The Vacation Is Over

We flew into Detroit on Christmas Eve, missing the excitement and trauma of the failed terrorist act by one day. Christmas was spent with family in the great, white, frozen North. I had a wonderful time visiting with the old and meeting the new. The trees were bare, the sky grey, snow was on the ground, and Christmas cheer evident everywhere.

There were crisp blue skies too, blowing winds and drifting snow.

The 'medium' grand-girl traveled up from Illinois with her family to join the fun. She ran and laughed and frolicked in the snow.

We reached home safely on New Year's Eve. Security was run very efficiently and quickly at the airport. Minor delays occurred with de-icing but we still made our destination on schedule.
I was glad to see all of my furry four-legged family healthy and they were excited to see us.

I was in bed early last night, no late partying on New Year's Eve for me.

Up early this morning, Jerry and I enjoyed a breakfast of French Toast and sausage. Once our chores were finished, we made a grocery list and drove into town to shop. Back home again...and the vacation is finished. My laundry is done. All of the Christmas ornaments are down.

Winter gardening. The radishes continue to grow. I love radishes.

But so does something else. More than half of the radishes that I harvested today had been chewed and chomped on by 'something'.

Do you know what this is? A gopher trap, it needs to be set in the garden.

Irises and daffodils are growing well.

His vacation is over also. Being in charge of the wood shed, wood box and stove is an every day chore, even while on winter break, even on New Year's Day.

Plenty of wood from the recent storm.

Another never-ending task, oak leaves.

I missed this face. He missed me.

Things are greening up, it did rain off and on all day today. Cort seemed content to have his "pack" back home and he kept busy supervising our outdoor activities.

This was taken November 29 th. A tall Digger Pine that Jerry chopped down to clear the area he plans to build our riding arena.

It was a large tree and it grew at quite a severe tilt, these trees uproot and break off easily. The large 'stump' directly behind the tip of the newly cut one and in front of Jerry, broke off in a wind storm the summer before last.

Today Jerry sawed and chopped and cleared the Digger Pine.

It was a burn day; we started on the vast piles of branches that litter the property. The branches are wet and green and burn slowly. I'm guessing that it will take the entire winter to get rid of everything that was dropped during the snow storm.

Jerry and Tristan working on grading the site for our arena. They worked outdoors all day long. That is a short sleeve T-shirt Tristan is wearing; it must be a boy thing.

I frown upon this kind of male behavior. That is NOT water he is tossing to 'reduce the flames'...

These broad green leafs are in several of our shaded rock gardens. I don't know what they are. Someone told me they were Skunk Cabbage, they are pretty and they don't stink so I am not calling them Skunk Cabbage. This one is blooming today.

The daffodils are starting to bloom.

I dug them up, thinned them and replanted in the fall. They are coming up like crazy. My thumb is beginning to feel green.

And look at this, the lilac bushes are budding. Seems too early. This one is a white Lilac. We did not get any flowers on it last year, it was (oops) trimmed back too late in the year.

These little purple flowers made it through the snow and the freezes and continue to flower.


Yes, the vacation is over, and we accomplished much today, but I did take time to relax and smell the flowers.

I miss all of you Michiganders! or is that Michigonians? spellcheck suggests Michiganites.... Stay warm........
Happy Trails!

SNOW!

I enjoyed a 'wild' weekend in Vegas; watching the National Finals Rodeo, shopping, people watching, watching my sister thoroughly enjoy the country music bands. But I kept an ear tuned to the winter storm warnings back home in California. After a long but uneventful flight home Sunday night, we were met by rain at the airport, heavier rain as we reached the foothills, rain and snow mixed as we climbed towards home.... and this....

Snow greets us at our gate. Not too bad, I suppose. The house is toasty warm and we crawl between flannel sheets and fall fast asleep. I plan to rise in a few hours and head south to work.

We are jolted from our slumber sometime early morning by a crack of thunder. I think how weird that the blizzard has changed to a thunder storm. Then back to sleep. Jerry wakes me saying he can't find the alarm clock. The clock isn't missing, the power is out. Both now fully awake, we realize the earlier boom wasn't thunder.... dressing quickly we grab flashlights and head out the door. Amazed to be greeted by a dazzling white landscape littered with downed branches and trees, sagging power lines and trees heavy with packs of snow performing the most incredible gymnastics.

The realtor assured me that it snowed very seldom at this location. hhmmph

Amy and Jerry hung pine boughs and bows on the fence posts last week. The fresh snow is a nice touch.




Billie explores.

This is supposed to stand straight up.

Tristan was one of the happy ones.

Power lines and trees and snow.

A candy cane wanna-be.

Jerry and Tristan being good neighbors.

More happiness.

This is the thunder maker... just missed taking out our new fence. At 6:00 a.m. we were clearing it from the road. Jerry chain sawed, I supervised and offered suggestions.

These smaller oaks did smash the back fence.

Annie has the right idea.

Four days later, the electric is back on, just in time for my return home tomorrow. I hope the snow is all melted by tomorrow too.

Coon Hound

Got out of bed, opened my window blinds and noticed Cort laying in the yard, staring up a tree. As soon as he spies me, he jumps to his feet and starts leaping and twisting and spinning in the air, all while loudly vocalizing an alert to a trespassing varmint.

Looking pleased with himself, but always goofy with one ear up-one ear down.

