ANOTHER WET BEGINNING. Once again I'm starting off this column with a whole lot of rain hitting my windows but the forecast is showing that we are in for a drying out and we'll be enjoying some wonderful dry, sunny days so I'm certainly hoping that forecast holds up, as it's been pretty soggy this past week. Here's to happy planting and beautiful gardens soon!

SPECIAL DAYS. Those celebrating birthdays this coming week from May 9 thru 15 are: Kerry Brown, Christeena Bassi, Bryce McClain, Ashleigh Montgomery, Don Nicholes, Ashlenn Coleman, David Rust, Katharine E. Parker, Shyanne Gorley, Trevor Gorley, Evan Quigley, Vicki Bergseng, Stacey Wegdahl, Steve Doumit, Shelly Hedges, Jayden LaRoche, Kaelee Dearmore, Jen Wolcott, Kamryn Watkins, Brandon Swanson, Sawyer Peek, Ryan Lorenzo, Stephanie Cochran, Keith Rutledge, Ashely Jorgensen Rusk, Parker Rusk, Bonnie LaDoe, Mercedes Pedersen Wilder, Nicole Good, Leslie Monroe and Pete Sechler. We are sending Happy Anniversary wishes to Jonas and Bofu Owen and Frank and Carolyn Pedersen....enjoy your special days! Belated anniversary wishes to Amanda "Punky" Tover Chambers and Larry as they celebrated forty-five years on Sunday.

ANOTHER BUSY WEEKEND. As always, the fairgrounds here in Skamokawa will be bustling with folks coming down here for their usual second Saturday of the month Flea Market and T-building sale, so head this way to shop beginning at 9 AM. Also happening down at the fairgrounds, beginning at noon, there will be an early Mother's Day Lasagna Dinner held from 12-4, so come on down and do some shopping and then have yourself and your plus one, a bite to eat as well. Enjoy!

BINGO. That evening, it's time to head to the Norse Hall on Puget Island for their monthly Bingo games...fun fun! The doors to the lower level open at 5:30 and games will begin at 6 PM. This is a good time to gather with your friends and neighbors and maybe meet some new ones and with a little luck, you'll be taking home one of those cash prizes! The chairpersons for this event are Sons of Norway lodge members, Fred and Virginia Ostling and we certainly appreciate them doing this.

There are a couple of things listed in the community calendar that are NOT happening at the Norse Hall on May 11 and that's the salmon dinner and Syttende Mai Festival that were both listed on the same day as Bingo....so, I just wanted to give you a heads up and tell you that those two things won't be happening after all.

One of the big events this weekend is of course, MOTHER'S DAY this coming Sunday, May 12, so here's hoping you've made plans to celebrate! I'm sure our local restaurants will be serving up some special dinners so make your reservation today and let this "no cooking or cleaning day" commence....yee-hah! Happy Mother's Day!

SUPERINTENDENTS NEEDED. I mentioned last week that during the county fair, T-building Superintendent, Martie Vavoudis is looking for folks to work there and she's still looking. Now, this is not just a "need a helper/volunteer" job, this is someone who really wants to be part of the team that makes each part of the fair run smoothly, so she hopes she can find a couple of special people who want to take on being a Superintendent for these positions, which are in the Quilting/Sewing Department. Please give Martie a shout out at: mudwoman@live.com if you're able to help her out....she sure would appreciate it!

NEXT WEEK. If you're looking for some plants, don't forget that the Wahkiakum Master Gardeners will be up at Erickson Park this coming Tuesday, May 14 from 10 to 1, so stop on up and get those locally grown plants and help support this wonderful garden and the folks who make it all happen. They will also have a sale the following Tuesday, May 21 - same hours.

