After the storm

BIG storm last night. The show was totally amazing.

We stood outside for quite a while watching the storm come up the valley and into the foothills. Then it hit us. Power was off and on for several hours. Wind blew like crazy - the news says gusts up to 70 mph. Rain poured but right here we had no hail.





So, this morning we surveyed the damage.

This was our little garden storage shed. Gone.






Although the shed itself was in pieces, the things in it survived with just a few exceptions. Most needed all the mud cleaned off; not much more.












The shade structure that once provided shelter for the dogs then moved over by the Tuff Shed to protect Scottie's tool area also bit the dust.


For this we ended up with bolt cutters to dismantle it since it was so twisted that we couldn't fold it up any more.

Kinda left us with a tad - just a tiny tad - of the idea of cleaning up after a flood or such.


Then, we moved on.

Fred Lowe, earth mover supreme, showed up to work on a project for us.

Fred is one of those amazing people who has made an art of what he does! We've thought for months that we needed a big bunch of fill dirt to finish off the east side of our yard.

Not so. Fred peeled so much dirt off the bank I simply couldn't believe it.

We, especially Scottie, got to man the hoses providing water to help the soil compact as he moved it.

So, the biggest part of the "hole" where our carport will ultimately go has been filled in. Drainage issues are being corrected.

I got to watch Fred swing the bucket of the end loader around and practically do finish grading with it! Amazing.

Fred comes back tomorrow. He and Scottie will extend the drain that runs under and build a collection area at the bottom of the steep bank. No more water problems on that side!


So, the guys got together to talk about what else could be done with just a little more effort.


Scottie will frame up an area for concrete and pour same. Fred will return, re-set our propane tank running the opposite way and re-plumb the gas line - and oh by the way, at the same time we'll gain a flat area for a turn around at the end of the future carport area.


So, out of the storm comes a silver lining. Cost us some money we didn't want to spend right now, but in the long run will have solved 2 or 3 major site problems at once. Fred's a master. Really.

I'm basically exhausted, in my jammies and in bed with my handy laptop before 7 PM. But, much was done today.

Evening Skies

A warning: If you don't like storm clouds, skies pictures, etc., you might want to tune out for the next few weeks/months. We are heading into rainy season. I love storms. Therefore - storm clouds will appear in this blog.







We have glorious storm clouds but so far nothing more than dribbles of moisture.


So, we have this view, fairly early:








Same view a tad later when the sun just kisses the top of the rock formation.














And, this view, off to the West. . . .














And the same shot later as the night sky melts into the storm clouds leaving just a tiny bit of breathing room between.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we got a nice storm our of this???

Scottie's Birthday Fundraiser - you can participate

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, little Scottie McArthur was born in San Diego. Rumor has it he was a bit of a handful for his parents and sometimes even rode his bike down the Juan Street hill with his feet up on the handlebars.

Well, not a lot has changed. Little Scottie will be 69 on October 29th. No one thought he'd last this long. He's still a bike-ridin' maniac. While it may not be feet up on the handlebars, it's now century rides, riding in 115+ degree heat, and basically obsessing big time over his BIKE.

So, it's time for a little fundraiser:

Please print this page, check your participation level, and mail with your check (or cash) to Little Scottie.

Level One - The Ex-Friend. Just $5 gets you into this beginning category. _______

Level Two - The Recent Acquaintance. $10 acknowledges you haven't known Scottie very long, but you undoubtedly plan to move up in the categories in the future. _______

Level Three - The Good Buddy. $25 lets the world know that you really Care _______

Level Four - The Relative. $50 - surely it's worth more than a buddy. ________

Level Five - The Dear Friend. $100. You know how important you are. ________

Level Six - The Close Family Member. $200. You want to be close, don't you? ________

Level Seven - The Sponsor. $500. You really want to see Scottie go Pro. ________

Level Eight - The Mentor. $1000. You feel a certain responsibility for having started him down this road, and you know the high cost of bike gear. ________

Level Nine - The Patron. $1500. You want him to keep on ridin' ________

AND

Level Ten - The Godfather/mother. $2500. It's a level you can't refuse, plus you want him in your debt for a loooong time. ________

Just remember: It could be worse. He could have taken up sailing.

