Summer Update

It has been an eventful summer and early fall since our last entry. We have begun in earnest to make this our full-time home. As a guesstimate, we are saying that we spend about 70% of our time here. It is reassuring to report that the more time we spend time here the more we love it and the the harder it is to leave! Each trip over we bring a few more items that both lessens the intensity of the move and at the same time makes the Lodge feel more and more homey.

The summer was a good one with warm sunny days and cool evenings. The garden has produced well, and we have been blessed with a stream of welcome visitors. Our eight chickens have settled in quite nicely. The older hen that we brought over from our home "on the other side" laid eggs for a few weeks. Not long after she stopped the younger hens started laying. One of the hens, however, turned out to be a rooster. After attacking several neighbors and Nancy, he is on probation. As one of our neighbors put it, "just show him the stew pot, that'll straighten him out." We started an informal neighborhood co-op around the coop. We tell the neighbors to come on by, bring your vegetable scraps, toss them some chicken scratch, and help yourself to some eggs. Three royal ladies do so regularly, which we love. We are currently getting about 5 eggs a day.

One of Nancy's favorite summer projects (and there were many) was creating The Spring Garden Room. Named not after the season but her maiden name, it is dedicated to the ever-growing number of our family that has passed on, and in particular her parents who used to use the room as their bedroom during their many visits.

At present it is disconcerting to see the smoke in the air and even the flames in the trees due to a wildfire only a few miles upstream. Our risk of fire is quite low, for which we are thankful.