Monday, Aug 17 
Ryegrass Hill sunrise by Cindi Crawford Ackerlund
Ryegrass is a rest stop on Interstate 90 with nearby wind power facilities. 10 miles down hill, to the east, is the Columbia River.
I called about Sirius XM and established it for another year of service for $69.68. That’s one of the best prices I’ve had in recent years. Considering we are not traveling in my car that much anymore, it is not necessary. However, we can access through our computer.
Wrote Kara Chin about Hike-A-Thon and renewal WTA. They are having it this year and we will be sponsoring her as usual. I processed her donation and stored in our folders for WTA & donations. Many of the office staff have been working out of their homes during Panic2020. So many activities are affected, and we learn of more daily.
I slept in this morning and it is going to be another hot afternoon, and problematic for the valley. Highest temperature at the airport today was 102°, but on our front porch, it was never higher than 96.9°. However, John needs to move our outside gauge, as it is presently in a hotter spot than it should be. Not as bad as the high temperatures at sensors in Death Valley, which are near a black asphalt parking lot.
We have a smoke-filled valley from 3 nearby fires in our region. Last night was so bad, that after the temps dropped to 77 (from 101), we couldn’t open the windows to cool down the house because the smoke was so severe. (As well, the high pressure didn’t help.) At least the high wind gusts have slowed that would fuel the fire.
John’s still outside working in 81° heat at 10:00 a.m. moving lumber cut in early July.
He vacuumed out the a/c filters on our heat pump this morning. We were using it late last night filtering the smoky air out of the house from leaving the doggie/cat door partially opened.
Now he’s unloading our dishwasher and going to worry about lunch.
Lunch: John made me a grilled cheese sandwich and we shared a banana. He had pork and rice from the freezer; cooked months ago.
I loaded some more soaked dishes in to the dishwasher today, but have been working on lots of different unrelated projects.
Did not have to cut John’s hair, as his dental appointment was postponed until Tuesday next week, and he had stuff he was doing today.
We received a nice package from a Zentner study group member who made cloth masks for John and me and sent them up from San Jose, CA. Thanks for her generosity.
Tuesday, Aug 18
Sunrise at the south rim of the Grand Canyon photographed by MotoJW photography (Jason Wiegand, from Wenatchee, WA) who has given me permission to publish his artistry.
Nice and cool for John’s morning work before it got up to 81°
I slept in until 8:30, after being up at 3:00, 5:00, & 7:00. Guess I needed it.
Hummingbird moth – I was introduced to this (never knew of before) by my friend in New Jersey, Elise Schlosser. I asked my lepidopterist friend, Caitlin LaBar about the moth and she said they are one of many several species of day-flying sphinx moths.
Hummingbird moth by Elise in NJ; right pix from web
While searching ‘images’ for the moth, I found a video by Mark Fraser, truly a must watch:
Hummingbird Moth Natures Incredible Mimic! 3-30-14 (7 mins)
His commentary follows:
It doesn’t take long to be amazed by wildlife, in fact all one needs to do is simply to look closely. Many species have evolved to mimic other species as a survival mechanism and in the case of the Hummingbird Moth that is a truly an amazing thought. The wings of the humming bird moth are incredible and they hover just like the hummingbirds that give them their names sake. They are also a great example of why avoiding pesticides is so very important. Insects are the main staple of the food web for so many other species and also are amazing when we admire them with an open heart and open mind.
Today at the Bi-Mart Pharmacy, I bought two packs of GenTeal Severe Dry Eye Gel Tears and picked up John’s medication refill. Also picked up Bingo cards at the AAC so I can play, via ZOOM, on Thursday. I went for my monthly blood draw (INR was 2.7), and will go back, 9/15. Then we went by Joanie’s for my blue pants she added elastic to the waist. I was wearing the purple ones she did for me last week.
A nice sunset photo from a former student in the 1970s (at Idaho), Jerry Johnson (now a senior executive at ESRI), but on summer vacation in Wisconsin. This sunset in Ephraim, WI over Lake Michigan from the peninsula that juts out into the Great Lakes in the NE part of the state.
Supper: Chicken stir-fry, with mushrooms, our onions, 3 colors bell peppers. Toasted English Muffin bread slice. Dessert: one last piece of Key Lime pie shared between us with a half a caramel ice cream bar each.
Wednesday, Aug 19
Our workers, Jesse and Willie returned this morning early, while still cool, to work on building the forms for the concrete ramp under the new covered entrance. They just left to go get the company’s 2 dump trucks to pick up a little more than a ton of gravel for the base of the walkway, to prevent its settling and cracking. They left to transfer trucks, and will return to spread the gravel.