He doesn't howl, he doesn't bay, he has an annoying high pitched yip, yip, yip, that gets our attention.






She's b a c k...... every few months she wanders over, gets treed, then high-tails it out of here when we distract Cort and no one is looking.

She's large, she's cute, but we don't want her nesting here and raising a family again. Can't blame her for trying though, this is a nice place to live.

Coloma Cemetery

This morning I visited the small local hair salon for a new 'do'. I like it. It's wavy and layered. I thoroughly enjoy my time at this Beauty Shop, an owner who says she is old enough to be my grandmother, I laughed and we figured out the dates and she could be my 'mother' not grandma!
Folks, both men and women, just stop in for chat and coffee. A real friendly gathering place, home-town atmosphere, good people.

Tristan had a short day at school so I picked him up instead of him riding the bus for an hour to get home. We visited the local thrift shop and I picked up a few bargain items to create more costumes for my front yard scary gathering.

Late this afternoon, on our way to the 'big town', we stopped in Coloma. I have lived in the area for several years and have never visited the Coloma Cemetery. We were on our way to a Haunted House and I decided it would a great time to visit the small local graveyard. I love graveyards, the older the better. You know about Coloma, right? The location of Sutter's Mill? The place where gold was first discovered in California and started the whole rush West? There's interesting history here, and this Cemetery is lovely, a wonderful resting place.


Several beautiful iron 'privacy fences' encircle family plots.

On a hill side, the trails meander up and down and all around.

Some markers are interesting indeed! I want to know this whole story. And what's up with the coins?

A few wooden markers remain, most so worn they can't be read. Someone recently had painted in the carved wording on this sad plank.

What a peaceful, gentle spot.

Tristan shows us the oldest grave he could find. 1850.

I plan to go back and spend more time wandering and reading.

Does anyone else enjoy visiting old cemeteries?

I had to stop to fuel up my truck, Tristan got in the bed of the truck to watch the sky and he was doing some wild dancing and singing, I caught this shot before he saw me and calmed himself!

No pictures of the Haunted House. The High School put it on and it was fun. Dark, spooky and lots of strobe lights, way beyond my photographic skills.

A good day and I blogged twice this month.

Lovin' October

Shorter cooler days are here. Autumn. Rainy season. Chili, stews, soups and baked goods.

I love October, especially since I don't have blizzards, frozen pipes and icy water buckets looming in my future.

Today will be a long winded, probably too many photos, look at life here at our cabin this month.





I don't really love 'everything' about October. The rains softened up our rock hard ground which apparently our gophers find very pleasing. Mounds of dirt and gopher holes are not my idea of desirable landscaping. However, the cats and Cort are entertained for hours at a time, which in turn entertains me, so not all is bad. They'll even catch one of those bad boys now and then.

With the rains and cooler temperatures we have things sprouting up all over the place. Daffodils are peaking up through the soil, Resurrection Lilies are just showing their green tips, and pictured above are some new plants coming up in a couple of our rock gardens. I am pretty certain aren't just weeds but what are they? Any help with plant identification is welcomed. Thanks in advance.

Several plants are still flowering. My roses continue to be sad and pathetic, refusing to be photographed.

Vegetable production is winding down but the plants look green and marvelous, I think that they love this cool wet weather. The green pepper plants are still proucing blossoms and peppers.

We tried a new variety of squash this year, Patty Pans, and we think they are great. They are still blooming and producing and hiding little ants.

Amy planted a row of radishes a few weeks ago. They are thriving. I had planted some in the spring, they hated the California summer heat and did not grow. Amy also planted a few rows of lettuce at the same time but they have not sprouted. We had lots of lettuce from the garden all summer long and were hoping for a winter crop also. Oh well......

I planted two rows of carrots in the spring, they also hated the hot summer and seemed to just be barely surviving. I didn't give up on them and I have been rewarded with a spurt of carrot growth. A baby carrot! And it tasted wonderful.

This week's colorful bounty.

And then there's Halloween. I thoroughly enjoy decorating with scary creatures. One poor soul greats you coming in the gate, two if you count the dog.

A closer look, he's not one-legged, just angled that way. I would love to have a large stuffed buzzard or two to perch above him. Maybe next year. Perhaps if I tossed chicken livers up there, real buzzards would come pose for me?

Two Halloween's ago this critter was making friends with Dawg the Sheep, now he is Carson's buddy. Cort just wants to find gophers, good Cort.

"Some" in my family have poked fun at her. She is a witch without a hat, I believe it must have fallen in the river on her way here. And her broom, so it's not a typical witch broom, it is better than the vacuum cleaner that she almost rode to our house. I'm not sure if Carson likes the witch or just insists on being part of my scary pictures. Cort's off somewhere digging up gopher tunnels, good boy Cort.

Last week's rains seemed to clean the dust off of everything. Our sky really is this color. Can you just smell the scent of pine on this crisp, clear day? I can....

Oaks are busy dropping millions of leaves and acorns. I should gather the acorns, pound them, make acorn flour, and find some tasty Native American recipes to try.

HAHAHA I crack myself up. I can't even blog more than once monthly these days.


I bet that Jennifer would do it. ;-)

A little reminder of the BIG storm that we had last weeks. Tristan and I gathered this pile of limbs out of the front yard the day after the storm. We didn't lose any trees, just old dead branches.

May you always see the rainbow!

HAPPY TRAILS!