June certainly started out like summer, didn’t it? I spent several days

out weeding in the sunshine. Weeding is about my least favorite activity, but

it was just too nice not to be outside. I have several beds where I am

growing periwinkle (vinca minor) as a ground cover, but there are still

grass and buttercups that grow up through it that have to be removed. It is a

bit like taking burrs out of a dog’s coat, while trying not to end up with a

bald dog. Finicky work.

PPP

The Mountain Man isn’t sure he likes the ground cover idea. He

prefers a bare earth policy when it comes to flower beds. He is also a

graduate of the Clear Cut School of Landscape Design. You know, if a limb is in

the way cut down the tree. So I have to watch him like a hawk when he

is pruning.

PPP

June is National Cat and Kitten Month, and I see that Pop’s

Country Store is advertising free kittens. If you do adopt a new kitten or puppy

this summer, please have it spayed or neutered. Too many animals have to

be put down every year. Help control the pet population. It is healthier for

your pet as well.

PPP

We are gearing up for Summer Reading Club at the North Bend

Library. This year’s theme is Time Quest: Read Through the Ages.

There are going to be a lot of fun programs going on throughout the

summer. Check in at the library as soon as school is out and sign up to earn

your patch. Look for Mr. Bear and Bettina to be sporting costumes through

the ages, too. Our mascots will once again be dressed to suit the theme.

We also have a new patron in our midst. Mom Heidi brought in

Timothy Joseph Temple, age seven weeks. He was three weeks early, so he is

still pretty small but just as cute as they come. We especially liked his

hiking boots. They must have been all of two inches long.

PPP

The Mountain Man has started halibut runs between sturgeon

trips. He took Sandra and Kayleen Curnow up with him, and unfortunately

they got skunked. He is taking Sandra and Jim next, and Jim assures me that

they are going to [catch the] limit. I don’t know if he has informed the

halibut of this, but only time will tell. The Mountain Man only got one last

year; it was only 70 pounds. This is small for a halibut, but we are still

eating well. With all of the sturgeon, halibut, salmon, and perch, we still have

half a freezer full. I have to mark each year clearly, so we don’t start eating

this year’s before we finish last year’s.

The Mountain Man is an excellent hunter/gatherer. I mentioned

casually that he really didn’t need to catch any fish this year and got such

a look. But he has forgiven me, if only

because he needs a deckhand.

PPP

Funky Fact: Sturgeon, like sharks, have been around since

before the dinosaurs. And like shark, they

haven’t changed much in the intervening million years or so. The word

sturgeon is from Middle French. According to

my dictionary, it means “a lizard-like

fish.” They are a bit “lizard-y” looking.

Halibut is also from Middle French, meaning “Holy flatfish.” It was once

eaten on Holy Days, is the world’s largest flatfish, can weigh several

hundred pounds, and is divided into Atlantic and Pacific species. It is also

really ugly! They are both very tasty

though, so I guess looks aren’t everything.

PPP

I would like to mention two Web sites to all of you. One

is www.hungersite.com. You can go to this site and donate free food once

a day. Sponsors pay for the donations, each buying ½ cup per click. All

donations go to hunger relief. The second site is linked to this one. It is

the Rainforest site. Here you can donate to purchase threatened rainforest

land. Again, sponsors pay for the donations. If you need to buy a gift, you

might want to check out the sponsors’ sites as well, because a portion of sales

also goes to the cause. This all takes about a minute. I can’t think of a better

way to spend a minute, unless it is to give someone a hug.

PPP

Thought for the Week: Do not run through life so fast that you

forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going. Life is not a

race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. –

Author unknown

Please submit items for

North Bend Nuggets to

Pat Simpson at P.O. Box 857,

North Bend, WA 98045,

or by e-mail to patsimps@hotmail.com,

or drop them by the library.