Old, renewed and new in my world

It was a surprise to me a few weeks ago when along the back roads I saw this familiar orchard in this state. Orchards are torn out for a variety of reasons. As trees age--these were probably forty years old--they are less productive and it can be financially beneficial to take the few years necessary to establish a new orchard. Add to that the new varieties of fruit that have replaced the old in the tastes of the consumer. If I recall correctly, this orhard was either Red or Golden Delicious. Although the Goldens are still a favorite apple of mine, You see a lot more Fujis, Galas, Braeburns, and others in the supermarket.

Today I passed that way again and found the progress:

So, will it be a new variety of fruit that goes in? I cannot imagine Janet, who  is the owner of that property, subdividing for houses there. I guess I will have to wait and see.

Further up the road on that first trip I found a team of workers installing the posts for a new vineyard. I do not remember what crop was grown in this area before. Today the posts and the wires that they support appeared to be completed, and a cleaning up of bits of branches and such that were remaining was underway. Vineyards are common in the Yakima Valley, and wine grapes have been replacing juice grapes more and more over the years that we have lived here--earning the area the name of Wine Country.

So that's some of what's happening in My World today. I need to take the camera out to the site of the new library, for which I showed the ground-breaking a few months ago. Progress is really taking place there, and I have been asked to volunteer to help move books in July--having had experience in moving libraries, though nothing so large a project as this.

What's happening in other parts of the world? Check My World Tuesday.

...and if you decide...

A news report concerning a problem with skunks in one of our nearby communities included options the citizens have for dealing with the critter invasion. An officer with the Department of Fish and Wildlife warned--with a subtle smile and a gleam in his eye--that if you decide to trap them yourself to use an enclosed trap.

Hmmmm.

Suppose he found out the hard way?

opening day?

 Nope, they didn't open.

(See working to deadline post from Wednesday.)

Sky Reflected

I didn't want to miss both SkyWatch and Weekend Reflections, so I remembered one evening when my hubby said, "Come here and bring your camera." It was a glorious sunset, and a fun foto as reflected in the windows of our cars parked in front of the house.

Find SkyWatch here  and Weekend Reflections here.

An idea just needs the right people to put it into effect.

giving a cheer for a new joint venture

I would like to think that an idea brought home from a conference almost twenty years ago is coming to fruition in my world today. I had joined the library director at a conference for small and rural libraries. The best part of the conference, as often happens, was the ideas shared at lunch. We heard of all sorts of cooperative arrangements that were taking place in all sorts of places. We returned with a suggestion. An empty building near the new community college satellite campus, a campus without a library, and a city library bursting at the seams--why not a cooperative venture between the two entities?

The response was underwhelming.

It must have had to be the right person to have the idea, and thus twenty years later, here stands our state legislator (after all, it's election season) with a shovel in his hand.

And the cheer and the shovel are all a part of the ceremonial ground-breaking for the Grandview City--Yakima Community College cooperative library.

That's what's new in My World.

What's happening in other parts of the world? See My World Tuesday here.

Our community was rocked...shocked...

I take a break in the posts about our trip to Scotland, England and Wales, because today marked a sad event in our local community. In the early morning hours one night last week, a devastating fire took the lives of three Washington State Patrol employees from the area.

We knew Gary Miller back when he was a patrolman in the Grandview Police Department at the beginning of his law enforcement career. An Eagle Scout himself, he was a volunteer with our Cub Scout Pack.

He went on to a career in the State Patrol. Whenever I saw a patrol car pass, I always gave a glance to see if it was Gary.

His wife Ann worked in the Emergency Dispatch Center. It was she who calmly called in the 911 call about the fire. Though I never met Ann, I knew her parents.

Trooper Kristopher Sperry was staying with the Millers until he could move into his new home this week.

A memorial for the three was held in the Yakima Sundome today. About 2000 people attended. Many more lined the streets or gathered on overpasses along I-82 as a procession of 213 police and fire vehicles made its way to the services.

We joined a group on the Outlook overpass that included several Fire and Rescue employees, some others who knew Gary, and 90½ year old (he included that "one half" specifically the several times he mentioned his age) Alvin Hufnail, who told us he was the first person Miller met in Grandview. Hufnail says a hungry Miller came into the grocery he was working in for some purchases and they later became fast friends.

