Looking around at changes

Never been a crop failure in the Palouse, I think, never!

The area abounds in deep, rich soil and an abundance of rain at the critical time in the spring.

Not this year. Of course, the soil hasn’t changed. But the rains didn’t come.

One farmer I know reported only about 60% of normal yields.

The only good news about the harvest is that the wheat prices were up.

When I was a student in high school there, in one class we were sent out to measure the rich, black topsoil. We took our augurs and were surprised to find that where we measured the topsoil it was about 30 inches deep.

I learned recently that my grandson, William, is planning a two-month trip to Europe.

He plans on spending the extended time in Germany, Austria, Italy and France.

It wouldn’t be wise for me to take such a trip; I might never come back.

In my travels, I never got to Europe, although I had a contract to do so. But traveling in Asia took its toll, and I couldn’t get the extra time off. A similar agreement to go to Norway was canceled because of health reasons. The most time I could get away from my position on the newspaper was a month, so two months seems like a lifetime.

Of interest to William and his travel friend are castles, museums and all the things he can cram into the schedule. One thing I have asked him to see and report on is the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The cathedral was severely damaged by fire about two years ago. A news story this week indicated that work to renew the damage is ready to begin. It’s the sort of place that I would spend time at.

Pfizer reported this week that it is about ready to recommend vaccines for kids aged from 5-12. It’s good news because it means that our great granddaughter, Westlyn, will be able to be vaccinated.

It’s great news for our local school system. It then will be up to parents to act.

About every five years I pull out my stamp collection and get started again. This time it isn’t from boredom, but isolation from the virus.

I have nearly 20 albums, dealing with general stamps and then for commemorative stamps, airmail stamps, and more.

My stuff, spread out, covers the dining room table. Well, that doesn’t matter because we generally eat in the kitchen. 

These stamp people are great at marketing, opening up all the various areas of collecting.

This is spurred on by our oldest son, Paul, who is a more serious collector. We swap stamps and I lean on his experience. I don’t see this interest letting up for a while.

In three time periods, I am keeping duplicate albums, the extra ones for great granddaughter Kaylee.

In a way, it is revisiting history. Every stamp has a story.

I am interested in acquiring old textbooks that I used in grade school. A couple of years ago I found one, a sixth-grade literature book. There was a companion one in the seventh grade, and I am still looking for that one.

As if I need any more books in our home.