August 24, 2011

Good news here, Ruger (our Black Lab pup) is finally getting over is bout with Parvo. I worked him with three tennis balls the other night for blind retrieving and he did spectacular. Time to get him back on the pheasant scent and tracking birds through brush. I'm pretty anxious to get him working some real birds this fall.

Playing Mr. Mom (or taxi cab driver) all week. Today is the last day of volleyball "two-a-days" for Tiffany ... nothing like an 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM practice to totally interfere with getting things done during the day. Seems like every time I get something started it's time to leave the house again. I've been taking Tessa to soccer practice too, so add that in as well. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday ... 8:00 AM drop off Tiffany, 9:00 AM drop off Tessa, 10:00 AM Pick up Tiffany, 11:00 AM pick up Tessa, 3:00 PM drop off Tiffany. Down to single practices tomorrow ... can't wait.

It looks like the next couple of months could be fairly busy with constituent meetings, committee meetings and a possible Special Session. Back in July, it was reported the state is down to 6 to 8 weeks of cash left. That, coupled with what could be a terrible September revenue forecast, couple mean a very ugly fall in Washington.

Now is the time to start focusing on real job growth, real economic development and real fiscal sanity. I spoke to a builder yesterday who summed it up quite well. "Want economic development and job growth, get the government out of my way." Amen to that!

#Ruger #volleyball #Tiffany #Tessa #economic #job #growth #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/b6df1f

August 18, 2011

Another busy week comes to an end. I was able to bring Ruger home on Wednesday from the vet and now he's bouncing off the walls, 2nd cutting of hay is done, we're starting maintenance on the equipment for the last cutting, sorting calves, and getting caught up on everything else.

I spoke at the Yakima Republican Women's meeting yesterday about the 2011 session, the interim and plans for 2012. I always enjoy speaking at their luncheon, the ladies always have great questions. I'll be at the Realtor function tonight in Yakima and have a few meetings over the next couple of weeks. It seems like legislative issues are starting to heat up again and rumor is we could be heading back to Olympia in late September or October for another Special Session.

#Ruger #equipment #Olympia #Special #Session #Realtors #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/b4f604

August 15, 2011

Second cutting of hay is finally in the books ... well, mostly. Everything is baled, but we need to finish picking it up tonight. We sent 16 tons to Prosser yesterday (loaded it and unloaded it), which made for a long day. At least it wasn't to hot.

I've been receiving a lot of inquiries into Coordination recently, which is great. When the people find out how powerful a tool it is to rein in state and federal agencies, everyone become interested in it. There will be another training session in Clarkston on September 18th. Contact trademarkamerica.org for more details.

I've got a lot of things to get caught up on around the house, now that 2nd cutting is done. Hopefully I'll even get some time to ride the horses too.

#hay #Prosser #Coordination #Trademark #America #Clarkston #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/b31f0b

August 9, 2011

So the last few days have been really, really bad. We're trying to get the second cutting of hay done and things just seem to keep breaking down. First, we couldn't get a really thick grass/alfalfa field to dry out, then we couldn't get any dew on a different alfalfa field. Finally things looked good, but the parts we ordered for the rake we're the wrong ones (not our mistake though). We were able to borrow a rake for a day and things looked up again. We got our rake fixed with the right parts, only to have it brake down again ... this time badly. Spent Sunday working on the rake, got the bearings pulled and put into a different piece only to have the part break on the last bearing unit ... ugh! Finally after starting at 1:30 AM this morning, things looked good again. Only have about 13 rows left to bale in the alfalfa field and BOOM, the freaking front axle broke. Yup, broke! So instead of getting a little sleep today, I'll be back working on equipment. {sigh}

Not like things weren't bad enough, Saturday night Ruger's brother Remington (the new pups) was diagnosed with Parvo, so now we're on Parvo watch with all the dogs. Thankfully Remington is already back at home with the Beebe's, but I'm still worried about my little guy ... only time will tell.

