Promises, promises

Every week NOAA says that “next week” will be cooler and then as next week approaches…NOT!

It is not as hot as it had been, but it is still 10-15 degrees above normal for the 2nd week of September in Northwest Montana!

Some time ago, I stopped watering the grass… I noticed that the yellow jackets gravitated toward water sources so I decided to dry things up and see if that helped.

I brought in the herbie watering can, the boys’ water bowl (the boys were not out anyway), and shut down the sprinklers.

The good news is I haven’t had to mow!! I think I mowed 4 times before shutting things down. Oh, well.

The bad news is that it didn’t help the yellow jacket situation AND I lost my cilantro on Beardog Hill – not a show stopper for this summer.

Today, the high was 76F at my house…and an abundance of sun and blue sky.

Not horrible but it should be 66F!

But, Bear and I got outside a bit more than we have been.

Still…we got hot… and the yellow jackets – Bear likes them about as much as I do.

Inside sounded like a good idea.

NOAA…and Fall…Promises, promises!

Cool August night

YES!!

And rain, too!

August started with a whoosh of a cold front and then an afternoon, night and all day today gentle rain.

Hoo…I say HOO-RAH!

The forecast high today was 65F but it only made it to 60. I am ecstatic and dressed in fleece shirt and boots and long pants. AND, I even turned the heat on for just 15 minutes to take the chill and damp off…for Bob, you know :) !!

Rainy day Bob…

Rainy day Bear…

Rainy day me…

It’s ok. I was happy to sit at my desk and plug along at work while Bob and Bear snored.

In the wishful thinking department:

We started August cool and rainy
On Monday Bear and I saw a Cinnamon Bear on the game trail! ( we usually only see bears Spring and Fall)
Also on Monday, squirrels were working in the yard gathering stuff
There are a LOT of butterflies

Maybe it will be an early Fall …. maybe the yellow jackets will take the hint and do their Fall thing NOW!

A girl can hope….ok, a middle-aged woman can hope! I know Bear and Bob hope too!

Mr. Bob’s ear news… it is STILL going on. Last week we got an all clear from Dr. Clark via visual exam. To be on the safe side we continued the meds through Saturday. By Tuesday, Bob had the wobbles.

RATS.

DOUBLE-TRIPLE RATS!!!

We picked up more medication today and have calls in to 2 specialist clinics. We will travel either to Missoula or Great Falls or both this coming week.

On the plus side, Dr. Clark told me today that his gut feeling is that things look worse than they are. He was referring to my worry over Bob’s wobbly symptoms vs all other tests and as he said, his own intuition based on years of experience. As much as I try not to and KNOW that it does Bob no good to worry, it was so good to hear this. Bob is eating and drinking normally, normal output, he sticks to his normal routine and does not seem in pain.

So.

Onward!

The other good news is that originally, I was to pick up the newly washed and waxed Wild Thing today. That would have meant driving a fresh clean motorhome in the rain…on roads that had been dusty – resulting in yucky, muddy splashes. BUT…, the person working on WT called in sick and now she is to be ready next Tuesday AND staying in a nice garage bay at the body shop all this time. Another HOO-RAH! She should be home in time to load and head to whichever clinic(s) we need to go to.

It might not be exactly the getaway I had in mind, but we will get away and hopefully move toward full resolution of Bob’s ear infection. Dr. Clark does feel that is all it is…just bad, resistant bug or bugs. There is nothing to indicate anything worse.

The lastest wobbly Bob video…recorded for the veterinary diagnostic purposes.

O, Hail!

A small thunderstorm…

with hail!

But…

…sun in the mix, also!

O, Hail!

Weather, etc.

The waning “super moon” greeted us on this morning’s first outing.

Overnight dew turned into ground mist as the sun rose.

A beautiful, cool morning…

Bear stood watch on Beardog Point after our perimeter walk.

Bob took the front door duty after he walked down the driveway with me. Although we started another round of a combo medication – just to be sure we beat the bugs – Bob is very close to 100% back to normal Bob. Hoo-rah!!

We took extra time outside this morning – for a work day… after a wonderful run of cool weather with overnight rain and some daytime showers, a sudden jump into summer and heat is forecast.

I looked at NOAA yesterday afternoon.

Hazardous Weather Outlook ???? … for sunshine ???

No, for heat. Not just heat, historic heat!! See, I am not the only heat wimp in Montana :) !

***Colorado West Fork Complex. I guess because no structures have been lost, i.e. there is not enough drama for this fire to continue to make the news despite the fact that there are 1400 people working it with no containment yet and continued extreme fire behavior. It is good news that no structures have been lost and people like my folks are VERY grateful for the effort. My folks are still evacuated – their home is on the edge of South Fork, CO which is closest to the north east border of the largest fire. The fire is still spotting up to a mile away and also doing some crown runs. A bulldozed fire line which is being continually monitored and widened sits between their house and the fire. Firefighters have also been able to protect Wolf Creek ski area, numerous cabins and other small resorts. It is still a matter of weather but there is some hope that things will be calm enough to allow access this coming weekend.