At 11:00 a.m. the temperature outside is up to 84° at the airport, and on our front porch it’s 89.2°. John’s out working partially in the shade on some of his landscaping projects.
I’m tackling various in house and on computer chores. Got my “jobs list” site worked up ahead, and need to send a few job notices. Loaded the clothes washer and John helped unload the dishwasher, and then helped with the transfer of wet clothes into the clothes dryer. He can reach farther into the wash tub than I can.
While starting my morning computer I opened Facebook to find that a former colleague at CWU Geography, now in Deland, FL had his house hit by a tree, tornado blowdown, but thankfully, he is fine.
At 1:00 p.m., it’s up to 90° at airport; here on the front porch: 91.6°.
3:30 p.m. just off the phone in an 18-minute nice conversation with our 102 yrs. old cousin in PA, using our speaker phone. What a lovely person. Ethel has no health problems except Macular Degeneration but still lives alone, in the same town with her daughter, Pat. She is amazing. Her mind is sharp and if we want to know anything about family history, she’s still able to provide details. We so much enjoy talking with her. Her biggest problem is not being able to see enough to dial her own phone.
5:00 p.m., 89° at airport; 87.4° on our front porch.
Supper: rest of the chicken stir-fry, with tomatoes from our garden, red grapes, meatloaf & beans with franks, piece of buttered English Muffin Bread loaf toasted.
Thursday, Aug 20
I called this morning about an eye appointment. We are scheduled for Sept 30th, Wednesday, at 9:50 a.m. We must call from the parking lot, wear masks, the technician comes out and checks our temperature, and brings us paperwork to fill out. Chairs will be outside the building. This COVID thing has really altered everyone’s lives and businesses (even medical, dental, and vision are caught in the middle). At least they are finally open for business. Normally, we go in in May, but they were closed completely then.
From my camera, I transferred my videotape of the gravel dump trucks for walkway and other still photos, from yesterday’s work. Then I processed the video to YouTube.
Here is it for your viewing pleasure.
Dusty dumping a load of gravel (1.5 mins)
By 10:00 a.m. I was ready to rest. I sat in my recliner and had some fun & relaxation with the Game Day of Bingo. It was held via Zoom from the Senior Center, officially recognized by the name Ellensburg Adult Activity Center.
Next Thursday, we’ll be playing Yahtzee. That should be a lot of fun. I’ll be going by Tuesday to pick up my cards and dice.
Brunch: Pork CheddarWurst “dog” fried and served with pork & beans, I had a slice of English Muffin Bread toast with butter. John had added ham bites also.
Spent over an hour soaking my feet, cleaning, and cutting my overgrown toenails. Our foot doctor closed at COVID and has not yet caught up, if he is even open yet at all. We’ve not heard. We’ve already done our own twice. Medicare was covering the cost. I wore myself out and should have taken a stronger pain pill for my left shoulder before using it to stabilize the toes to do the trimming.
For a couple of years I’ve been calling Gerald (from the music group) just before a TV program he watches. Now he goes to a son’s house for supper, spending the night, and he now has started calling me earlier — 4:30 today.
I keep working on emails, and then I was so tired I took a 2-hr nap. John had had his earlier in the afternoon.
Supper: Nancy had Chicken Noodle soup, added chicken breast meat, red grapes, Cheez-its, and ice cream for dessert. John had ham & beans, red grapes, and piece of pecan pie.
Friday, Aug 21
John’s morning chores were accomplished in cooler temps. It was warm all night because of clouds, and we even had some rain last night. I heard it on the sky light. Not enough to wet the dry grass. Western WA got more, and also in the mountains.
Afternoon at 5:00 p.m. PST is Kathy Williams-DeVries livestream program of music from Brisbane, Australia. Jonathan Cohler, an international clarinet virtuoso from Boston, MA, will be her guest. She’s known him for 2 decades.
Kathy talks to Jonathan Cohler
Supper: small bowl of crockpot chili, red grapes, our own red cherry tomatoes, fried onion rings, glass for me of PowerAde. John will have pecan pie and ice cream for dessert, and I’ll just have ice cream.
We had another delivery of gravel today; a full load of washed material from the crusher. You can see a still photo of the first unload of about half the dump truck and the associated story, below in John’s Friday column, Not So Nasty News. It’s another interesting column you don’t want to miss.
