Family, Flowers, and Photos

 Saturday was about Family. While Tom met with a 90 year old cousin he had not seen since childhood and his daughter to share family history at my sister's house in Chehalis, my sister Laurie and I took  a little excursion. 

Laurie and her late husband loved to explore back roads so she knows of ways to go places that I have never been on. Our destination was the Columbia River, but via a route over the river and through the woods and over hills and down the dales. Then there was a stop at a pizza shop to pick up our pizza and salads which were ordered on route.

Food in hand, we arrived at Willow Grove Park on the banks of the Columbia to eat and talk, and talk. 

Talking led to more exploring and she drove us west, down river, to the Julia Butler Hanson White Tail Deer Reserve. 

We saw no deer, or any other fauna either, but the flora was lovely and Steamboat Slew was a glassy mirror. 

The upside down trees made for fun photos.

We had a good day together and Tom learned a few stories from his elderly cousin too. 

Next weekend there will be a larger family gathering of my extended family. Tom and I will have a short stay at the Rockaway Beach cabin first, so I thought I'd better dig out my big DSLR camera and see if it still works. I will need it and my tripod to take a family photo and I haven't used it in a long time. My iPhone camera is so much more handy. 

It did need a charged battery. Then I went outside with it to get used to using it again. I took photos. While my iPhone downloads directly to my computer picture files, it took a while to find where my camera flash card photos went. But I persisted.

A few roses are still blooming. 

The garden is kind of rambly now, but there is still color. Phlox

The vegetable garden is mostly a failure, but Marigolds are indomitable. 

Even scrawny sunflowers are pretty. 

Hydrangea Pinky Winky. 

Charlie/Mewdini found me and begged for a snack. 

Tom's greenhouse/shed is newly painted

and the inside is cleaned and ready for cuttings. 

Our Pineapple Lily finally bloomed after many years. We had to take it out of the ground and put it in a pot in a sunny, hot spot. 

Tom's fancy leaf geraniums glow in the shade. They are happier in the cooler weather we are now having. 

Hardy fuchsias survived being cooked and are now blooming well. 

And there you have another l-o-n-g post of family, flowers, and photos. I'm up to speed on my big camera now.