The Moxee Hop Festival went really well. There were lot's of people and we had a good time (up until taking the dog to the emergency vet clinic at 7:00 PM Saturday night). I spent an hour in the dunk tank as a fundraiser for Wellness House and it sounds like they made a few hundred dollars over the course of the day.

#Moxee #Hop #Festival #Parvo #tractor #hay #rake #Ruger #Remington #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/b01b39

August 2, 2011

Alright, so the second cutting of hay is not going well thus far. It started out good enough, but then the replacement tines we ordered came in and were the wrong ones. Luckily we were able to borrow a rake last night, but it's not working out real well for us. We'll try and get it set correctly tonight, but we're now another day behind. Ugh!

Molly and I went to Stephanie and Ryan's wedding on Sunday at Crystal Mountain. For those who don't know, Stephanie is my Legislative Assistant. We had a great time and got to meet Ryan and Stephanie's families. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Woodard!

The Moxee Hop Festival is this weekend, which is always a good time. I'll be in the dunk tank on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Molly is selling tickets so come on out and dunk your local legislator.

We've been sending out fresh roping calves and getting a few of the bigger ones back. Everything is looking good and we have a couple of bull prospects we're considering keeping into next year.

I just got word the next meeting of the Joint Executive-Legislative Work Group on Tribal Retrocession will be on September 16th at the Yakama Legends Casino in Toppenish. Mark you calendars and plan on attending if you have any interest in tribal civil and criminal retrocession.

#tribal #retrocession #Stephanie #Ryan #Woodard #Moxee #Hop #Festival #Legends #Casino #Toppenish #hay #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/ae27ef

July 25, 2011

What a great weekend. The entire Full Loop family went over to Mossyrock to visit our friend Tim Kunka. Robert and I took three of the kids over Friday afternoon and Molly and Emily came over after work Friday evening. We rode the horses down to the Tilton River and swam them across it. After fishing for a little while, we rode back to the house and sorted cattle until around 10:30. It was really a great way to start the weekend.

On Saturday, we worked the horses and then went back down to the river for most of the day. When we got back we played with the cattle a little while, ate and crashed out. Sunday morning came too soon ... none of the kids wanted to leave. We went back to the river one more time for just a little bit and finally hit the road home around 5:30 PM. We ended up leaving one horse for Tim to work with over the next month.

I woke up this morning to a massive thunder boomer formed over West Valley. So much for cutting hay today, unless the boomer stays in West Valley and the Lower Valley this morning. A great weekend and now back to the grind.

#Tim #Kunka #Tilton #River #Mossyrock #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/abb5b5

July 19, 2011

Another day of crazy weather here in the Moxee Valley ... rain, followed by wind, yuck! Last Saturday I participated in the Sort for a Cure event in Sunnyside. It was my first try at Ranch Sorting, but I had a great time and didn't take last place (actually 11th out of 18 teams). I was going to ride Chili, but she somehow got a cut on her head and it was swelled up. I ended up riding Icicle and she wasn't all that impressed with the other horses or people. She settled in and did just fine the second go though.

We put down 20 acres of hay on Friday and it was about ready to bale, until today's rain that is. The wind is helping out and we were able to get started raking it tonight. It's a little discolored, but I think it'll be alright.

So yesterday was the first meeting of the Joint Executive-Legislative Workgroup on Tribal Retrocession and I found out that I'm either the co-chair or vice-chair (I was called both). That's fairly interesting since I wasn't asked my thoughts on the agenda or schedule for the rest of the year. Oh well. The meeting was actually pretty informative and I've got all sorts of new ideas for legislation.

We're going to go to Mossy Rock this weekend to see our good friend Tim Kunka, ride horses and chase calves. I'm really looking forward to it. Tim trains horses and does a really good job with them. We took him 19 calves a couple of weeks ago, so now he's also holding some sorting events at his place too. If you need a horse trained, Tim is the guy to do it.

#Sort #for #a #Cure #hay #calves #Tribal #Retrocession #Tim #Kunka #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/a98651