Monday, Jun 15 
John took me outside to see a baby deer in our garden. I got two pix before it jumped and scurried off. I wish I’d reacted fast enough to start a movie of the exit. Another deer has been hanging around, who was a twin born here in our barn. It was late in the season, and we thought the female twin was not going to make it through the winter, so we started feeding her and her brother. We named the twins, and Dawn is still hanging around, but she’s never had a baby. We wonder if she is the mom. A couple days later we saw them together, so now we know.
Here’s a beautiful scene from the Kittitas Valley, our nice agricultural irrigated valley in the shrub steppe semi desert:
Lovely farm near Kittitas, WA photographed by Evie Mae Schuetz
I’ve been emailing catching up on two days away from my computer (my life-line)!
Supper. Lasagna, pears, and cauliflower.
Sunset by Tonieka Kokjer in Kittitas County Visual Delights FB
Tuesday, Jun 16
Nick Zentner’s entering the penultimate week of this series of lectures from home, livestreaming on YouTube, with the first tonight. We made it through this week to Sunday’s Yellowstone Geology lecture.
I took my Alendronate on an empty stomach and ate a half hour later. Started checking with CWU library looking for access to Library Archived Faculty documents. I figured out the location of the research on debris flows in the Teanaway that Marty Kaatz did research on, but am unable to gain access because the library is closed. I talked to my friend in the Reference Department and he gave me the email to write to request a scanned copy, from the Archives, but no one there got back to me by phone, or email. Eventually she did. And sent me much information.
I forgot to connect my 5Tb external back up drive for its Noon backup.
Rascal just brought in a Douglas squirrel and took it under the bed. Not too happy about that, but actually would like to get rid of the critters because they get into our shed’s insulation to store their walnut harvest, and make a terrible mess. The walls were not all covered so the stashed nuts have caused some of the batts of fiberglass to break loose. Maybe next year John can clean out this building and make it useful.
Tonight’s livestream is on Landslides of WA and I got my suggested links out at 10:00 a.m. and then realized shortly after that I left out all links to the Oso Landslide in 2014. So, I finished that research and entering the links & description and mailed it at noon to our study group members.
Tonight, Nick will be joined by Karl Lillquist, a physical geographer whom I taught with from the time he arrived on campus in 1995); one of his concentrations is mass wasting issues (debris flows and landslides).
‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #66 – 6-16-20 Landslides in Washington, guest Karl Lillquist
Wednesday, Jun 17
Morning work included John and Walter bringing in the water softening unit and holding (pressurized) tank. We were supposed to have water back today around noon, tried at 12:30 p.m. and it was wired wrong. Sparks flew when the circuit was switched. The pressure switch is comprised of an internal spring mechanism which is connected directly to electrical contacts. Walter is a builder, not trained as an electrician or plumber. When the sparks flew, the contacts fused so a new pressure switch was needed. A “smart phone” photo sent to the real electrician, Todd, allowing him to bring the proper switch. He was able to come at 2:30 and we had water by 3 PM. I was very thankful. Six days without running water has been miserable. We always have filtered water in 2 L. bottles, and John carried irrigation water for flushes. Just above the level of wilderness camping. Well, we have had electricity.
Worked on emails, adding 3 new study group members from last night. At 10:00 a.m., I sent out the 6-17-20 General letter to 6 new members.
‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #67 – 6-17-20 Thomas W. Symons
Thursday, Jun 18
Things got changed this morning for tonight’s lecture, so I had to create a new list of materials to send for a different lecture. I had material for a trip to the Geology Department at CWU, but Nick changed it and went instead to the Thorp Prairie on a field trip. I worked until 2:00 to find background material.
I had to plan to be ready to take photos of the raising of wood beams (trusses will sit on these) over the future walkway. Because the structure is angled, actual measurements could not be done until the roof over the “header” was removed. The initial estimate was about 9 inches off and the beam that much too short. A new one will be cut (in EBRG) and ready in the morning. [The just-a-bit short one will be used over the back patio.]
