June 1 - Wow! May did not go out quietly! Yesterday, john had asked joyce to stay near by for five minutes while he used a 22 caliber nail gun to attach several 2 x 4's to a basement wall. Brackets were then mounted to the 2 x 4's to hold up a master valve and anti flow device. These were part of the irrigation system john has been installing for zenpond for the last month. john had no trouble, but just as he finished he heard a very loud crash from upstairs! He asked joyce if she was okay, and she responded with a "no". She had broken a vase and had seriously cut her finger. The trip to ER resulted in four stitches in her finger (the pointer finger, left hand, second bend). The cut went to the tendon, but did not cut it fortunately. She now has a big white bandage on her finger for the next week or so.

Four new 20 amp double outlets were installed yesterday around the path. No more extension cords running down the path! New night lights are bound to follow soon. john is starting to see the end of the new irrigation system. It is not done yet, but he is on the downhill side of this project. The irrigation system was fun to install, but very labor intensive.

June 3 - john got quite a bit done on the irrigation system yesterday. Essentially, the system is up and running including the rain sensor. john still has plenty to do to complete the system: adding automatic drain plugs, completing some zones with more pop-ups. Parts of the main path are still torn up. These spots need to be filled in and mulched before guests start arriving (see below).

joyce goes in to have her finger checked at ER today. Yesterday, tucky accidentally tore the protective bandage off with his back claws. ER did not give joyce antibiotics. They are trying to restrict the use of antibiotics to prevent "super-bugs" that are resistant to antibiotics. Instead they are watching the healing process closely.

Eddie, john's pond helper, is bringing his councilor, Connie, over to see zenpond this afternoon. Connie has only seen zenpond in the late winter, before it turns green.

Gene, john's Master Gardener friend, is bringing a former student and her friend over to see zenpond on Monday. Gene is retired, but is teaching a biology lab at Johnson County Community College part-time.

The Lakeview Garden Club (10 - 15 members) will be coming over in July for a tour.

The New Theatre Guild has asked john and joyce to host a benefit in mid-September at zenpond. Marion Ross, who will be the lead in "Over The River and Through The Woods" at the New Theatre, is scheduled to be in attendance for the evening. That should be quite a fun time! Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. The Guild provides scholarships to young theatre students at a number of nearby universities.

john and joyce just found out that they will be sponsoring the Canadian officer, Dany, his wife, Mado, and their 8 year old daughter, Gabrielle, this year at Fort Leavenworth. Dany will be attending the Command and General Staff College there. Their home is about an hour away from Quebec on the Saint Lawrence. Their email will be blacked out from today until they arrive in Fort Leavenworth.

john and joyce haven't received email from Basso, Benin,West Africa for weeks. He has to go to the Cyber -Cafe to email and receive his letters to/from john and joyce. john has probably been remiss in sending letters his way. Happily his country is stable. People there do live on one dollar a day. Basso makes john and joyce feel very humble. He is such a great guy. This is the point of People to People: after you have met such great people it is hard to ever be their enemies again. In stead of man's inhumanity toward man, People to People is promoting man's humanity toward man. Seems like a much better approach to john and joyce.

john just ordered the "Twice as Nice Reblooming Iris Collection" from www.brecks.com. You receive 6 reblooming iris (Spring AND Fall) plus 1 free iris. Your order is filled in Holland, and will not ship until the next iris cycle (either Fall or Spring). Check it out at www.brecks.com.

June 5 - john and joyce just had 4 visitors to zenpond this afternoon. john's friend Gene, taught Angie at JCCC this last semester. Angie, her friend, Tasha,Tasha's mother, and Tasha's sister all visited zenpond. They are always welcome to visit any time.

June 6 - john just learned from his friend Gene that Home Depot has a new variety of heat-tolerant impatiens for sale. john thought he might get some and try them out around zenpond.

