Summertime on the Grounds...

" Ask The Missionaries! " -Elder Russell M. Nelson

Earlier in the spring, we were struggling to find summer workers, which resulted in getting behind on several tasks like weeding and detailing the flower beds. Then Elder Sill and his companion reached out to me several months ago from the Somerset ward asking if they could do service on the temple grounds for a couple of hours every week.  It led to him bringing a crew of other elders and sisters, every week the past 4 months, and now it is tradition to have them come and help out every Wednesday in the afternoon.  They show up, know the drill and get working and we always end up ahead of our tasks because of them.  We have been grateful for the help and know they are being blessed for their service to the Temple.  It is fun to hear how the missionary work is going in their areas and know they are making a huge impact in the community.  We have made some great friends and I hope they come back after their missions and work on the summer crew!  

Ask the Missionaries! - A Great Talk by Elder Nelson about Missionaries

Elder Kerby, Richard, Elder Cardon, Elder Sill, Mark

Jeff (Richard's buddy who comes to volunteer) , Elder Kerby, Richard, Elder Cardon, Elder Sill, Elder Wu, from China

Dahlias

Dahlias are one of my favorite plants to grow at the Seattle Temple.  They are a tedious plant, meaning we have to pot them up in late winter/early spring, plant them well after any sign of frost, then dig up the tuber and store them in a cool dry place over the winter.  But they are well worth it.  Here are some pics of the varieties we chose to try this year:

Summer Shutdown

Summer Shutdown was a success this year, and ended on July 24th.  I am finally getting around to another posting mainly due to the crazy summer we are having.  During shutdown, we had the chance to get some old, diseased, dying trees taken down.  Three Kwanzan Cherry trees and a 60 foot Red Oak Tree.   We called in some help from GreenWorx, whom Kasey Self owns and operates.  He is in my stake and has wanted to do some work for the temple.  He did a great job and his crew were able to knock out a lot of limbing, and wood chipping as well.  We also pressure washed the fountain, painted it, and pressure washed all the walkways and curbs.  We also had to keep things maintained while getting these bigger projects done.  Endless pest management, turf, shrub and flower care, irrigation maintenance, fixing holes in the fence, pruning-- are some of the many on going things that happen during the summer time.  I will have to get some pictures of the summer flowers up soon as well.