Meanwhile, look below in John’s Friday column, Not So Nasty News, and see the photo of the beginning of the walkway. Note his “nasty” comment about me and the dog. She’s really the one avoiding it because she fell off the original version into the hole mentioned. I was walking the plank fine.
‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #68 – 6-18-20 – Thorp Prairie field trip
Filled up my meds for the week.
We had pizza for supper.
6-18-20, Noctiluscent cloud by Theresa Vandenberg, ~10:00 p.m., looking toward NW, from S. Ruby St, Ellensburg, WA
I really got into this, and found these videos below to entertain yourselves as they did me, all the while learning.
Noctilucent Clouds Explained • Aug 16, 2016 (3.5 mins)
What are Noctilucent Clouds? • Jul 2, 2018 (1 min)
Saved the best for last, with true moving videos in action of the progress of the “night clouds”:
The Noctilucent Clouds (NLC) 4K – UHD • Jul 8, 2016 (5 mins)
Friday, Jun 19
Recovering from a sleepless interrupted night (with cat demands, mostly), after being up late working on projects. So I slept in until 9:00 a.m. (except for normal 5:00 a.m. issues).
Now working on more unfinished projects. John’s outside.
I went out to take videos of lifting the first beam for the walkway cover.
Tonight was a musical tribute to Mozart by my friend from Australia in the Nick Zentner group, who makes a presentation on Nick’s nights off. She is a clarinet player for the longest part of her life, and included that at the beginning tonight, but mostly we have heard her music on her collection of recorders.
Tonight’s was Mozart music, with her explanation of the instruments played at the time, combining a performance by a large group of men on the instruments of the time period—actually she provides the complete playlist with titles & links in the descriptive part of the video below.
Kathy Williams-DeVries from Brisbane, Australia
I left this music after about an hour to have a phone conversation with a University of Idaho friend since the 1970s. John and I met Bill Rember (Paleogeologist) almost as soon as we arrived at the University. He now lives on his own fossil site near Clarkia, Idaho, 40 miles NE of Moscow.
I cannot get access to the video of his talk (48 mins), except through a web page in the archives at the University of Idaho that has a link to the video. His presentation is on the history and description of fossils in lake bed sediments from about 16 million years ago. Once you get to the link, you can watch the video on a full screen and see it a little better.
Description: Paleobotany & Stratigraphy of Lake Clarkia Presented by Bill Rember, Department of Geological Sciences. Univ of Idaho, 48 minutes to Malcolm M. Renfred Interdisciplinary Colloquium, 2015
Supper: Shrimp, Butternut squash & beans, pears, and Fruit Tart for dessert.
Saturday, Jun 20 
This morning’s field trip to view the Giant Current Ripples at West Bar, began with a thank-you acknowledgment of a gift Nick received from two viewers and admirers (who are wood crafts people). Here is their unique gift.
Representative memory of Lost Rock Hammer incident at Drumheller Channels Columnar Basalts
Nick on top with his rock hammer
LiDAR image of field area reported on this morning
‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #69 – Giant Current Ripples
Lunch: Soup for me.
I am working on the suggested links to send for tomorrow morning’s Nick talk on Yellowstone Geology. Sent late afternoon.
Walter came over and laid a bunch of tile in the new room. Need to check it out, tomorrow. Have a few pictures for later viewing.
Sunday, June 21 FATHER’S DAY
This morning’s video had the highest number of world-wide watchers that we have seen (1,434). This one went 115 mins., which is the longest.
‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #70 – 6-21-20, Yellowstone Geology
After it was over, I finished adding dishes I’d started last night, and turned on the dishwasher. It was still running, when John left for town to get some groceries at sale prices, and to pick up steel washers needed for a garden gate.
When John got home, I had my lunch of Top Ramen soup with chicken & Cheez-Its added. Now to work on the blog. I started working early afternoon, and now it’s late afternoon, with little accomplishment. My Chrome keeps hanging up and crashing – very stressing.
Supper: Roast, potatoes, and gravy (mushroom, corn, onion).
