Jennie Logsdon Martin, L.O.F.
(Licensed Oregon Fisherwoman)

Whoo hooo! Happy Fourth of July!

I'm on my way to the kitchen to bake up something wild. Will it be my famous flag cake? OK, so it's not famous, but within our family... but it's just a plain old sheet cake with whipped cream or butter cream and blueberries for stars, and strawberries for the stripes. It's just what we do!
Too funny. My sister Teri has a Fourth of July party most years, but in the last few years, it hasn't happened. I received an invitation, though, and it reads:

-- Just wanted to alert everyone to the fact that our annual Fourth of July party is back after a two year hiatus!
Hope you all still have the date available and have not strayed to other, less dangerous parties--

Hmmmm. Could that be due to the fact that it seems every year we have an accident? My brother ended up with a shoulder injury one year that landed him in a hospital.
My family just has too much fun. I hear that three wheelers are dangerous, tho... LOL Why is it that I was raised in a family that laughs when people get hurt? That's sick! But I love it!
So, I have to get all this done and get over to the valley to join in the danger! Whoo hooo!
Have a safe and wonderful Fourth! Myself? I'm gettin' me some of that danger!

July 2nd

Wow! I'm one day late, even, but

HAPPY JULY!

I spent a day with Andrew, pretty much just visiting. I really enjoy his company, lately.
I listened to his music for a while. He's gotten so great!
Oddly enough, he doesn't read music, so for the umpteenth time since his childhood, I sat down to teach him some music theory. This time, he was ready for it!
You know how sometimes you just have a mind block on some things? Well, he did for a long time, but finally, we cut through the frustration and solved some of the things that had blocked him from letting the information sink in.
I taught him the pattern for a major scale and he understood!
You know, I've been teaching music via 'methods in a books' for years. But, to teach without a book, and to have to stop and explain why, without the use of a method or book is really eye opening! Things like "Under the two tall trees live C, D and E" don't apply to the guitar!
It was extremely satisfying to answer his questions in a way that caused me to stop to think and understand, better, myself.
Andrew has two wonderful notebooks for writing, given to him by a friend. One, he uses for writing notes, and the other for writing music.
So, he took notes, noting where the half steps go (and what half steps are!) and where the whole steps go in the scale.
It's interesting for me, having only taught and learned on a piano, that a half step is a fret and a whole step skips a fret. Plus, you can perform a scale on one guitar string, but in order to play efficiently, it's good to change strings to finish the scale. I learned some, too!
There is nothing more satisfying in teaching then seeing that look of final understanding on a person's face. That "Ahhhh!" opening of the brain to let things sink in! It was fun!
Next up? How to play the minor scales!
What's this got to do with fishing? Not a darn thing!
Except-- I've written a couple new 'river' songs, lately that I hope to play for Grant McOmie's segments. I can't wait!
It's good to have music in my life.
The olive green sparrows are learning to fly, today and it's so fun to watch the family that I've been watching daily, in their little bird house that Bill and I provide, each year. I'll miss them when they are gone! A baby and it's Mother are now sitting on the edge of the roof, visiting. I imagine they are talking about the weather, or maybe about where they'll fly next, and where to land in an emergency!
Every year, Bill and I have a pair of barn swallows that attempt to build a nest and raise their babies in the same place, on the same piece of wood in the barn. Most years, they fail. I don't know if they are the same birds, attempting this, but I'd like to think so.
We had 2 successful young ones come out of their nest, one year, a couple years back. But, this year, as usual, the babies fell from their nest. By the time we noticed, they had expired in the heat. First one baby, then another day, the other. It's so sad to see, but I guess it's just nature, and only the strong survive.
It kind of brings a sadness to me, this time of year, because I know that soon the sky around me will be quiet, again, and that empty hush of late summer comes over us.
I don't like that.
Spring is always such a lively time, with every bush surrounding us, alive with the life of winged creatures. They fill the meadow with beautiful song. It just makes for such a full and lively sky. I like life in my skies. I do!
It's about the hustle and bustle of filling feeders and making yet another (sigh) batch of hummingbird juice. Bill and I are known too scan the papers for sales on sugar, and complain about the cost of sunflower seeds. Why is it that we complain about the things that we enjoy most? I think it's mostly done with a light heart.
Right now, as I listen, I hear at least 10 different bird songs. Soon, there will be a hush over the entire valley and the lush, almost tropical colored flowers that hang from the bushes will begin to drop off and die.
That dusty brown color will start to take over, and the sprinkler systems will be run endlessly, to try to keep it from happening!
The ongoing fight for green.
Each day I do my ifish chores, and then head out in my pajamas to water the flower baskets in an effort to fool them into an endless Spring! I sing at the top of my lungs, hoping no one is around. Silly songs, like "OHhhhh The Lord is good to MEEEEEE!"
Bill rolls his eyes and tries to hide from it. But, it feels good to be able to sing at the top of my lungs, with no one around. I have, however, been caught at it. Oh, my red face!
My eyesight isn't that good. How was I to know a people were on the river?
Despite all efforts, the dusty brown will win. It always does!
Then, we can go to the river to watch the swallows dip over the water, catching bugs. Bill and I try to count the numbers. That's hard to do when they are moving! It's as hard to count the hummingbirds around the feeders. We giggle as we sit for morning coffee, "Two, three... no wait! Eight, nine, no... eleven!"
Thank God that summer hasn't won, yet. The birds are still here. The sky is full of beautiful music and the green is all around us.
An olive green just flew by my window. I snapped this picture of Mom, flying off. The little one better hurry up and follow!

Click pic to zoom

It's as if the parents are saying, "Hurry, little one! Learn the ways of life! Quickly! Fall is coming! Before you know it you will be on your own, and you have a lot to learn!"
We never stop learning, do we? What a blessing that is!
Henry David Thoreau said, “It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.”
How true is that.
How true is that!
Off I go to water my plants. Enjoy your day. Enjoy your life. Take it one breath at a time, and appreciate all that surrounds you! The world is a miracle and there is so much to appreciate!