Very dirty pigs!
Justin now has two new cows to keep the grass down in the front field. The third cow is Jaime’s. 
Making sure they can’t get out.
In about a month, I will begin harvesting walnuts. 
The trees are loaded!
Thursday at Merrilyn’s
These get-togethers are always fun. In two hours, we can never quite cover every important topic. Another round of good food. I made a tomato tart to practice for the next Throwdown. Merrilyn made a terrific frittata and Phyl made a carrot cake for dessert. 
Sophia and Avery
School started and car-pooling schedules with after-school sports and various other activities have created a need for another driver – hurray! – that will be me! On Tuesday, Avery had soccer practice, his first team sport experience.
On Thursday, it was Back to School Night for Mom and Dad.
CELDT testing
Retired teachers have been hired again this year to help with the hour-long one-on-one California English Language Development Test for Transitional and Kindergarten students. Schools only have 30 days to complete the initial assessment for new students. This is a great job to have: the students are delightful and the day goes by quickly. This week I was at Madison and Castori Schools.
Special moments happen every day. One girl say a song about Jesus to me right in the middle of the test. When presented with this page and prompted to “Say this word,” 
responded with “Giraffe, lion, elephant.” Although I had to bubble in the mark for Incorrect, I told her “Good job.” All language domains are tested, reading, speaking, listening, and writing.
One of the best parts of this job is running into old friends, like Ethel Smart, who was my aide at Sierra View long long ago.
Zucchini Festival
Sponsored by the Rio Linda Grange #403.
Biggest zucchini contest:
Winners of the Zucchini Cook-off:
Susan Hanks:
Zucchini racers,
outside there were head-to-head matches.
In the garden, a couple of giant pumpkins hoping to win the September Country Faire “biggest” contest.
Carson’s Christening
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento.
There were about 20 children being baptized this morning. Not a single child cried!
Meanwhile …
Brunch afterwards at Cafeteria 15L.
Carson’s feeding team: Thais the holder, Sophia the spooner, Avery the in-between-bites entertainer.
Back to Sac
Time to go home! Thank you Billie for everything. I had a great time!
Roanoke bike ride 3
I rode the Roanoke Greenway early this morning with Greenway Ambassador JD.
A few days ago, this part of the trail was impassable due to flooding of the Roanoke River.
Fun! Miles = 13
Roanoke bike ride 2
This morning, JD, Billie, and I started before the sun was up.
We extended the Airport Ride to include part of the Greenway bike paths. After coffee at Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea in downtown, we walked up the very steep Martin Luther King Bridge
over the tracks which run through the middle of town. The Norfolk & Western Railway has been headquartered in Roanoke for about 150 years and is famous for producing its own locomotives and hopper cars – in Roanoke.
Miles = 28
Roanoke bike ride 1
We rested a couple of days after getting back from our trip, but the roads around Roanoke soon began calling.
We rode very early to avoid the heat, humidity, and possible thunderstorms. We did the “Airport Ride” – about halfway around the perimeter
before heading toward the Grandin Road neighborhood for a stop at a favorite coffee shop.
A sliding scale for buying a small coffee:
L-R: Jore, Donna, Billie, me. Kenny, on his hand-cranked cycle, is quite active in the local MS society, rides in many of their bicycling events, and raises a lot of money.
Kenny and 4 yellow chicks
arletelouise 