BEASTLY--I hope you all survived the record heat of last week and also the hazy, smoke-filled skies that descended around a lot of local areas, as it was pretty nasty out there for a bit. I was thankful for the wind on Friday, which not only caused some impressive white caps near Flandersville for the folks on their boards with sails, but best of all, it scoured out most of that smoke; yeah! I was thankful to see some clouds on Saturday morning so my parched plants had a short bit of reprieve from the sun, but it wasn't long and it was back to sunshine. At least we've cooled down some so the triple digits have left us, but for me, temperatures that stayed in the 70s would just be ideal!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 10-16 are Tim Schmitz, Keil Parker, Jeremy Bennett, Shannon Britt, Kathleen Morgain, Addy Hauff, Rick Bryan, Judy Smith, Tenneal Harris, Judy Fritzi, Kassy Burdick, Eileen Free, Bob Hendrickson, Krista Blix McQuire, Dennis Everest, Margie Wagner Pedersen and Jeff Nicol. Enjoy those birthday celebrations this coming week!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Larry and Deb Holland, Gene and Karen Healy, and Kyle and Deb Gribskov. May all of you have a wonderful evening out on your anniversaries!

THIS FRIDAY PM--If you're looking to do some singing or some strumming on your guitar, (or whatever else may be your musical gift), then head to the Skamokawa Grange Hall this Friday night, Aug. 11 and join them in their fifth "Open Mic" night. You can sign up at 6:45 p.m., and the fun begins at 7 p.m., and lasts until 9 p.m. There is no cost to enter, to listen, or perform, but donations to the grange are appreciated. For more information, contact Jerry Ledtke at 360-795-3434.

MEETING--The Skamokawa Grange #425 will hold their meeting on August 15, as they meet the first and third Tuesdays of every month, so if you'd like to check out what's going on with the Grange, head to 18 Fairgrounds Road. Their meetings are at 7 p.m.

DUCK INN--After you enjoy some singing at the Grange on Friday night, why not head to the Duck Inn on Saturday night, where you can then dance up a storm to some live music with a band called, "Longshot." The following Saturday, Aug. 19, you can return to the Duck and hoot and holler and dance away to the very popular group, "The Nash Brothers" who will also have a set over at the fair in the afternoon. Dancing is always good fun and great exercise too, so come on out and enjoy some live music this next couple of Saturday nights!

PRINCESS BAKE SALE--If you're looking to support our Skamokawa Princess, Kayla Bowcutt, you've got another chance, as she'll be selling baked goods in front of the Skamokawa General Store this Saturday. We hope you'll come down and support her in her effort to become the Fair Queen this year!

BINGO/PLUS--This coming Saturday, August 12, you will find the Norse Hall hopping with bingo players, and members of the Sons of Norway are hoping that you'll be there. Doors open at 5:30 with games starting at 6 p.m., $5 a card!

Here's hoping you will stop by the Sons of Norway booth during the fair, as they will host a drawing for a $100 gift card, and you could be the lucky winner. Tickets are $1 apiece or six for $5, so you could turn $5 into a hefty profit if your name is drawn! Not only that, but every dollar that is raised during this time, goes for the Sons of Norway scholarship fund, which gives a deserving Wahkiakum High School graduate a nice bit of cash as they head onto college. So, you could be helping yourself to some money, while you help a deserving student; a win, win right there!

KAYAK TOURS--With all this dry weather, it's the perfect time to head to the water and what better place to be for all you kayak fans, but with the experienced guides from Columbia River Kayaking? This Friday through Sunday there will be tours conducted. There are plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy the water, and which would fit your level of expertise. Call CRK at 360-747-1044 for more information or to get signed up, or if you'd like, check out their full schedule online. The group's headquarters are located at the Skamokawa Landing building on Steamboat Slough Road in Skamokawa on the left hand side of the building; you can't miss it!

FAIR IS NEXT WEEK--Aug. 17 is the opening day of the Wahkiakum County Fair, so while I hope it's nice, I'll also hope it's comfortable weather so that neither man nor beast winds up having to deal with extreme heat, as that's not very pleasant for either of us! The fair opens at 9 a.m., and closes at 9 p.m. The Fair Queen/King will be crowned at 6:45 p.m., on Thursday evening at the mini-stage. The Fair Dance will be held on Friday night at the Skamokawa Grange Hall from 9 to midnight. On Saturday, there will be the final of the Silver Buckle Series, the Salmon BBQ at noon, and the fair will close that night at 9 p.m. All the buildings will close for 15 minutes and then reopen so exhibitors can remove the items that they entered in the fair. Needless to say, there are a lot of things going on each day of the fair besides the few I mentioned, so grab a fair book and check it all out, as you don't want to miss out on some of your favorite fair experiences, from animal shows to musical entertainment!

RETIRING--Becky Ledtke has been our relief postal driver for 18 years, which hardly seems possible, but now she has decided to retire from this relief position and concentrate more on her jewelry business, home projects and other things she enjoys. So, Happy Retirement to Becky and I'm sure she'll enjoy her extra free time, as she's a busy lady and will certainly put this time to good use!

CONGRATS--We want to send our congratulations to Skamokawa Farmstead Creamery and owner, Vicki Allenback, as they recently received some great recognition for their Pistachio Rosemary Lime Chevre. This "Cheese Oscar" was awarded to them by the American Cheese Society, so to come in third in this highly competitive and booming business is a huge accomplishment; kudos to SFC!

MONTH AWAY--Don't forget, the Friends of Skamokawa will hold their "Cornucopia of Wines" Wine Tasting and Auction event on Sept. 9. The way time is flying by, it will be here before you know it! Please think about donating an item for either their silent or live auction as the more things donated, the more likely that you'll find an item that you'd just have to bid on. All monies go towards the continuing maintenance and restoration of the hall. Brian McClain will be your auctioneer for the evening, which is located at the Skamokawa Grange Hall.

SYMPATHIES--We'd like to send our deepest sympathies to the family of Earl Settle, as he recently passed away, and he had many local connections. His brother, Phil was well known by many of us who went to school during the late 60s, as he was in the WHS Class of ‘66. He was here in our area for a few days from California while he attended his brother's services this past Saturday in Longivew and also caught up with some former classmates. Earl's sister, Juanita Rodahl, is also well known by many here. Again, our condolences to the entire Settle family.

GET WELL--We heard that Angie McNally was taken to the hospital recently and we hope that she is doing much better and doesn't wind up back there anytime soon. Also, April Murdock, of the Roadkill Saloon, wasn't really feeling so hot recently, so we hope she's able to get up and around better by now and will be back in the kitchen real soon! Check out their Facebook page for their latest specials.

WARNING--As you travel along SR 4, you may want to take extra care near the Cameron Creek Bridge, which is just east of County Line/Mill Creek area, as people are crossing that little narrow bridge, or even standing on it looking at the creek, and as we all know, there is just very little room for anything other than just the two passing vehicles in there! A recent close encounter on that bridge left me shaking from head to toe, as a car had to swerve in my lane to avoid a man and two children, who were crossing that bridge in the shadows in the east bound lane, and only a miracle kept all of us from being in a horrendous accident and would surely have led to the deaths of this family. Several drivers have said they've come across people right there, so here's to being even more vigilant when traveling in that area!