Apr 4, 2009 by Naomi.

Went right to judging contest entries after breakfast. Finished two before I was drawn by bright sunshine out into my back yard. I laid down one hundred fifty feet of soaker hose where they will meet the water needs for most of the trees and big bushes. I want to do a good soaking once a week and will practice for the month of May to see how it works. The object is to be able to leave town and have neighbors turn the water on for me. I won’t begin to water just yet.

The Kennewick irrigation District begins to take water from the Yakima river way upstream on the last day of March. Because of our unusual rainy month the opening date was pushed back. I do not see water in the canals now. Farmers along the river use water on large acreage but many households within the city of Kennewick also have been able to take advantage of the service. Apparently developments were connected as the city spread beyond the downtown area. The water was billed at a different rate than city water. Michael can tell more about that. He lived in the city for years.

An hour of work in the sunshine was tiring. I had a big lunch and laid back for a long nap in my recliner. Then it was back to the contest entries. Five are completed. I am half done. Only five more to go. I feel smug about that. I am ready for bed and moonshine. The moon is shining brightly in on my pillow. Full moon will come before Friday to meet the Easter criteria. Remember Easter Sunday falls on the Sunday after the first Friday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Nancy call tell you all about the calendar business. We put her May Day articles on salmonriver.com to meet the requests of those who want to have ideas on how to have fun in the month of May.

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Apr 4, 2009 by Naomi.

Upon checking the earthquake page in my favored bookmarks, I found Washington on the list. A closer map marked an earthquake 2.7 on the Richter scale at 03:56, April 4, 2009, located in Yakima, Washington, nine miles north of Richland, less than a mile deep. Now at 4 am I was sound asleep on my bed above the floor of my old house that is anchored solidly in this good old earth. I remain totally unaware of any minor shift of the earth’s skin. I envision the movement to resemble a horse contracting its muscles on the outer skin of its withers to dislodge biting critters. So the shift of the earth is too minor for my notice. It is, however, close enough that I am reminded that all the earth surface is connected.

California is almost daily on the list. The location is specific to northern, central, or southern California which shows Redding and Eureka, both inland and offshore; San Francisco, ranging up and down the bay area; and Los Angeles in a wide inland area. Only once did Daniel and Debra notice any tremors. At the time they were both twenty five miles away from the epicenter which I recall was somewhere in northern part of the County. That inland earthquake was above 3.

April 3, the USGS registered a 3.8 earthquake nine miles offshore at Eureka, 15.9 meters deep. I assume that depth was below the ocean floor. Barely skin deep. Several days before three others were measured farther out and somewhat deeper. And so it is all around as the world turns. The records in science are handy. Information that previously was unknown, is available to all. Before recorded scientific information those who felt the tremors had no way of knowing the truth. Their lack of understanding gave rise to superstition and myths that plague us to this day.

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Apr 3, 2009 by Naomi.

I need a break from critiquing PNWA romance contest entries and thought a stint at my computer would do the trick. I did two entries — those not qualifying for the winning spot. One was awful and the second was OK except for lack of possessive on some nouns and an unwanted ed on the ends of verbs and adjectives. Now that I sit here I can not think of what I should write in this blog. Out the east window I see blue sky, very blue, and think I should be out getting vitamin D but do not move in that direction. I told Nancy I mislaid the lilac start that came free with the ten spruce I planted yesterday. She suggested it would turn up when I go out to water the new plantings before dark. I want to keep all the new stuff (and older plants as well) happily watered and well established for the warm spring sun.

Over sixty degrees and pleasant to work outside. Nary a trace of the lilac. The choke cherry tree outside the fence door and the forsythia appear to be so happy. Actually all plants do. In the yard the violets are a brilliant blue and as are the periwinkle flowers.

The spring ahead time change did not have much effect on my waking habits. Five of the clock is way too early to prepare for a work day. But I get up anyway. I exercised at the counter. Had plum sauce and half a grapefruit while nuking oatmeal and cinnamon.

Last week I washed a pair of plum colored elastic-waisted slacks and laid them aside to press which I finally got around to doing. They do not keep a press so I decided to run stitching on the crease. Off I went to the sewing box to match the thread. A bottle of needles was in the way and I moved it which disturbed the row of three ring notebooks stacked beside it. Well, all it took to side track me was a glance at the titles on the spines. Hodak. Conferences. I took a trip to memory lane. There was Australia, Ayers rock, Bejing and the UN. What a bunch of brochures I accumulated over that time. I even found the original snapshots of me, siblings and cousins back before Ruth joined the army that had long been misplaced. I got up off my stiff knees to stretch.

Oh my gosh. It’s dark outside! Time flies when I’m having fun.

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Apr 1, 2009 by Naomi.

How I came to be on Doc Hastings electronic Town Hall meeting, I cannot imagine, but I received the phone call explaining that Doc was in DC on the phone conducting a Town Hall meeting from his office. How I got to be approached at all I can only surmise. I did stop at his office in DC in February to urge him to sign on to the National Wildlife Caucus so he had my calling card and phone as a constituent.

For whatever reason I listened to dyed in the wool Republicans for an hour complaining about the state of the state and laws that were going to positively ruin their lives. He was articulate. Must have had a passel of aids at his elbows, never missed a name of his callers, nor showed ignorance of the issues they raised. Very smooth and pleasant.

Of course there are party reasons for the present economy slump and although he did say those problems had roots in other party’s administrations he couldn’t push off the reality from my point of view. And when it came to state’s rights he leveled criticism at our Governor as well. How he responded to one callers complaint that people nowadays simply had no morals dropped my jaw. As head of the House Ethics Committee he showed his lack of morals. But you know the government cannot regulate morals, he said.

Nevertheless it was an interesting adventure. Is there an April Fool in here somewhere?

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