The Crow's Nest

One thing is for sure: The fall of 2011 needs to be written down for posterity. For too many years I have complained that summer seems to jump immediately in to winter without much of an autumn to enjoy. Not so this year. We have had a most gorgeous fall. It is the 5th of October and the temperature in Edinburg is 87 degrees. With just a couple little glitches of morning frost we have enjoyed ideal weather. I can’t believe I still have tomatoes ripening in the garden! Our forecast is saying we will slowly return to more normal temperatures, but I don’t think anyone will complain. Winds are blowing up to 30 mph today so the leaves are quickly leaving the trees for the yards and streets.

Everything in Edinburg seems to be rolling along just fine. I don’t know if Larry and Carol Pewe and Mike and Ina Spanier have parked their vacation homes for winter just yet, but at the present time both couples are in town. It is fun to have them at the “Table of Knowledge” again.

“Hoop Jumping” has lately become one of my favorite sports. Chuck and I are planning a trip to Nairobi, Ke nya and there is a list a mile long to be completed. We not only need passports (which we have), but also need visas. We also need a slew of shots. So far we have had hepatitis A & B, typhoid and meningitis. I can’t have the yellow fever shot as that is a live virus and I take Humira for rheumatoid arthritis. Chuck does not have an excuse, so he will have to get that shot! Then there are the malaria pills that need to be taken. It is recommended we pack Imodium pills, Pepto Bismal tablets and a heavy duty mosquito spray. It sure seems like a lot of work! We are going as we have a niece Sarah who is an attorney with the US State Department assigned to the United Nations in Nairobi. She invited us so we took her up on the offer. Her dad is going with us also. Sarah just sent an email saying she and a friend had rented a beach house on stilts this past weekend. They were awakened during the night to find a monkey inside the beach house. So now we have to be on “Monkey Patrol” also. A safari and a trip to Zanzibar are part of our itinerary.

I know gardens really produced very well this summer. Bill Nowatzki gave us a watermelon that was so juicy and good. We harvested 130 buttercup squash from our garden. My dining room table is covered with tomatoes although I have canned 37 pints of salsa and quite a bit of tomato juice. I think it is soon time to quit.

We saw friends and neighbors out at the annual Hostfest in Minot. Many were there to take in the Gaither Vocal Band and Homecoming concert. IT WAS GOOD!! The devastation from the spring flood is mind boggling.

Hope all is great with you readers and we will talk again soon.