As usually happens in this part of the world, summer comes with a big rush.  Snow slid off the mountains and the river came up, but not excessively so.Dandelions were king!Jacobs ladder added a wonderful mauve counterpoint.Cut-leafed anemones sprouted.Pine flowers ready to shed their pollenI have very few saskatoon bushes and they are stunted and small.  But this year they bloomed profusely.Silky phacelia.The pond continues to host birds such as these two tiny sandpipers.And the greater yellowlegs was peeping loudly.  Just as I took his picture, Mama mallard and her babies swam by.I was very busy getting ready for the Yukon but one morning I finally snatched time to walk up onto the south bluff.  I still can’t get used to the green.From there I could see lesser scaups (the dots are mayflies whizzing about.) and rough-winged swallows, and hear nutcrackers and the rich warble of the lincoln sparrow.  Then the rattle of a kingfisher.  I spotted him on a snag – with his catch!  bitten off more than he could chew!Along with the trip preparation (AND a final read of Harry’s manuscript – it’s out of my hands now) I also had to deal with a major upheaval with changing my internet provider and also my server.  You may remember the tower that was erected last year. (To the right of the big fir.)There were technical difficulties during the winter, but finally I got hooked up.
The new dish is much smaller than the old satellite internet dish.And I have had ENDLESS problems with all the adjustments.  Which is why I am writing this on the first night of my Yukon trip (I am staying with a friend tonight.)

A couple of days before I left home, my caretakers arrived.  And I put them to work!  Here is Derek taking down the old dish prior to putting a real cover on the greenhouse roof!Which he plans to do when I’m away.  Can’t get better caretakers than that!

I’ll write when I can.