WHITE START--As this week began, and a week after spring had officially arrived, we woke to a very wintery Sunday as it was all white with snow here in West Valley! I know KM Mountain and Beaver Creek were sporting a fresh coat of the white stuff as well, so I’d say winter isn’t quite done with us yet. However, by afternoon, the white covered roads and fields were back to their proper colors of black and green and the skies had turned to blue. What a change in just a few hours!

Forecasters say we will be on the chilly side this week but hopefully we’ll have seen the last of the snow. It makes my flowers unhappy, and me too!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 30-April 5 are Leif Carroll, Linda McClain, Vaal Gribskov, Dana McClain, Marissa Longtain, Pam Emery, Sandy Anderson, Alicia Cooper, Caleb Kensinger, Crystal Davis, Jaxton Holland, Britany Smith, Amanda Boehler, Loren Bergseng, Paul Vik, Patti Phillips, Kayli Boehler, Matt Wright, Nicole Schubert, Ashlee Olson-Blouin, Alex Olson, Spring Doiron, Brian W. Doiron, Michaela Phillips, Phil Rolf, George Trott, Ron Rust, Thomas Ronninghaug, Karen Bell, Mikayla Bell, Barrett Finkas, Nathan Pedersen and 67’er Keith Lawrence.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Mr. and Mrs. Brian McClain and Scott and Deanna Ahrndt. Hope you all have memorable days this coming week and they are full of sunshine and good times!

CELEBRATED TEN--My belated anniversary wishes to Columbia River Kayaking as they celebrated their 10th year at the Viewpoint Landing this past weekend. They have been in business for 20 years, so they’ve got lots of expertise on the subject of kayaks and kayaking. The ribbon cutting was accompanied by some great snacks, a bit of trivia and some shopping at their retail store, which is located on Steamboat Slough Road, as well as a bit of paddling. They’ve also got some great easy paddles around our slough areas, so you should check them out. Congrats to them as they continue to offer these wonderful kayaking adventures and retail items nearby.

SPRING TEA--The Friends of Skamokawa will hold their first Spring Tea on April 22 at the River Life Interpretive Center at Redmen Hall. You can always check out the events going on via their website: friendsofskamokawa.org or email them at fos1894@gmail.com or call them at 360-795-3007 for more information. Of course, you’re welcome to stop by the hall at 1394 West SR 4, MP 29, across from the Skamokawa General Store.

MISSED OUT--I wasn’t feeling well this past weekend so I stayed home and missed a whole lot of goings on around our area, but I figured it would be better to stay put than to spread a “bug” that may or may not have caused them an unwanted set back. Here’s hoping I’ll be all set for the next batch of fun events this coming month.

APRIL--This Saturday is April first and we will be curious to see what jokes our usual pranksters have going on this year, as you just never know if that “whipped cream” is shaving cream, or that winning ticket is a forgery or that stew is cat food. Hmmmm….what shenanigans will go on at your house?

On April 7, the fun will be at the fairgrounds in Skamokawa as Easter Bingo will take place that Friday at 6 p.m. Come early and check out the goodies and the snacks and grab your spot at a table with your friends and family and have a fun time, and maybe win your Easter dinner, too!

On April 8, you’ll be heading back to the fairgrounds, where there will be the monthly Flea Market beginning at 9 a.m., and also, the Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt, which the Chamber calendar says begins at 11 a.m. However, according to Lore Twiet there is also a kids carnival and egg hunt that begins at noon and goes until 3 and it includes a dime toss, fish pond, country store and cake walk; all real fun things, so head to the fairgrounds and check it all out!

EASTER--If you didn’t win a ham at Easter Bingo, here’s hoping you’ll check out our local businesses and take part in the Easter specials they may be having, as usually there’s a ham dinner being served up somewhere in town! Once my dinner list got smaller, I was all about letting someone else handle the cooking and cleaning. I’m thinking of myself as getting older and wiser, rather than what others may consider just getting older and lazier!

WHITE TAIL RUN--On May 20, the annual Wahkiakum 4-H Great White Tail Run will be happening for the 39th time! You’ll want to sign up early and get the new t-shirt. This is an annual fundraiser and you can already sign up by registering at https://runsignup.com/Race/WA/Skamokawa/GreatWhiteTailRun.

REUNIONS--The Mace Family Reunion is happening July 7-9 at Skamokawa Vista Park so if you are a family member, make sure you’ve contacted other family members and you have a camping spot reserved, or have made other arrangements. If you know this family and want to say “howdy,” then I’m pretty sure they’d be happy to see you and visit a spell.

The Class of 1963 will have their 60th reunion on July 15 at 5 p.m., at the large conference room behind the Skamokawa Store/Resort area, so be sure to spread the news about that. You can contact Julie McKagan at 360-459-8810 or Gary Emery at 360-849-9067 for more info.

STILL STRUGGLING--Whether it be phone outages, internet outages or power outages, it seems they all come at the worst times for me, so my ability to type up my column is always “iffy” at best. Sometimes, I suddenly can’t type anything; grrr! So, if I have a short column, it’s most likely due to one of the above reasons. All of which are very annoying to say the least!