Life on the Satus is going well. Things are finding their place to call home, boxes are being emptied or being gone through before going into the storage unit.
Mom, Lee and I are all enjoying living and being together. Home Sweet Home on the Satus – where life is slower and quieter than where we lived in town. Not that we didn’t enjoy the town house, we just love being in the country, hearing the chickens, sheep, coyotes and neighbor dogs and where you know most every rig that drives by.
The bison, not buffalo babies are growing and are still fun to watch. Life is slowing down and I am getting more rest, as my sister’s husband puts it “learning to live green.”
All three of us have been working in mom’s yard, gleaning pretty flowers for her vases in the house and also pulling grass and weeds from the flower beds and the edges of the yard where nothing is suppose to grow.
It is a lot of work, but Mom and I both enjoy the way it looks when it’s done. Checking the yard for new frogs that appear out of the blue is Mom’s newest job while out and about strolling the yard.  It has been fun setting them out and seeing how long it takes her and Lee to find them.
My frogs and her quail are making friends. It seems strange to have these two things in the yard, but mom loves her quail as much as I love my frogs, so they just have to learn to live together and share their space – just like Mom, Lee and I are learning to live together.
I don’t know about you, but I truly enjoy Cindy’s gardening columns in the paper.  I am finding out more about what is growing in mom’s yard and what else we may think we need to put there.  Not that there are any blank spots in her flower areas to plant anything.
But, Cindy’s column brings about a lot of green conversations with us.
Speaking of green, out behind the Toppenish Review Independent office, our office crew have planted a ‘little’ green garden. There are cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, green peppers, jalapeno peppers and various kinds of tomato plants. 
For our first official office garden, it’s doing pretty well.  First, had to first dig it up (thanks, Fred) and till some weeds under. Then Linda got some plants from her son-in law, (thanks, Rick) and then she and I figured out how far apart and where to plant what. So far we have harvested a few cucumbers along with cherry and grape tomatoes. Richard even got a few jalapeno peppers to take home.
We have all enjoyed the efforts of our little garden so far. I can’t wait till we get a watermelon -- that’s my personal favorite of what’s out there.
It needs some fertilizer and time – and, it is the time part that is the hardest for me. I stop by regularly to check on the garden, eat tomatoes and look at how fast the watermelons are not growing.  Sometimes I even stay and visit with the staff.
I only work at the Toppenish office once a week. The rest of my time is spent at the Yakima Penny Press office. Working in Yakima has been a learning experience for me.
I had only worked for the newspaper in the past, not a shopper as the Penny Press is called.  The newspaper is more about community, local events and local people.
The shopper is all about the ads and there is no news. It is very different than working locally at the paper office. 
I truly enjoy the staff here in Toppenish and Yakima too.
My job is fun and every day is different and that is why I do what I do.
Life is good, both at work and at home, but home is the best. Life on the Satus, ahhhh, that’s “Home Sweet Home” where the bison, quails and frogs continue to roam.