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.

My World--My view of the Grand Canyon.

Other entries for My World Tuesday can be found here.

For a real view of the Grand Canyon, visit Geogypsy, who hiked to the bottom a week or so ago.

My world will get back to normal when we get home later today.

A treat while waiting in my world

If you have come early to the airport to get through security, and the airport is not particularly busy so security takes about half a minute, and your flight is one hour delayed, it could be boring.

As we were waiting, a group of puppy raisers for Guide Dogs of America came in to give their trainees some experience of the sights and sounds of an airport. There were eight beautiful young dogs and eight enthusiastic puppy raisers. Puppy raisers very generously raise these dogs to give them up, giving them their initial training in behavior and socialization, familiarizing them with situations in public places, teaching them to remain calm no mater what as facilitators assess them for the needed temperament. This group gather for outings such as this one on a fairly regular basis.

That calm no matter what part seems to be working well.

After spending a half hour or more in the terminal waiting area, this dedicated group went on their way to their next learning adventure.

That's what happenend to liven up My World this afternoon. To see what's happening in other parts of the world, visit the My World site.

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.

At Gairloch Loch

Up the hill behind the teashop (I think the white building at the near left is it) we looked back down at Gairloch Loch. Men at work is early this week--maybe I'll have another by Thursday.

Look closer and you will see the men at work--the fishermen and their nets.

I wonder what they will catch.

It's not my world every day, but it is the everyday world for those fishermen, and it was ours for that day less than four weeks ago. We've been home just two weeks. On Tuesday, Bloggers around the world show their part of the world, you can find them here.

On Top of My World

My fortune cookie last week said I would be on top of the world.

I felt that I was when I took this picture near the Fremont Lookout.

Some others were closer to the top and had been even closer.





Do you see them?



















How about now?

Approximately ten thousand people a year attempt the summit of 14,410 foot Mt. Rainier.

About half of them make it. the others turn back becasue of weather (not an issue this past weekend when these were taken), altitude sickness, or fatigue. Many go with guide services. Others do the climb with friends. Many do it more than once. It requires proper equipment, training in climbing skills, and determination.

For those forced to turn back because of weather or other dangerous conditions, it may be a disappointment, but the mountain will be there another day. We saw a helicopter airlift an injured climber off the mountain yesterday. He was injured on the way down, so after a successful summit.

And that's the story from the top of my world, where among other things, we shoveled some snow this weekend and marked trails to make them safer for those of us whose top of the world looks more like the first picture.

My World Tuesday can be found here.

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.

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.