He had carefully fastened his American and Washington flags to a long bamboo pole to display on the overpass.

Near the staging area, Sunnyside jail trustees gave a spruce up to patrol cars that had come a distance for the procession. Officers from as far as Montana participated in the procession, while some Canadian officers also attended the memorial.The highway lane was closed to other traffic to clear the way.

It took about twenty miinutes before the last of the procession passed.

I'm not sure, but I think this fly-over was a WSP aircraft--"the eye in the sky".

And all covered by the local TV reporter.

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Gary Miller, Ann Miller-Hewitt, Kristopher Sperry

May you rest in peace.

Rosy Geometry

I was looking for something recent that was geometric for Geometry Monday.



The new Rose Garden Gazebo is an octagon.







...and it has a view.

SkyWatch Reflection in the Work Zone

Those green lights aren't doing anybody any good since the road behind me is closed. No traffic the morning I chose this as my walking route, but it was early. I walk early to get my miles of training in because it is getting pretty hot in the afternoons.

This will serve for SkyWatch Friday and for the Weekend Reflections hosted by James.  I could have used it for my Thursday Working feature as well, but I've been waiting to use the flagger picture.

Working

Construction continues on the streets and sidewalks in our town. No matter where you turn, you will find someone working on the project.

White Pelicans Summer in My World

They arrive on the Yakima River sometime in March each year and are gone some time in the Fall. When I commuted, I generally would not see them early in the morning--I think they are late risers. But along about nine or ten o'clock if you would be going along the river, you might see them flying in formation--two, five or ten. Rarely solitary, they seem to prefer the society of the flock. On my commute home I might see them already settling for the night--again in groups.

On our return trip from Leavenworth Sunday afternoon we found this flock in the Yakima River Canyon between Ellensburg and Yakima and stopped for a good look. I've never seen so many at once--Linda counted seventy and I had estimated about the same but was too busy with the camera to do a detailed count. (I guess they are standing still for us now, so you can check our accuracy if you wish.)

What's happening in your part of the world today?

Visit My World today.

ABC Wednesday--V is for View

No matter where you look there is a view--over there beyond the school above  is Mt. Adams.

Up past the new Rose Garden, that's Mt. Rainier.

And again Mt. Adams as I walk down a main street of town.

When our city was organized just 101 years ago, or maybe even before, the townspeople did not have a difficult time deciding on a name for the town. What a grand view! someone said. And so it was Grandview.

ABC Wednesday winding down to the end of its sixth round. I've been here since the beginning of Round  Two. I have thoughts already for a theme for Round Seven.

Rose Garden Update

Plundered!

When I first wrote here about the Rose Garden, I did not know what the plan was for the old rose garden which had been established more than seventy years ago by the Grandview Garden Club. Now I know. My walk this morning took me through the park where the Rose Garden was located.

The new Rose Garden is lovely, and will be enjoyed by many in its location at the entry to town, but I am sad to see the old one go. All that remains are half a dozen bushes and a lot of weeds. Most of the roses were relocated to the new garden.

But look under the red roses. What do I see among the cast off prunings?

Mr. and Mrs. Quail like the changes.

I look forward to learning what is planned for the space where the old Rose Garden graced the park for so many years.

My World Tuesday in the Rose Garden

In my world the other day, I went walking to town and passed through the Rose Garden of which I wrote back here in February. In February it was a bit of a mystery, as we had had a Rose Garden in another park for many decades. It was also not much to look at then.

Well, it has improved, both with the efforts of city workers and volunteers and with the passage of the seasons.

Here is a section of reds...

...such as this one.

Whites and yellows were in another section.

Through the path and a look back over the way.

The old Rose Garden in the city park remains. I will take a walk through there in the next little while to see how it fares with all the attention here on the edge of town.

Okay, it's a stretch

But this is Monday's Geometry.

I had stopped by the neighbor's fence to take some pictures of the chickens when this curious calf came to investigate...

 

...displaying the barbed wire and the shadows of the wire in parallel lines.

and, of course, his cute nose checking into Geometry Monday.