Odds & Ends From the Fairly Odd Parents

I'm pretty sure none of you have ever watched the cartoon show "The Fairly Odd Parents" (I haven't either), but I really like the title. Something about it speaks to  me.

So a couple of weeks ago I rode my bike north along the levee (I usually ride south), and saw this interesting  sight below. A pretty nicely set up homeless camp on the banks of the Feather River. Shaded and with waterfront access. Oh, and the sign says: "Absolutely NO Camping." 

Last week we had a guy deliver 10 yards of top grade top soil for our backyard garden. The pile below may not look like it, but that's the whole 10 yards.  ;- ) Anyway, with some help from Peter O. I managed to get it all moved with a wheelbarrow by Saturday so that someone could come in and start laying the sprinkler system. We're making progress.

The bad news is that Friday after school I drove over to take a little treat to Mom after work. I just missed her, because I passed her on the road going the other way. So I make a quick U turn and see that she is parked in the middle of the street, in the midst of making a left turn, and appears to be talking to some guy in a red Toyota Camry. I think: what the heck is she doing? Then I realize that she was broadsided by the Camry while turning. The good news? Not her fault. Not much damage. No injuries. Other guy is very apologetic. Still a pain to have to deal with. See her poor little blueberry below.

And finally, our stake held a Youth Conference at Zion's Camp last Saturday. A huge success! The theme was "A light in the Wilderness." Part of the deal was this 15' tall tower that was assembled just for that day. In some ways, vastly different from the ones we used to lash together when I was a kid. for scouting adventures. But in other ways, not so different at all. 

 I'm at the top, from which I delivered the opening lines of my address, mostly about the importance and advantages of towers in a spiritual sense. The rest of my remarks were given from below, on the stage. If you want to know the gist of my comments, read the chapter in "It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It" by Robert Fulghum where he talks about Alexander Papaderous and the meaning of life.

Exciting times in deed.

The Uncles

One of our favorite movies is "Second Hand Lions" which is about a boy that is dropped off at his bachelor uncles house and ends up being raised by them.  It is a great movie.  It makes me think about my Dad's brothers, 2 of which passed away this year.  The story of my Dad's family has always fascinated me, partly because of the history that they lived and also because of the interesting and amazing individuals they were.

Dad actually had 3 brothers.  When he was 2, his brother Floydie was born and had brain damage resulting from the use of forceps.  Sadly, at age 11 they had to put him in a state run institution.  I can't imagine how hard that must have been for the whole family.  Harry was young at the time and they worried about his safety when Floydie got aggressive. Dad pretty much grew up with him, though and I'm sure was one of his caregivers as well as big brother.  Floydie must have had good care.  He actually lived into his 50's or 60's.  I look forward to meeting him someday.

1939 from  left Harry, Floyd, Frances holding Paul, Grace and Emmett

Harry was the next in line and was also the Uncle I knew the best. He and Dad both served in WWII.  Being several years younger, he joined later in the war and didn't have to go to the front lines like Dad. He lived in Kuna a good portion of his life.  He and Dad loved to go hunting and fishing.  Harry was a confirmed bachelor, and even more confirmed cowboy.  He lived his golden years out in a trailer near my brothers house in Kuna.  He had a family of cadallics and always seemed to have a terrier-type dog around, too.  He and my Dad had some things in common.  They were both  men of few-words.  I remember when Harry came to visit, they would talk for a few minutes and then just sit in comfortable silence for the longest time.They were good friends, even though their lives were quite different.

 

Paul, Frances, Floyd, Emmett and Harry at Floyd and Frances 50th Wedding celebration 1968

Uncle Paul was born in 1938 - Dad was 19,( I think he helped pay the hospital bill.) It was nearing the end of the depression, just before WWII started.  Dad had been working on his own, but I bet he enjoyed the time he could spend with his new baby brother.  I know he was always proud of Paul and his accomplishments.  He had the opportunity for more education that any of the others and was very successful professionally.  He ended up living in southern California most the his life, so we didn't get to see him very much. My older sisters spent alot of time with him when they were growing up, I remember them talking about his talent for electronics.  He was always kind to me as a child.  I will miss getting his Christmas cards. He has a wonderful family that carry on the Mumford tradition.

So these are my Uncles, I am very thankful for them. (But I am even more thankful that my parents didn't drop me off so they could raise me!)

Labor Day Hike

Mom and I decided to take the afternoon off and do a little hiking. We even took grandma, and while we ran up the hill and back, she sat down at the lake and put her feet in the water.  The scene below looks Southwest and contains Lake Spaulding on the left and I-80 in the center background.

These photos were taken from the top of Zion Hill (6000') which is on the Southwest corner of Blue Lake. I messed up the angle, but Mom is almost holding Old Man Mountain in her palm (it's to the left), and hidden behind the hill you see in back of me is Grouse Ridge.

It's really nothing to brag about, hiking up Zion Hill. We started at 5700' at least, so no big rise in elevation, and a real easy walk with no real climbing. But it's really worth the drive, I think. Beautiful view, always a nice breeze, lots of good memories - not the least of which was a YW 4th Level hike that Mom and I went on together  probably 20+ years ago. We camped down at Blue Lake. Come to think of it, it was probably not the best camping experience for Mom. But no need to go into details. . .

On the way down I took this photo of a cool looking balanced rock. Perhaps the best part of the trip was when we stopped for chocolate dipped ice cream cones in Grass Valley on our way home. Did you know McDonalds has chocolate dipped cones? Well, they do, and they're nearly as good as Dairy Queen's. We had fun.

Yard Update

So I finally have a few minutes today to give you a brief update. In spite of being the laziest man on earth, I managed to do a little work last Saturday to finish up one portion of the back yard improvement. The first photos you see below are actually something I did  month or so ago. It's the beginning of a short retaining wall that will eventually make it's way around to the back fence, enclosing a raised garden bed for Melody to use. She got the idea from her sister Colleen when we her in Idaho visited there last month.

What I was able to complete last Saturday was the patio portion from the stairs to the garage. You might not guess it, but there are 127 16" square paving blocks laid out there. Each one weighing just over 30 lbs. I have them set in the dirt for easy removal should one need to be replaced.

This ares is completely shaded by 3pm, so it should be a great place to hang out in the evenings fro BBQ's or whatever. Maybe I'll put my hammock up there.

We had John Stentzel come by and give us a quote for hyro-seeding and installing a sprinkler system. He'll get started in a couple of weeks, which means it probably won't be ready for grand kids to run and play on until after Pam & Rob are here in mid-October. But there's always the school across the street.