Give Them a Hammer...

and they'll be happy. That's my babysitting trick!

 Oliver arrived on his bike today and said, "Gramma, you get me that hammer?" I knew just what he was wanting to do...loves to crack the acorns that fall into Caitlin's yard from the oak in the sidewalk.

 Of course there's also educational Netflix too!

Yesterday two Japanese women walked by the house and praised the way the garden looked..."very nice, very nice!" (Nodding heads while repeating the words.) It dawned on me that I should take a few photos to remember this September in Cashmere!

 This year we planted alyssum around a single geranium in the front pots.

Easy Does It, in a back yard pot, is getting larger blooms now that the weather is cooling down.

 

Dick Clark is a long lasting blossom on the bush as well as cut. It begins with a yellow bud that changes as it ages.

 Picnic table area has grasses with petunias.

 This spider has been eating away for the last month or so. It is amazing to watch as its abdomen has grown. This is the underside which faces out.

 The side yard, inside the taller gate, has pots of roses to enjoy in private. The two large roses wintered in place last year and did wonderfully this summer.

Sleeping Lady and Icicle Creek

Sleeping Lady is a mountain near Leavenworth, Washington that looks similar to a woman laying on her back. Icicle Creek is a creek running through some acres of land nearby.  Annie was the director of the Icicle Creek Summer Music Camp this June. It is nestled among the creek, trees, and grasslands.  Also part of this development includes a resort by the name of Sleeping Lady.  

Annie wanted to take some photos for a video she is producing promoting the camp and so we packed up the kids, their bikes, and cameras. We wandered the pathways through the resort...

 

 Over the creek...

A practice room at the music camp...

 A performance hall...

 One of the many sculptures along the pathways...

Babysitting at the playground

Last week I babysat while Annie went to Leavenworth to help out the new high school band teacher. She dropped Brooke, Oliver, Riley (Brooke's best friend) and me off at a playground in Dryden to spend some time.

The play equipment was fun...here is Oliver climbing up the wall.

Then down the slide he goes!

 

Brooke on the telephone system to Riley...

Up, down and around...many miles are expended here!

A local dog came to play with its ball...pretty gooey ball so there weren't many willing to throw it.

Picnic time...out came the burritos, apples, crackers, cheese and water. The wind started blowing and Oliver was cold so we snuggled in the blanket. He enjoyed having more conversation while the girls were off playing.

The last burrito was shared...

Time for home...

Do we have to leave?

Organic Garden

In August we visited the organic garden in Leavenworth at Icicle Creek.