Cherries

Russ has a cherry tree on his property, half of the branches hang over the hammock, and the other half extending out over the river.



The part over the hammock never seems to have as many cherries as the part that extends over the river



this pretty little bird sat in the cherry tree and sang for us a spell



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The Hammock

As usual, I spent the vast majority of my time at cheese days in the hammock.



As a result, the vast majority of my photos are of items I could spy from the hammock.









Side Note to Hammock Manufacturers: Is it so difficult to come up with a hammock design that allows one to get in and out of the hammock without making an ass of oneself? And cupholders - why are there no cup holders?

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Cheese Days 2008

Every year 40 some odd aging friends of Papa Russo converge at his trailer down by the river to get drunk, float down the river, and then blow up their leftover illegal fireworks.

We call it Cheese Days, and I look forward to it every year.

It's all about this



and this



and this



and this



and a lotta good times

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Ghosts of Cheese Days past:

• Cheese Days 2005
• Cheese Days 2006
• Cheese Days 2007 (flickr slide show - no blog post that year)
  

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More Cheese Days Pics

The coolest cheese days pix were taken by these guys...
Danny B http://danbennett.blogspot.com/
Amy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyhalligan/
Gomer: http://www.flickr.com/photos/86359245@N00/sets/72157594195199854/
Tam: http://thetam.blogspot.com/
Dan H: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan10things/
Mike B: http://www.seattlest.com/archives/2006/07/11/you_missed_cheese_days_again.php

Small Town, Big Cheese

I love a small town parade. There is a certain innocence, or maybe it's a lack of cynicism...

This was the annual Toledo Washington Cheese Days Parade. It felt like the whole town was in the parade and we were there because somebody had to be in the audience.

Having Our Way With Americana

Alcohol, cameras, and a little inspiration

wasn't there a chicken around there somewhere?

Cheese Days

Cheese Daze

Well it seems we survived another foray down to Papa Russo's trailer by the river. The forecast said rain, so only 25 or so showed up, as opposed to the usual 50+ crowd of aging hipsters. Tent city was considerably smaller, which meant this year we got to nab the primo spot, the one down river from the camp fire in its own little clearing: Quiet, away from the snoring, but close enough to hear when someone else has already gotten up and tended to the fire.

As usual, I ended up not floating this year. I don't know why I never go on the float. I spent my summer in Denali rafting every weekend... But that was work, and I've been overworked lately. The opportunity to just sit there and do nothing for 5+ hours outweighed any benefit that might have been gained by rowing a boat.

There is just something about the quiet out there, the sound of the river and the birds, the clean air... it really helps melt the stress away. I return home with the seemingly contradictory sensations of being hungover and refreshed at the same time - but for that brief period, all is right with the world.