We are Climbing Russell's Stairway

The 30 year old stairway to the granary above the garage was falling apart, so spent a day replacing it with treated 2 inch lumber so it will do me out.  

The treated side supports give it the strength for an above average person like me to climb with a 100 lb sack of oats.  

The first melon of the year showed signs of being ripe, but the wet summer with no real hot spells is opposite of watermelon preferences. 

The 30th (?) annual Hanson Family 22 rifle target competition was last Saturday.  The steady hands of the ladies won again with last year's champ, Connie passing the traveling trophy to Danica.  

In the under 16 category, Claire came in first with 46 of 55 points.  She had stiff competition.  My score was 44 and that tied for 4th in the adult competition.  Same target and same distance for both classes.  

Marv scores the targets with some of the youth competition helping out.  Reed, in the orange, age 4, missed the target, but learned how to handle a gun at his first shoot.  Introducing kids to target shooting teaches them safety and if they later go on to try hunting they will be familiar with safety, aiming, shooting etc.  In our rural area, many folks hunt.  I used to do it, but hadn't for 12 years until trying it again last year --thinking that venison is inexpensive meat.  However, as a MN resident hunting in WI, the license is about $170 and processing a deer is another $70, and the medium sized deer I shot was about 25 lbs of meat.   I think in the future I will give up hunting except maybe if Cecil the famous lion shot by the MN dentist this summer on his safari has a brother.

Saturday evening is my 50th HS reunion, the St Croix Falls Class of '65.  We plan to go and try to avoid talking about health issues ourselves and listening to others talk about their problems.  Most of us have turned 68 now, and that is the time for the first collapse of old age, sort of a test to see if we will go joyfully into our 80s or drearily into our 70s.  My health is pretty good after some problems and Margo is recovering from her back surgeries, so it looks like we may have a few good years ahead.  I am curious how Gordy's back surgery turned out, if Don's shoulder surgery is scheduled, how George's bypass is coming along; and a few dozen others hip and knee replacements are doing.  I also will be on the alert for people whose memories are failing.  I don't bother about cosmetic things like weight and hair, although as I was picking some black walnuts on the ground in the orchard, I remembered that the husks were once popular as hair dye....