July always seems to be the peak of the summer and 2016 was
especially summery, sultry and fun. The
Henkels don not do the “lazy hazy” version of summer since the garden and lawn
work getting them hopping, and this summer with abundant rains and heat, things
really grew and grew. But the warm
weather, hours of sunshine and fresh air plus all the garden goodies to eat
seem to fuel them up to get lots done also.
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| Summer haircuts for Ro and Rhi |
July means a lot of birthdays, but this year was Hilde’s 65th,
significant to the governmental agencies, but more significant because Jim,
Kayme and all three grandkids came to celebrate. While Hilde and Kayme played kept the kids
happy with tree-climbing, bubbles and coloring, Jim and Mark tackled a serious
problem in the big shed: due to leaks in
the roof seams, two cross members of the roof had rotted out. Getting the old ones out and new ones in
place took both of the, block and tackle and some noisy sawzall work. The afternoon was a girl-time: Kayme, Rhiannon and Rowan ALL got hair cuts,
new headbands and barrettes and then a trip to the ice parlor in Rudolph, while
Grandpa and Daddy watched Caleb. Playing
in the wading pool helped clean up the blue moon and chocolate faces! Another birthday landed on the calendar as
niece Alana gave birth to Thomas Justin Laufman. It is such a joy to see the family growing and
thriving. |
| Mark's monster mullein |
Mark was not done with roof activities, however, as a
three-inch rain later in the month revealed yet more places where the original
nails had loosened and allowed significant leaking. He spent another morning up on the metal
roof, at the end of the month, installing screws while tied to safety rope and
watched by Hilde. Since the roof now
appears to be up to snuff, cleaning out junk and redoing the east window should
be the next steps of maintenance.
Hilde’s meeting schedule was full in July, with several
acrimonious meetings and one whopper running 4 ½ hours. To balance off those things, she enjoyed
lunch with the crafts friends, a lunch with her county board friend and then
both Mark and Hilde enjoyed a picnic with Loren and Claudette at Lake
Emily. The Henkels also joined the Heart
O Wisconsin Sportsmen Club to get back into trap shooting. The first morning was not impressive (except
for the bruises on Hilde’s shoulder) but practice should bring them up to
respectable results.
The frequent rains, heat and humidity may not have been
great for folks’ outdoor plans, but have brought abundant garden goodies,
meaning Mark and Hilde has spent significant hour picking, prepping and
preserving: peas, beans and peach jam
plus lots of cucumbers and zucchini.
Hilde bakes up zucchini bread, muffins and tots in summer and has quite
a stockpile already, with the next crops (tomatoes and corn) about ready to
start. All this wonderful food is a
blessing, and as Granny would say (auf Deutch) Work makes life sweet! And working in a beautiful place is even better: this is the view to the west on a hazy July day.
