A Very Sultry August!

 It's been a full week since I've been out for a bike ride.  The temperature, combined with high humidity, brings the dew point into the 70's.  Almost every morning I put on old clothes & go out to either mow, weed whack, or spray weeds.  I've got the upper hand on the weeds, at least for the time being.

The Hosta's - in full bloom~

Butch is not going to drive a dump truck.  On his second day, a motorcycle cut in front of him as he was going down an off ramp.  The cars ahead came to a sudden stop.  Butch with a full load, thought he was going to squish the bike, along with the less than intelligent rider. 

So, another week of job searching.  His time at home, played well into my plans though!  I was determined to get the new windows for the house, that have been in storage, since 2017, installed.  What a job it was!  The old windows must have had 100 staples holding them into the frames.  Getting them out - took both of us & a crow bar.  The siding came off too, there was no vapor barrier. Once the windows were in, Butch added new vapor barrier & we decided to paint the shutters.  

New Windows

When we weren't working on the house, Butch cut shutters for the cabin.  I did the sanding & painting.  We'd seen some similar on a house at the edge of town.  I used the same blue we painted the interior trim.

New shutters~

The little AC unit works great.  Combined with the ceiling fan, it cools the room down quickly.  We turn it on when we're working outside & go in to cool off.  

In 2018, we planted Serviceberry bushes all along the north side of the cabin.  They had such wonderful fall color & white blooms in the spring.  Sadly, every year, they died off a little more.  They weren't much more than sticks this summer.  We checked with Sherbondy's, where we'd purchased them.   They are no longer selling them.  For whatever reason they don't do well here, even though they are a native.

New Emerald Greens~

  When Home Depot got in a truck load of Emerald Greens, I talked Butch into giving them a try.  They had just been pulled out of the field & jammed into pots.  With the heat, they were already fading & stressed when we bought them.  We watered them in the pots overnight, then soaked the holes.  If they don't make it, we can get a refund.  We've been so lucky growing them.  All the ones we've planted here are doing well.  I hope our luck holds.  

If the weatherman is correct, after tonight's storm, we're to have a cooler day tomorrow.  Hopefully we'll get in a ride!

Officially Cold!

Now - we're talking Cold!  Daytime highs only 11 degrees.  Wind gusts yesterday up to 40 mph.  I went out to sweep the snow off the sidewalk, making little headway.  The wind blew it back as fast as I was taking it off! 

Napping in the sun~

I took the photo above, out the west bedroom window.  The snow from the last storm was almost gone, except for in our backyard. With the new 2" of light snow, Nika loves it!   I've given her every opportunity to be in the house, but usually it's mid-afternoon before she comes in for a warmer spot to nap. Outside, she also has her favorite places. The one above is where she watches for the mailman, Fed-x truck, etc.

I've been spotted :-)

It just amazes me how well she handles the cold!  Of course her nice, thick fur coat sure helps!  The emerald green trees we planted last summer are hanging on...

With the wind chill, the feel's like temperature has been -11 or today, -15.  School has been in session all week.  Butch said the kids were still running around with their coats unzipped!

Windswept~

When I first got up this morning, the sun was just coming up over the ridge. The surface of the snow was covered with ice crystals that sparkled like tiny diamonds.

Moon-rise~

Last evening it was SO cold that my hands were freezing in seconds! Of course the wind is what makes it hard to be out for very long.  You can just see the last of daylight reflecting off the hard surface of the snow.

Let there be light~

 I tried about everything to keep ahead of snow building up on the decks.  The blower seems to work best.  The Christmas lights add some cheer to the bitter cold evenings.  I love seeing them from the house.

My flight tomorrow to WA was cancelled & delayed to Sunday, due to a big storm they're expecting.  Hopefully I'll be flying out on Sunday, when we have more snow due here.  Winter has finally arrived about everywhere!