velda and her friend Huong (who is 4' 10" tall) picked the apples.

To make several apple crisp.

Chris picked seven cups of  blackberries from the vines along the trail.

Millena and Velda made a cobbler out of all seven cups.   Whoops, Chris wanted to eat some of the berries......

We picked rhubarb which Velda made into her strawberry rhubarb meringue.

We had a bumper crop of peach plums.

And we picked raspberries....  However for some reason they never seem to make it far enough to end up as a dessert.  We get in trouble for letting him eat so much fruit but you can't stop him.  He loves his fruit.   He now helps pick but he doesn't know to only get the ripe ones.