June 8 - yesterday evening john and joyce had Shigeo, Mayumi, Tamon, and their friend Allen over for dinner. The year is ending at Fort Leavenworth and these dear friends are heading home to Japan and Fort Bragg. Although everyone had a delightful evening, there was a certain sadness in seeing these friends leave for a very long time. There is no question that Shigeo will become a general and come back to Fort Leavenworth to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

While these friends were visiting, john and joyce had another new visitor to zenpond: a Wood Duck! In 18 years, john, joyce, and tucky have not seen anything like this duck visiting zenpond. She had a tufted head and white teardrops around her eyes. She was slightly smaller than a Mallard. She was able to hold her own quite well at the cracked corn dish!

June 9 - Wow! Did john and joyce ever have a nice surprise at 2:30 PM today! The phone rang and joyce answered. It was a call from john and joyce's good friends in Denmark, Ulf and Lise. It was so great to hear their voices! Ulf retired last year from the Danish Army as Major General in charge of 60,000 troops in the Danish Home Guard. Lise has three more years until she retires as a school teacher. They have two children: Mads (john and joyce are his American godparents) and Sophie (working on her bachelor's degree). Lise was saying that students in Denmark get a job not based on their bachelor degree, but on their master's degree. Ulf and Lise want john and joyce to come for a vacation (holiday) to Europe next year. Ulf and Lise have traveled extensively throughout Europe. john and joyce agree that it would be great fun to holiday with them! Not only would the trip be fun, but being with Ulf and Lise again would be so excellent! This trip WILL happen!

June 10 - The Wood Duck ate again at zenpond last night. So interesting and beautiful!

June 11 (7:00 AM) - The Wood Duck is eating a breakfast of cracked corn this morning too.

June 11 (7:45 AM) - joyce looked out the front window and discovered "Mom" duck with five young ducks marching behind her trying to find their way into zenpond. They might be around 6 weeks old. john quickly unlocked the side gate, and the ducks walked in. They started out swimming in the big pond, and then settled down by the food dish.

June 11 (11:30 AM) - joyce had her stitches out today. It will take awhile before her finger looks normal again.

The young ducks are napping in the Silver Mound on the far side of the large pond. joyce is already concerned that the hanging baskets aren't going to get enough water. It is such a large responsibility having them grow up here. They will have to get used to us, not the other way around.

June 11 (12:17 PM) - You are not going to believe this! Now there are TWO families of ducks at zenpond. Where the second set came from john and joyce do not know! The second family have four ducklings and their "Mom". The two different mothers are not real happy about the situation, and they had a dispute about it. Right now things are resolved by the family of ducklings going into the small pond. john just told joyce that he is beginning to get stressed out, and needs to meditate. He would settle for going to a movie this afternoon. joyce looked too busy to agree.

June 11 ( 4:00 PM) - john came home after seeing "Prairie Home Companion" at the theatre. It was very good. He will take joyce to see it. Merle Streep will probably win a major award. The theatre was packed. joyce had gone shopping. They pulled into the driveway at exactly the same time.

Somehow, the territorial dispute has been resolved. There is no sign of the 6 week old ducks. The mother with her four ducklings has won out. Two adult Mallards have been at zenpond the entire time, and they know how the dispute was resolved, only they are not talking.

June 11 (4:30 PM) - Nooooooo! Cancel the above paragraph. Both sets of ducks are still here. The older set must have been hiding somewhere. They seem to be living in harmony with the each other. john has gone out twice now, and it has not distrubed them. he does not look at them and walks so that his back is always towards the ducks.

June 30 - john and joyce have been in Alaska for the last two weeks. They caught a cruise out of Vancouver which stopped at Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, and Whitter. After the cruise they rented a van and traveled from Anchorage to Denali for four days. They lost a day while flying from Anchorage to Chicago and to Kansas City. The plane left Anchorage on June 27th at 8 PM. It flew for 6 hours and lost 3 hours due to time zones. When john and joyce reached Chicago it was June 28th at 5 AM. john is processing pictures which will be posted here shortly.