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan
Wild Buckwheat – – most of ours are under a foot tall
Mock Orange (left, bush 12 feet) and Lupine (1 to 2 feet)
This photo looks a bit busy. The main thing relates to the future covered walkway. The 4 posts went up Thursday. I’m anticipating the pouring of concrete mid-to-late next week. There are numerous animals that could walk on the fresh concrete, so I am (a) building a temporary fence, and (b) a temporary ramp over a 2 ft. deep trench. Both of these are incomplete in this photo. However, the entrance ramp is usable. It is near right-center, next to the house.
John’s photo. Particulars of size, age, gender unknown. It is not little. Neighbor Allen has seen one recently and it compares with a large one killed (2019) up on the hill north of him (and us).
Photo by Kyle Olson, in Kittitas County Visual Delights
Heron & Moon, North Beach, Maryland, photo by George Hall, Getty Images
The view, looking south, is backed by the Columbia River, and top right over the backhoe is the sandy West Bar with Giant Current Ripples.
Sunrise after the storm–5:04 a.m. east of Kittitas by Evie Schuetz
inclined covered walkway, sized for wheelchair use. The covering will match the roof of the house and shaped as in the small illustration to the right. So far we only have four holes with concrete “footers” so there is no picture. The front overhang will only be 2 feet and the 2 front poles will have cars approaching them. The roof will go back 20 feet and attach to the house.
Panic2020 has caused New York City to close all the options that have offered places to pee to those in need. Peeing in public isn’t even a crime anymore. In 2017, NYC introduced the Criminal Justice Reform Act, which decriminalized low-level offenses.
Snipped from after weekend storm 3-D photo published on Visual Delight’s Kittitas County Facebook site, taken by Tamie Schaut.
Left image: Opening for swinging door (SD) into utility area, white pine left, animal paneling behind, hickory panels beyond stepladder. Right side image: SD frame not quite finished, using knotty pine and select white pine. 
Top two, discussing the plans, and looking at the last two holes in very rocky ground (alluvial fan), very different from the first holes, mostly dirt. Bottom photo was the first hole dug. A video of that follows below:
Top- progress on 2 new front windows; the room shown has Hickory panels with knotty white pine above and below the windows. Molding is not completed. Floor is not down – boxes of flooring tile on the left side covered with plastic. The wall on the right is a new wall, behind which is the utility room to house Culligan water treatment, freezer, and refrigerator.
While it was great to see the light coming into the room, we likely won’t see the light of the full Moon. Full cloud cover tonight, Friday. Bummer. Monday will be our best view with about 94% of the Moon illuminated.
Climbing area, The Feathers, at Frenchman Coulee, about 45 minutes from Ellensburg.
Ending tonight with beautiful sunset photo by photographer, Krissy Yarnell. She posted this on a Facebook site I’m involved with, called Kittitas County Visual Delights. South of us on Naneum Rd, 7 miles. 
Here’s a better summary of the weather for the Pacific Northwest Region with great videos and maps, of our stormy weather today. We were missed by the lightening and thunder, but got rain and wind. Rain stopped, but not the wind.
The right side image provides an explanation. I’ve got two White Spruce by the driveway. [
The male pollen bearing flowers of the Lodgepole pine are golden in the morning sun. The frost in early May killed the first growth of the Carpathian walnuts – black on the right side image. During the 3 weeks since then there is new growth, almost translucent and very pretty.
About 9 AM on the left, 6 PM on the right. We are near the center, a few miles west (left) of the blue line. 
You can see this if you go into the EBRG Umpqua Bank and look at their floor tiles.
Arrowleaf Balsamroot and insect on flower on our way to the old red barn.
This bridge goes across an irrigation ditch (gravity flow) that allows us to water trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables. Pasture too, if John gets energetic, from the ditch.
Desert Marble butterfly blends in well, photo by John Ebenal
From front yard porch to backyard patio 
Two links about this issue:
The hail was pea size, and if the photo is a good indication there was not much damage. It has been reported that the young folks thought it was neat, and tried to sled. A report on how that worked would be interesting. I’ll guess not too well.
