Week 6 - Oregon City, Oregon - February 7- February 14, 2022

Monday evening we celebrated Holland fourth birthday.  There was a big crowd at Warren's,  Holland was so excited, squealing with delight when she got a perfect toy.

Warren had made a perfect cake for a little girl - rainbow, unicorn, suckers...and ordered lots of pizza for adults

Weather was warmish and sunnyish all week long.   The Indian Peach is continuing to develop.

Daffodils growing in the woods are bursting.

Dad trimmed fruit trees.  Warren and Whitney helped him a lot.

I cleaned out the gutters on the barn (pretty awful job on top of a ladder)

gutter of the lea-to

I cleaned out the area behind the barn - that hadn't been done for forever.

One afternoon, Janie walked in the woods with me.

On Activity Day we continued our experience with tying a square knot and using the not to tie up a box and also pirate hats.

We also practiced wrapping up a box with wrapping paper..which was challenging.

I am now the proud owner of a Benchmade knife called the Station Knife.  It is the ultimate kitchen knife - -very expensive and so new on the market that even Paul cant get one at a discount.  but, Dan Yates, who is an engineer at Benchmade and who had developed the knife, had a few pre-production knives "around", and he gave me one!!

Bev go her very own Vermont Garden Cart.

On Saturday I worked on a maple tree that is right on the edge of the big Canyon.  The poot tree is covered with mounds of hanging clematis, which is a nasty invasive plant.  I prove my point.

Is clematis invasive in Oregon?

Threat: Like English ivy, it is one of the largest invasive species threat to trees • Blankets shrubs and trees, eventually causing them to collapse • Grows along ground in layers that are several feet thick, preventing growth of native vegetation • Spreads quickly along river margins, but will establish in any area 

But how to remove it present a problem.  I tied my long rope to a filbert stump cluster, thres the rope over the edge, climbed down the steep incline, and used my hand clippers to cut off the vines at ground level and then a few feet higher.  It was very satisfying.

Before

And after

Went to the second to the last gymnastic meet in Corvallis.  Against U of Wash.  OSH won handily.  The best thing was that Jade Carey scored a 10 in the Floor.  It was amazing!!!!

She did not win all four rotations...which was sad...but two other OSU women did...and that is really good for the "team effort".

Here Jade is, on the side line again practicing before her beam routine.

Next week the meet with be against Utah at Utah.....sigh.  They are rated #4 and OSU is rated #13.  but, I bet we will win!