This video is of the unloading of the second half, closer to the house. Near the end you can see the forms waiting for another big truck to bring the cement. If your eyes are really sharp, the dark line to the right of the wood plank is the run-off from our little bit of rain.
Fires are raging in California. I sent this report to our study group which has many members affected, and we have friends and relatives in CA as well we are concerned about. Thoughts and prayers for all those involved and especially the firefighters.
This is a still above taken from time-lapse photography of fires started by lightning strikes, viewable in the article as a video. All information provided is instructive with the fires threatening many California cities; Vacaville is seriously engulfed with fire. Many in the state are in danger. Note: You may have to close and accept cookies to view the video part at the beginning.
Western U.S. on Fire from Lightning Barrage
Cliff has another interesting post on Sunday: Fog UFO Spotted in the Strait of Juan De Fuca!
There is a blog archive on the right side.
Saturday, Aug 22
Orange sunrise through the eyes of a spider:
This unique view was photographed from a bridge by Evie Schuetz on her early morning walk in Kittitas, WA. The web is empty; a caption might be “Waiting for breakfast.”
I’ve been slowing working on soaking dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. Also putting in time on the blog creation, and on getting information to the group about Nick Zentner’s plans for a ‘Nick on the Fly’ episode in the morning at 9:00 a.m.
John’s been doing various outside chores. Hottest was digging out some more onions and bringing them into the shade of the carport to trim the leaves and the roots off. Early on before the temperatures increased, he was out rearranging the gravel at the base of the to-be concrete walkway entrance to our front door.
This arrived on Facebook today, from that gal mentioned above as a lepidopterist, Caitlin LaBar. Her photograph and comments are below:
Noticed this Fork-tailed Bush Katydid as I was getting in my truck this morning. Exciting find, I’ve never seen a big green katydid before! I moved her over to the bushy area so she wouldn’t get squished.
Katydid was on my tire, I thought it was weird that a leaf would have stuck to the side of the tire so I took a closer look.
Supper: Fried Chicken Breast, red grapes, cherry tomatoes, ice cream for me for dessert, and John added pecan.
Sunday, Aug 23
Up at 4:30 a.m. with the cats outside wanting fed. Then slept in until 6:00 when John got up and we decided to sleep another hour. He wanted to get an early start before the heat of the day while it was still cool. I slept in another hour before needing to awake and watch a Nick field excursion.
This morning at 9:00 a.m., we had almost 700 folks around Earth watching an incredibly amazing adventure. It has views, breathtaking hikes, and even his family (son & girlfriend) climbing the rocks. Walked right by a large rattler, who moved out of Nick’s path. You must view this episode, it’s a classic.
‘Nick on the Fly’ #14 – Smith Rock 8-23-20 (31 mins)
CWU’s Nick Zentner travels to central Oregon to visit Smith Rock State Park. 31 minutes. Recorded on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Topics: Crooked River Caldera, Supervolcanoes, rhyolitic welded tuff, Yellowstone Hot Spot, and related things.
Just took me ½ hour to put in all my meds for the week into a container.
Soon, I’ll be fixing me a protein nutrition drink to tide me over until lunch. John’s planning to do some watering and come in to fix a ham omelet. We had a bowl of fruit cocktail and banana to go along with it and a bunch of red grapes. I helped with fixing a bowl of eggs, and washing and de-stemming the grapes. We have an excess of eggs now. I’ll have to make an egg salad. I used to fix a salad to take to a Wednesday Noon music gig: with Iceberg lettuce, smoked turkey or chicken, pistachios, and can add some of our garden tomatoes, and a hard boiled egg. For croutons, I use Cheez-its. That won’t use many eggs, so I’ll have to give some away.
Cooler this morning in Ellensburg, going to 49° before 7:00 a.m.; however, the predicted high today is 85° so it will be warm. At
11:00 it’s 71°, at 3:00 we reached 88°.
John alternated out-and-in; work/rest/drink – trying to not do things in the sun. He’s gone out to move a hose from one to another of our pine trees, and now back in to cook us a ham omelet for brunch. The cats are outside as his companions.
Late afternoon call from a dear friend in Houston, TX.
Two hurricanes are headed toward her.
We talked for ½ hour. She fell and broke her right leg over a month ago, had surgery, and is in a boot now for 3 days but still using a scooter to get around her house. She’s a high school teacher but has to ask for help with getting groceries and going anywhere, because she cannot drive. She also has runs a volunteer reptile rescue operation and needs help caring for all the animals, although she can do some.
Supper: Progresso Soup with added cooked chicken breast. John had breaded cod, fried.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan