Sunday, June 4th

[Colliemom]

Good Afternoon. Guess you areall busy and no time to post. Beautiful day here, sunny and 79°. We have a cool front coming in later tonight and he’s going to drop her temperatures to nearnormal. So looking at some 70° weather for the next few days.That will feel good after setting heat records for three days.

Was an interesting day yesterday. I smelled smoke in the air when I got up yesterday and I noticed it was very Smokey. . . So I figured there was a wildfire around someplace, perhaps Army national guard range, because they do set one off once in a while. But, yet they weren’t bombing or anything. It did lessen up later when we got a breeze. Found out that it was smoke coming from wildfires in Quebec due to a wind shift which pushed the smoke this way. Because of our closer proximity to Quebec than Alberta, the smoke didn’t have a long enough distance to rise into the higher atmosphere, like it does from the western fires. So it stays closer to ground level.

But a wildfire started early yesterday, 4 miles southeast of Grayling, which is about 20 miles south of me. The fire was in the Jack Pines which will go up like matchsticks. It was moving fast with a bit of a breeze behind it. Evacuations were ordered in a couple areas. Fire crews have been on high alert due to the extreme dry conditions So they jumped on it. As of late afternoon it was up to 1,000 acres. Governor activated the Michigan Emergency response center to make State resources available if need. She wasn’t wasting time. Said she’s not letting Northern Michigan burn up. The State Dept.of Natural Resources, at least 15 fire departments from surrounding counties, the USFS, Michigan State police, National Guard have been fighting the fire with heavy equipment, bulldozers, planes and helicopters. Planes and helicopters have been drenching the fire with water picked up from 3 area lakes. There were helicopters flying back-and-forth over my house all afternoon yesterday. Although they were picking up water closer to the fire, I think they had to come up to Gaylord to refuel, being we are the largest airport nearby. Power company turned off power to Grayling, but a recent post said they were going to restore it very shortly. The fire is estimated to have burned between 2400 and 4000 acres and is now 85% contained. They closed a 5 mile stretch of I 75 yesterday due to extremely heavy smoke from the fire. Reopened it last night about 10 o’clock. I have not heard of any structures being lost, as the majority of the fire was burning through trees and open ground. There was also a fire over at one of the communities along the Lake Huron shoreline on Friday, but they stopped that one at 250 acres. There have been numerous small fires, but they have been stopped before they’ve had a chance to get anywhere. We are under a red flag warning again today. This fire, according to a report, I just now saw, was started by a campfire on private property. As is the case here, ver 90% of wildfires are human caused.

Need to water my flowers. Then off to woodcrafts.

[Irmi]

Hi Sue & those that check in,

Sue, I really enjoyed the flowering bushes and trees you posted and the sign you made is so nice! Nothing is new here. Since today is Sunday, all of you know where I was this morning. I'm going to make a cheesy broccoli and ham casserole for dinner. I meant to make it yesterday but ran out of steam. We had some thunder clouds over us and I've been out twice and keep coming in because of thunder in the distance. But now it looks like it may actually be dissipating so think I will try again. I'd much rather be outside. Enjoy the rest of your day.

[SoCalGalcas]

WowSue, those fires are horrible. I’m glad the governor is paying attention to the situation.
There is an almost extinct bird that lives in the jack pines a little south of you. The Kirtland’s Warbler. they live in the jack pines that are planted and controlled with fire. One always worries about the birds that are effected by the fires. (At least I do) From your description it sounds like the fire is south of their breeding grounds.
Thanks for the information! Lyn

[OregonLuvr]

Good afternoon. I headed out to the grocery store early as they had a couple of things I wanted on sale. Not many people there, just the folks restocking the shelves and block the narrow aisles...shees. I know they have to restock but that is always my complaint when I go early. Fortunately I didnt need much, just some fresh veggies and a couple of other things. Was cloudy when I left and breezy. The sun made an appearance about 11. I am a little low on outdoor motivation today. So will just continue in the house for today. I want to change my bed linens and clean out the fridge, even tho not much in there right now.

I love looking at everyones flowers as mine are just starting to bloom. I did see some yellow flowers on my tomato plants so there is hope for them to produce this year. I need to go finish my fertilizing. I got some plant food for Hydrangea, Rhododendron, and Azalea plants so will mix that up today.

I need to wash my car too, it is very dusty. I need to buy some car wash as I dont want to use Dawn, think it might be too harsh. I bought a brush for it so all I need now is soap.

I am having Fish and Chips tonight, easy and just throw in the Air Fryer, also going to make up some Sloppy Joe mix as I bought hamburger today and have to Food Saver most of it. So that might be tomorrows dinner or tonights and Fish tomorrow night.....hmmm

Sue hope the fire stays contained, I like 85% contained tho. Yup, I need a motivation boost today. Or maybe not, some days I just accept that I dont have to do anything I dont want to....but the reality is if I dont do it, it wont get done LOL world problems.

[Acadianmom]

I'm busy doing very little. lol About all I have done is wash a load of towels. I didn't cook, just heated leftovers out of the freezer. I'm trying to make room for the jello shots I'm taking to the campout. Turned the refrigerator in the camper on and loaded some clothes. Need to find the box fan I bring in the summer.

When I went out to feed the cats this morning I could smell smoke. Never could tell where it was coming from. We don't have very much woods here but the marsh burns sometimes. I keep forgetting to ask my brother if they are getting any of the smoke in Canada.

Yesterday it rained on me coming back from Lafayette and had several thunder storms come thru here. I probably need to water the roses again.

I just walked out on the back porch and there is a lot of smoke coming from the South so it must be a marsh fire.

Karen, you are so right, if we don't do it, it's not going to get done. I am very good at putting things off.

Martha

[BarbaraRose]

Good afternoon gals!

Karen, you are so right, if we don't do it, it's not going to get done

Is that why my dishes are still in the sink??

Sue, glad they are getting control of that fire! When I hear of fires this early in the season, I worry so much about all the little baby animals that can't escape as well as the adult animals. So sad!

Got my new phone connected and pretty much set up. I do need to find where to adjust color on it since most of the screens are a lime greenish and my Solitaire red cards are brown instead of red. I just ordered a pretty case for it on Amazon for $9. Should be here by Tuesday. I need to get some new charging cords since this phone takes the USB-C cords and I have the older smaller ones.

Kitties are doing well. Both are sleeping now. McKenzie likes to sleep in the bathroom on the floor, probably because the floor feels cooler. I might move her into there with her stuff. The only thing I am worried about is the AC air doesn't get in there as well as the rest of the house and with the door closed it could get pretty warm in there for her.

The forecast for here is seasonably cooler for the next 10+ days, meaning staying under 100*. So that is good. Maybe the whole summer will be cooler in general! But with the cooler temps, come the high winds.

Got 2 haircuts to do tomorrow. Dave & Debbie are leaving at the end of the week for a 2 month vacation up to the Northwest to visit friends and family so they want haircuts before they leave.

Have a good day and stay safe!

Edit: The cats are now 2 feet apart (with the screen in between)! Romeow just went right up to the screen for a second and no hissing or growling! Yay! Big progress!

[JudyJB]

Lyn, the reason that warbler is almost extinct is because they are incredible particular about where they live and nest. First, it requires young jack pines that are from 5" to 25' tall. Second, the ground underneath the jack pines must be sandy, and that is where they put their nests--directly on the sandy soil. This means they have a very, very limited nesting area. Strangely enough, one of their favorite nesting places is in northern Michigan in the middle of Camp Graying, a National Guard Training area that regularly gets bombed and has a shooting range, plus a tank training oval track. (Her Kitty, kitty, do you want an easy snack?) For obvious reasons, the young leave the nests as soon as they can, before they can fly well, which is another hazard. However, they have been doing better in the last couple of decades--currently well over 4,000 birds.

I don't know what the state has been doing lately, but they used to burn a lot of the jack pine area so the birds could have younger trees, but one year, at least, the fire got out of control and spread to several thousand acres!

I have been exhausted, not only because of trying to get my cooling system fixed, but with early morning calls from medical people. My aunt went into hospital and has been moved to ICU because she has pneumonia, UTI, not eating, poor heart function, and a ton of other things. They kept trying to get my to stop treatment, but I said I could not do that without the other POA's agreement, and she was in Spain until a couple of days ago. Other POA got back from Spain on Friday night, and headed out to Atlanta last night via plane. Don't know how she is doing it, but I am niece via marriage and she is biological niece, and felt she had to go.

Anyway, on Friday, I drove over the mountains into Denver, only to find out that this was cutworm moth season. Stayed one night at Cherry Creek SP and started swatting and electrocuting moths--a few the night before, literally a couple hundred or more between 4 am and 5:30 am, and I am not exaggerating. I'd kill a dozen and find a dozen or more hiding in the bathroom. Finally, I could not stand it and got out the RAID and sprayed my bathroom and closed the door--got about 40 that way. Then a smaller spray to kitchen, and yes, I know you should not spray your kitchen. After some research, I found out they were migrating from eastern CO and Kansas, so i packed up and was off by 6 am, after less than 2 hours of sleep. I knew the farther east the better, so I drove all day and got to Wilson lake, after 385 miles. Tried to take a nap halfway there, but found moths in my bedroom, so gave up and just kept driving.

Saturday night, last night, there were fewer moths, maybe 50-60, but I had stopped on the way and got two little ultraviolet lights with sticky pads. https://www.amazon.com/Safer-Brand-SH502-Chemical-Insects/dp/B09T3T1FYN/ref=sr_1_5?hvadid=598924604075&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1020414&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5674995491337413069&hvtargid=kwd-338836224600&hydadcr=22311_13366850&keywords=indoor+bug+light+trap&qid=1685919677&sr=8-5 Anyways, these really work, but you have to turn off other lights as much as possible! Within an hour each one (kitchen and bathroom) each had 5 moths, so I had to change the pads--luckily I got two packs of extras. Gone through a lot of little plastic bags in last couple of days because a bug that looks dead may just be stunned. Did flush some, however. Took trash out this afternoon.

Scrubbed bathroom shower and walls down, ditto for kitchen, and after I got all the moths I could, turned all lights off, then went into bedroom and closed door. Also had to put towels and rug into a big plastic bag because it has all been sprayed also. Hard to sleep, but I probably fell asleep at 1 am and slept until 2 pm today. Still have a headache, but feel better. (Hardly ate anything yesterday, so had a glass of milk in middle of night.) I had been throwing things around to swat at moths with electric swatter so did a thorough vacuuming today, And did dishes with a little bleach in the water and washed down kitchen walls and a few other places. So, all is clean, and am going to stay here one more night. Supposedly the moths have mostly migrated west and some of the ones I killed last night might have been from night before. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[JudyJB]

The sun has set and it is 9 pm, and so far, I have not seen any moths. However, they are sneaky little things. You will find them in cracks and other places. I laid out some clothes for tomorrow and a couple of hours picked them up and found a moth underneath! If I don't see more than half a dozen this evening, I will stay here another three days. Otherwise, I will leave in the morning and head farther east, as they say, the farther east, the better because they have likely already headed to Colorado.

I have taken some Aleve, but I still have a miserable headache. Also had a bad coughing fit a couple of times each day. WIll be seeing doctor when i get back to Ohio in a couple of weeks.

[Acadianmom]

Judy, how are all those moths getting into your RV? I seldom see any but one night I saw one and thought of you. I seldom see any butterflies either. There are rice and sugarcane fields all around here and they spray them all the time. That's probably why I don't see many butterflies. I just wish it killed the love bugs too.

I need to go get the house cats in. I think Possie got left out last night. I have trouble keeping up with them because they are in and out all day long.

Martha

[JudyJB]

Wish I knew how they were getting in!!!! Maybe around slides? Or through engine compartment? Maybe through weep holes or place on windows where the screens rub against the glass? I keep watching and have never seen one get in!!!

[Bethers]

Judy, I get a few moths on occasion. But nothing like you're seeing. No fun.

I spent some time working on the oxidation on the outside of my rig today. I should have spent more time, but had other things I wanted to do. And was lazy. A little a day works for me. I spent time also sorting through paperwork and was able to toss a bunch. Oh and did a load of laundry. So I guess I can't say I was completely lazy. Lol Ty and I didn't walk as much as I planned because late afternoon and this evening we were seeing rain with thunder and lightening. We got it for a bit between a couple bouts of storms but I was constantly watching and listening. If the rain had been more gentle I might have gone back out and used it to do more work on the rig. That wasn't happening with lightening going on.

Sue, I'm glad the fires are contained. That's great news.

Barbie, it sounds like things are improving each day with the cats. Yay.

Irmi, I totally understand running out of steam. Karen, I'm laughing at you grumbling at them restocking. I do that often.

[snowball]

it was Sunday so normal Sunday activities.... they announced that there would be Classy Lassies on Tues. potluck so need to figure out what to take...I am toying with making that recipe that I posted we will see... oh in case you are wondering what Classy Lassie is... it started out as an activity for the women who didn't want to go out to the night time activity that they used to have once a month for the women... now they don't have the activities that often and it depends for Classy Lassie it's usually every other month or more... anyway it's a good excuse to get out and visit...
didn't get my full 2 rows on my crochet afghan done I might so I will stay on my routine just finish that row tomorrow night and then back to my 2 rows a night ... my friend called me yesterday and told me how to do the hat yea but I spent time today unraveling the yarn and reballing it up... it's going to be a busy couple of days...I still need to get some more flowers for those window boxes... know what I want but spelling sometimes is a problem with this flower it is... it starts with an A has ss's in it and ends perhaps with a m you spellers can fill in the blanks so tomorrow to the nursery then store then home at least I don't have to go to the cemetery was thinking of going and getting the vases but dd and I talked decided just to get new as it's probable that they will have been picked up by now they do so in a week so decided not worth the drive over...
we have a tree here that has to have high heat to break open the cones... and for the life of me can't pull the name to my mind used for making teepee poles... as they are very straight and tall... but don't think they have birds that live in them ... glad that those birds are making a come back... and glad the fire is under control I know that at times they would say fire in fire rings and you wondered about the wisdom of it...
we have so many pretty flowers right now need to make a trip up north and see them heard the Lupines are blooming we have a yellow plant looks like a sunflower in away but much shorter and not as stocky or as big.. anyway there are 3 very similar and right now I can't think of but two of them Balsam root and Mule ear and.... they park started calling them the yellow conglomerate and they are so similar and the rangers were getting asked why did so and so call this a different name yesterday??? type of comments... anyway there hillsides of the "yellow conglomerate"
you all have a good night
sheila