The Puget Island Fire Auxiliary group will to be accepting donating for their PIGYS sale that happens from June 21 thru 23 this year. So, if you're doing some Spring cleaning, now is a good time to take those reusable items and put them to good use by donating them to these wonderful folks who do so much for our community. You can can stop by with your things May 15, 22, 29 and June 5 and 12 between the hours of 3 to 8 pm and they'll gladly accept your donations at the Puget Island Fire Hall located at 475 SR 409, which is located on the left side of the road just south of the Norse Hall If you're out and about next Thursday, our local president of the Sons of Norway, Helgeland Lodge 2-30, Jan Silvestri, invites you to the Norse Hall located on Puget Island for their "Remember When" gathering. This is when all the folks who have stories to share about the "good ole days" on Puget Island can fill you in on how things used to be. Of course, things weren't always so good, so there's all those kinds of stories too, but at any rate, everyone is welcome to come & share!

Don't forget to watch for those runners who will be taking off from Skamokawa Vista Park as they take part in the Wahkiakum 4-H Great White Tail Run next Saturday, May 18. This is a run that's been taking place for forty years, so this is quite a special occasion indeed! I hope all the men, women and kids have a great experience as they wind their way around the refuge road after leaving the park. If you need more info, contact the WSU Extension office: 360-795-3278.If you'd like to be a sponsor for the upcoming Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars online auction event, you have only until May 21 to acknowledge that and have your donation of an item for their auction ready to go. Cash donations are accepted as well. I had quite a long write up about it all in last week’s column so I won't repeat that again, but if you need more info, contact Diane Tischer at 360-562-6467 and she can fill you in. Auction is held May 24 thru June 9th. https://www.32auctions.com/Mules2024

GREAT TIME. All of the ladies who showed up at the May Tea up in the River Life Interpretive Center this past Saturday sure looked like they were having a good time as they were dolled up in their "Sunday best" and fancy hats. They definitely looked like they were enjoying the special occasion with its pretty place settings and tea cups, and it all just looked lovely. I appreciate seeing the pictures folks posted on Facebook as sadly, I was unable to go this year due to a prior commitment.

CLASSMATE WILL VISIT. The WHS Class of 1967 is happy that classmate Sharon Stout Servis Kowalski and hubby Paul, will be headed this way from their home Indiana and be stopping in at the Duck Inn on June 1 at noon, so we can see and visit with her after many, many years....should be fun! So, I'm letting all classmates know that they are invited to stop in for a "no host lunch" that will be taking place in one of the cabanas out on the deck of the Duck. That day will mark the exact date they all graduated so that's a pretty memorable day! If you haven't already contacted me about you attending, please do so ASAP via my telephone number up above or my email so that I can let the DI staff know in advance. My FB Messenger is not working properly as I can see what you send but cannot respond, so, the other two options for contact are better.

PRE-REGISTRATION FOR CAR SHOW SOON. I know it seems impossible but with time flying the way it is, it won't be long until the annual "Cruzin' to the FAIR Car Show" on June 1st, so if you want to get the best deal when it comes to entering the car show, I've been asked to remind you that you should pre-register before May 24th. You can check all that out online or call the fairgrounds and Patty can give you all the details: 360-795-3480. There's always been a great turn out so here's to yet another fun time with all those fancy cars and trucks and hopefully some warm weather and sunshine....fingers crossed!

WSU GRADUATION. Well, I can't help but do a bit of bragging about one of my grandsons, as Blake Sechler just received his Master of Engineering and Technology certificate this past Saturday, May 4. Thanks to our current technology, I was able to watch the ceremony from Pullman live on Facebook, and I sure was tickled about that. With his group wearing a different kind of robe than the others, it made it much easier to spot him amongst the masses too, so that was kind of nice as well. I managed to grab a screen shot of him as he posed for a picture when his name was called, so that was cool and then of course, his folks, Pete and Katie Sechler and wife Michaela were able to post some iconic pictures in front of the big Cougar statue there at the WSU campus, so I almost felt like I was there. Needless to say, they are all very proud of him as he has managed to get his degree while working full time as an engineering tech at Bristol Myers Squibb in Seattle, had gotten married and kept his grades up in the honor roll level too, so that's not too shabby! Anyway, this is a proud Grandma who is saying "Congratulations Blake! You are awesome!"