Upper Body Strength Must Be Nice.

WORKING in the woods again today and trying things girls weren't taught, like using a bow saw. The picture on the left shows you the friends I spent time with today - the first day of June.
The shovel looks malformed - and is - but it came in handy for carving steps in the bank down to the creek. The saw, which jumped and stuck in the wood, removed some large exposed tree roots ... finally, just before my right arm muscles gave out. If I can lift my right arm tomorrow, I will be lucky.
The large long-handled clippers were for branches and thick blackberry vines. The flora on our property is growing by leaps and bounds. The ferns are mostly unfurled and some of the plants, with small, tight buds, are now in full flower.
But I wonder which is more handy to know: How to fold beaten egg whites into pancake batter to make them lighter and more delicious or how to use a hand saw without using every swear word you ever learned. I guess the first one could help you snag a fellow who can use a saw properly, but why aren't girls taught things like this? (Well, some are, I know, but not this one.)
Anyway, I'll survive. There is now a nice little path down to the creek. Here are some flowers (right) that need identifying. I have Googled Pacific Northwest flowers, but haven't found them. These grow right along the creek. Botanists: help, please. (Update on June 4: Gresham High School teacher Paul S. has identified this shrub as a goatsbeard, a member of the rose family.)
Going back one day to Saturday, I was having an awful time getting my bearings. Grumpy, crabby, drifting from one mind-numbing (housework - yard work) task to another. Finally I called Barb in Michigan. Everyone should have a friend like her. She listened and gave me the feedback I needed. After we had talked for over an hour I was back on track and not feeling quite so sorry for myself. I hope she has Internet service again so she can find out how much she improved my day.
I sent a card off to a different friend on Saturday. Here is the back of the envelope. It is about the only art I can claim to have attempted in two weeks! My shame runs deep.
Two more pictures and then it's bedtime for me. The Mister and I walked deer trails for about an hour, up and down hills. There are several springs on our property and that stopped our hike once. We didn't have rubber boots on. We found lots of hoof prints in the damp earth and wondered where they all were. Not that "Hawkeye" and "Chingachgook" were any threat to them. There were lots of slugs in the woods, all over the place, all going somewhere to do something. We also found several varieties of mushrooms, these among them. Don't worry. We didn't have them for dinner. I'm not in the market for a new liver - femminismo