Job update etc.

Job is going great! Great enough that my training didn't go near as long as planned and she's been on a need to call basis for a few weeks now. I think I got my first informal review. I say I think because it was kind of the spur of the moment thing on the phone. But it was an awesome review so I'm happy that they are happy! :)  I'm learning a bit different of an area this week. Vehicle out of state overweight permit/in state overweight permits are coming due and I've never dealt with that so a new area to learn! I'm still just amazed how everything fell together so neatly. Love it when my Father leads the way. Now if only I could always allow that! Amazing how 'I can handle that' likes to pop up. Things rarely go the way you plan when that happens!

I've gotten to see a Kill Deer do it's nest protect act and seen my first ever horse fly. Those flies are HUGE! It was a Western Horse Fly. (picture below). Other then that the birds I most often see are Doves, Magpies, Red Wing Blackbirds and Robins.

Last week I went to Parma convention. It'll now be my home convention. I've only been there a handful of times the last 25 years but I went with my Grandma Layman in my teen years. Probably six or so years. It was so nice to have some time with a dear friend I made from all those years ago. Her and I can talk and talk and talk. 😂 We're hoping that I can visit this next month before they move far away again! Only 3 hours apart at the moment but it'll be back to quite a few hours apart the end of next month.  :(  It's our Father's leading for them as well but sad that it'll be such a distance again.

The garden is doing AWESOME! The tomatoes are a decent size. I've got a couple of peppers setting now. Cucumbers are coming up, squash is starting to grow. A co-worker gave me a crook-neck, zucchini and an acorn squash so they've been establishing themselves the last couple of weeks. There's some new growth on the acorn squash so it's finally established itself. I think the other two will by this weekend. It's certainly warm enough! Low 90's today. It's a bit tricker here because there's a fair amount of sand in my area. So it drains quicker then I'm used to! So it'll be a learning experience! The poppies love it here! I've always wanted poppies so got a couple at the store and they are just loaded with buds. The Black-eyed Susan that I brought from Gresham is loving it as well. I see several flower buds on it. I had that poor thing in its original pot for several years so was able to haul it along with me (Short of not watering a plant, it's kind of hard for me to kill a plant. They refuse to die!). But it's planted now and sooo happy! The pots are doing awesome as well. I'm curious how the snapdragons will do over the summer. I've never actually had those as the main flower in a pot before. I'll have to experiment with other flowers. There's been no progress on the weeds along the road though. :( Weather didn't cooperate and then convention and now it's hot! Excuses, excuse!! 😉 But it does need to get done sooner rather than later!

I get to go to Manhattan convention this weekend! I'm pretty excited! I've never been there but do know the couple that owns it since they lived in Gresham before moving there. It'll be my first time to be in Montana as well. All kinds of new adventures this last year!

And would you believe the last time I had air conditioning was when I was growing up in Southern California. And we moved from there when I was 11! I have a feeling I'll be glad that I have it, especially for meeting!!

If you click on this you may be able to see the Kill Deer bird. This is it's broken wing act to protect the nest. I have yet to figure out the loading of a video.

The horse fly! (please excuse the very dirty car!)

The front of the house. Bushes have grown a lot this month!

This photo doesn't do it credit. This bush really stands out. It's so bright!

Snapdragons and lobelia 

One of the tomato plants

A butterfly on my thyme

Meeting!

Storm clouds!

Convention!

Coming back from a walk

On the walk

The donkey we saw on the walk

Such a pretty little flower but very nasty thorny seed pod! It can sit in the soil for years before germinating.

Fields and sky

Onions!

Relatives!

A jumping spider!

A baby Dove! 

Sunset at Parma

Sunset at Parma

Parma

Field where I work

A Box!!! Took her less than a minute to claim it! :)

Christina's creation. I think it lasted all convention!

Snapdragons, dianthes, and a trailing geranium. 

This is the flower of the geranium. It believe actually seeded from last year. 

Wonderful Sunday!

Sunday's are always wonderful but today I also had some of my neighbors over dinner. It was pretty awesome! The spaghetti was a hit! :) There was a wonderful little bookcase at the thrift store Saturday. It worked wonderfully for the kids items that I have and it seemed to go over really well with the kids that were over tonight. I'll have to invite neighbors over now and again!

Dave has been very heavy on my mind today. I'm not sure why. But there has really been a feeling of comfort and that all will turn out well. What that means I have not a clue but it is comforting!! :) It's been real to me lately that we just don't know what is going on in other people's minds, what they might be fighting or trying deal with or trying to figure out. It's also been real to me that when we try to do it under our own power that it can seem totally impossible. Our Father leads and guides and can use many situations that seem nigh impossible to do a wonderful work. He knows the end, we only know what we're going through, dealing with.

The thunderstorms the last couple of weeks have been amazing. I thought one of the clouds was an anvil but someone let me know that it was actually a shelf cloud. It was very intriguing to look at it and watch the rotation and the clouds kind of boil around. Was amazing to see one first hand, especially since nothing came down! I can continue to live without seeing a tornado first hand! The hail that came down last week was at least nickle size while I was at work. It did a bit of leaf damage to the peppers and tomatoes. I came home to some leaves scattered around. There's definitely more intense thunderstorms here then I'm used to and I'm loving it! :) Have said that before and will probably say it again.  :)

I'm still trying to get along the road weeded and cleared out. I'm at least halfway through the long stretch. With lots of sunshine this week I'm hoping to get close to done by the end of the week on the one side of the driveway! It's supposed to be in the mid 80's all week with full on sunshine every day. We'll see if thunderstorms start creeping into the forecast as the week goes. Got my shelves for upstairs ordered so once those get installed more cleaning out will commence as books are unpacked and put on shelves. I'm looking forward to getting the loft settled. It's just my desk in the corner and a bunch of boxes at the moment.

The 'kids' area!

Pippy and Mia are loving the sunshine!

I found this picture, while unpacking, of Erika and Christina. Christina would have been about 2 1/2 here and Erika 7.

Thunderstorm rolling through at work.

I've been told this is a shelf cloud. It was truly amazing. Passed right over my house.

Right after the shelf cloud went over there was this.

The hails large enough that you can see it falling.

A bit more progress has been made since this picture. Goal is to put gravel down to have an area for people to park.