Wenatchee

 Look over the neighboring houses and you can see two cruise ships at the same time. 

 Everything in and out of Seattle and Tacoma has to pass by us so we see all those happy people

 on their way to Alaska and the glaciers.

 This is the view from our window at the Wenatchee River RV park.  What you can't see are the train tracks.  Yep,  all night long, blowing the whistle and clickety-clacking along.

  America at work, but do they have to work while I want to sleep?

 Wenatchee is filled with orchards.  Now it's mostly cherries but looks like the pears are a-comin'.  Plus millions, maybe billions of apples.

 After a wine tasting.  I think I need more.

 We met Cousin Bob and Laurel, with their new RV. 

 They know more about wine but I can outeat them.

 Later in the day from Homer's viewing point. 

   Seems like all we did was go from one meal to another, so just had to stop on the way home for one last burger.  Yes, Al finished the whole thing.  It was a sight to behold.  

Latitude 48.078

The sun rose at 5:15 (without me) and will set at 9:15.  That's sixteen hours and three minutes of  Sequim sunshine, which happens to be very bright and clear today.  You'd think a girl could get a lot of work done in that amount of time, wouldn't you?  We'll see.  Monday we're going to Wenatchee for a few days, so there is a lot to do, but it's such a glorious day, that maybe the chores should wait for tomorrow.  Miss Scarlet would be proud of that attitude.

Here are updates on the horticultural front.

 Bucket zucchini

 That mysterious purple thing.  See the lavender on the brink of blooming. 

 Every day one more Red Hot Poker crawls farther out but we don't know why.  There are a lot of them in the neighborhood but they all stand straight and tall.  We must have the lazy variety.  

 See the mountains way back there?

 Yes, I scoffed at the bucket garden in the beginning but now I have to eat my words.  And vegetables.

Stand back - here come the hydrangeas.  

What twelve feet of rain will produce

Keepin' the kid entertained

We've been having way too much fun!  This week we went to dinner with friends, the high school final choral performance, a Barbershop show, a big band event, a hot rod car display (just what makes it a hot rod and at what point does a car go from being just old to vintage) and the city band in the park.  Unfortunately, it got windy and rainy so the wuss factor took over and we had to flee.

There must be a little colony of ants nearby because one morning I noticed a dead moth moving across the sidewalk.  Closer inspection revealed one powerful little ant dragging it home for dinner.  After a few feet another guy showed up and they worked as a team.  Next time I went for the progress report they were up against the garage wall, apparently figuring out how to get that huge thing into whatever entrance crack they use.  Alas, I didn't see the solution.  Nor did I have the heart to step on them after all that work.  Amazing, isn't it?  They are much like Al - just keep on going.

June is bustin' out all over our garden

 Al and Giano in Port Townsend

 Cooked by Al Petri - good as any fancy restaurant.

  The service isn't quite the same, but the food is pretty good.

 All those tiny bits of blue star creeper are popping up and flinging out teeny flowers. 

 Apparently they will soon fill in the spaces completely and we'll be able to dance across the patio.

  Just in case I learn to dance by then.  

 Sequim is known as the Lavender Capital of North America.  Here we go.  

 We're baffled by this is but can hardly wait to see what is going to pop out. 

 This is another mystery but will be fun to watch. 

The bucket garden is a successful experiment - so far.   

I admit it, I've been lazy

Okay, so I haven't been very good about updates, but how exciting is it to do laundry and pull weeds and mow the lawn?  

 Al's bucket garden is coming along nicely.  I'll keep you posted.

 On Thursday Giano arrived for a two-week visit and we played around in Seattle for the afternoon.

 Polenta with a poached egg.  Is there anything that isn't made better by the glory of a poached egg?

 Toasted lemon blueberry pound cake with raspberry sauce.  I'm in love.

 Last year I showed you some of the Dale Chihuly glass work but we visited it again

 so here is a little bit of his magnificence.

Now we're going to have a little bit of fun in Port Townsend and let the kid see how beautiful the Upper Olympic Peninsula is.  The sun is shining, the grass is green,

 the hay is being baled, the lavender is just beginning to poke out little tiny blooms.