Wet August/Dry September, cookout, birthdays

If I remember correctly, we recorded the wettest August for many years but we are following that with the driest September in many years. As the humidity rises we get closer and closer to rainfall, but we are obviously not there yet. Last night we had a storm blowing through the area with strong winds, lots of lightening and dark skies – but no rain for us. I was going about watering the plants last night when we got home from our evening out and had to give up because my back hurt so badly that I could not finish the chore. Each time I water the plants at the house I disconnect the hose from the camper, hook up the watering attachment and then reconnect it to the camper when I am done. Not a big deal, but last night I was hurting too badly to go through the exercise of dragging the hose to the back yard to wet down the fruit trees, the elderberry plants and the bed where we have blueberries, blackberries and asparagus growing. The front flowerbeds are fairly easy once the back is done but I had to leave it all undone. The poor wilting plants will have to wait until Thursday evening to get the life-giving water they need.

I feel better this morning. I took a muscle relaxer last night and I think it helped. It is hard to tell because I got hit by chills when I got out of the shower last night and they continued until about 2:30 when I woke up soaking wet. The fever – or whatever it was – passed and I slept the rest of my short night without shivering. Little Gracie Echeveria asked her mommy on the eve of her birthday last year, “Can you get sick on your birthday?” Unfortunately, yes. They postponed her birthday for a few days so she could enjoy the festivities that year. Fortunately, we are mostly well for all the birthdays we have in the family this month. I believe there are seven birthdays to celebrate this month. We will celebrate with one birthday bash on Friday – before Nate, Cori and the kids head east to meetings in the Temple area. Sometime in early October they will head north and be on the road until just before Christmas. Mama is already dreading that.

Mama and Cori planned a cookout for yesterday evening. The weather was warm and very windy. We headed to a nearby park that borders a small portion of the north end of Bridgeport Lake as soon as I got home and got changed. It is often a challenge to light a charcoal grill but with the wind we were dealing with, it looked like we would not make it. However, after three attempts to get the fire going, moving the truck to block the wind and rearranging chairs and trashcans to further shield the grill, we got the charcoal burning enough to cook hamburgers, hot dogs and frog legs.  Mama was worried at the outset about the timing of the evening meal but we were all as full as ticks by 5:30. The wind kept the flies at bay – at least partially.

The kids played in the shallow water near the table where we parked the vehicles and the grill. Savanna had to be stripped down to her diaper after only a few minutes in the water. The older kids had to be constantly called back closer to the shoreline in order to keep their baby sister in shallow enough water to make things safe for her. She certainly was not going to allow her older siblings to go anywhere without her. They had a good time and Mama and I know we will go back to the park many times in the future since it is only about ten miles from us.

We need a little getaway by the water – and this one will do nicely.