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| Prairie flowers at First Law Group |
This month has been a fabulously busy, happy time for Mark
and Hilde. The month was chock full of
flowers, fun, and family time—what more can you ask for?
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Mark started in right away on the first, reroofing the wood
shed and finding he needed to replace chunks of rotten edges, but it is now
tidy and waterproof. He does a good job,
utilizing the tractor bucket as a lift, and he got everything cleaned up and
debris to the dump before it rained.
When it rained, Henkels discovered that the new HOUSE roof
leaked---through the main storage closet in East bedroom and on down to the
basement. After a couple investigations,
the roofers found the installation of the main roof had unsealed the valley on
the addition roof. Once that was
resealed, all is good overhead. To
continue the theme, Mark also tied himself to the truck via a long rope and got
up on the much higher main shed to replace loose nails with screws, with Hilde
watching nervously below.
The above-average rainfall for the month meant that the
garden, the weeds, the lawn and the flowers all exuberantly grew and grew. Lots of yard and garden work was very
rewarding in the beautiful surroundings. Mark and Hilde picked strawberries
three mornings to spread out the deliciousness and have just covered the
blueberries, blackcaps and summer raspberries to save them from birds. The wildflowers were especially lush and both
layers and young roosters are clucking along happily.
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| Reading to Three lovebugs |
Although the roof project meant Mark and Hilde couldn’t get
to Kayme and Alana’s recital in Milwaukee, the reports from Hilde’s mother,
sister Terri and her hubby David say that it was really great. Piano and oboe make a striking combination. Mark’s
brother Phil and niece Alana visited on their way home which was fun. Alana is going to make Phil a grandfather
this summer, and has moved back to Rice Lake after living in Ohio, Montreal,
Hinckley and Duluth. Mark and Hilde
enjoyed a lunch with Pat and Paul Onan (cousins) to finally get caught up on
each others’ lives. With Mark working
part-time, there is time to do the fun things and see folks.
Another family visit saw Mark and Hilde driving off to
Oconto to visit his aunt Veiga and cousins Richard and Terry. It was a real delight to see Veiga, who will
be 98 in September. She lives with Terry
and his wife Diane and has a snug sunroom to sit overlooking the harbor, with
Richard and Elice only a couple miles away.
It had been years since the cousins had been able to visit—everyone busy
and spread out---but a lovely day.
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| Tamarack buds |
The finale on family visits finished off the month. Mark and Hilde went to Sussex for a long
weekend. Jim and Mark worked like
beavers (or more as they worked late after dark!) doing the drywalling downstairs
before and after Saturday church, and then more. Sunday evening Hilde’s mother came for dinner
and included a delightful interlude as Rhiannon and Rowan scampered around the
lawn collecting fireflies in the dusk.
There were many fireflies and the girls’ laughter just as enchanting. In the morning, Jim departed to drive a
carload of teens to the WELS Youth rally in Colorado (and then hike and camp by
himself), and Hilde and Mark watched and played with the kids while Kayme
worked. It was a very satisfactory
visit, lots of cuddling and reading.
Rhiannon is reading to Grandma, Caleb is moving faster and faster, and
Rowan is giggling and doing summersaults.
They are delightful children.
As always, there were contentious meetings, long meetings
and interviews and more meetings for Hilde.
Things have been pretty busy on the county level. Mark has been working with the insurance and
restoration folks to finish things off from the office flood in April, but only
working part-time, leaving lots of time for garden, radio, projects, and golden
moments on the deck watching the sunsets.
The frequent rains did lead to one six-hour power outage and a phone
outage on another day, but the lushness in Rudolph is beautiful, the frogs sing
at night and the birds in the day. June has been very, very good.
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| Rhi, Ro and Caleb |