We've been havin' FUN!

Good friends Yvonne and Shari visited from Illinois and we've been playing, and eating, and laughing, and eating, and more eating. . . .

I TRIED to be really careful and drive slowly on the curvy roads, but Shari still got sick our first touring day out. We managed to stop to look at a tarantula, take photos of twisty manzanita trees, and pick a few buckeye pods.



Our second day was a trip up the mountain to see the big trees and visit Crystal Cave. Scottie suggested that riding on the hood in the fresh air would prevent the car sickness. Even though Shari had been the one to get sick, Yvonne was the only one game enough to try the trick. Think her little fingers were pretty worn out by the time we made the cave parking lot.

We had misty weather and low clouds so we skipped the climbing of Moro Rock. I'm not sure, but I think I heard big sighs of relief when that decision was announced. Flatlanders have a tough time with the hills around here.



The trees were absolutely gorgeous and the mosses and lichen have come to life with the wet weather so I had to sneak in a couple of artsy-fartsy photos.

Let's see, we managed to visit down-town Visalia and my favorite Mexican restaurant there, and my favorite Mexican restaurant in Three Rivers, and a fabulous dinner at the Gateway, and a dinner party for friends at our house. Yep, we ate too much.



We finally ran out of energy, money, and room for any more food in our tummies, so the girls left this morning for a flight out of LA.

We had our obligatory good-bye photo. . .










And one with THE MAN (who, by the way, was a totally charming host while the girls were here).


WHY does he always take a better photo than anyone else???


Next guests are the end of the month for Scottie's birthday (watch this blog for his special birthday fund-raiser) and then the first of December for friends. Get your reservations in - space fills up quickly.

Outdoors and In

WE GOT RAIN!

Which means things will be getting green.

If you look carefully at the photo at right you'll see snow on Moro Rock.

The view up-canyon is fantastic in a storm. Of course, it helps that I love storms.








And, having celebrated 10 years married (ha, ha to all you who had low numbers in the pool), we bought ourselves an area rug for the dining room.

It had always been our thought that we'd get a rug for under the table, and I love how it is now set off. With dark wood floors and a dark wood table it all ran together, but the rug makes the table pop!

It also ties in nicely to the red in the kilm rug in the living room, and manages to set off the entryway to the left of the dining area at the same time.

That's a lot to get out of one rug.

On the list today is pick up the tree that Scottie surprised me by buying as an extra anniversary gift. We'll now have two sycamores on the SW corner of the house. Perfect.

The Century Ride

OK, it's taken me a month to get this photo up on the blog. . . .

The photos Scottie took were of other riders, scenery, etc., so I've been waiting for the "official" photo that he ordered.

While this area looks flat, much of his ride was very hilly. I'm not sure if he was the absolute oldest, but he was certainly one of them - he will be 69 at the end of the month. So 100 miles at altitude, in heat, with big hills, after a 6 hour drive the day before and camping the night before - and it's his idea of "fun".

Dr. Hannan's Answers

This is direct from Dr. Hannan in response to my queries about the hoof prints in our yard:

Looks like deer, and here in California that means
Mule Deer not Whitetail (which only enter the extreme
NE part of Calif). The animal was walking. Putting
the hind foot into the forefoot is common. The
advantage is that it halves the probability of braking
a twig as there is only one footprint for two feet.

There is a term for this, but I can't remember it.

Big means buck.

The Sierra deer spend the summer in the high country
and then migrate down the canyons to winter pasture in
the lowlands. This produces an hour glass range. You
are probably at the neck of the hour glass, although
with development of the lowlands, the deer have had to
stop further uphill.

Eddie,

Have Scott ask about deer trails. In some herds (each
hour glass is a herd) the paths are dramatic. Often a
foot wide and six inches deep. The deer follow the
same paths year after year.

DFG in Sacramento produces a pamphlet on each deer
herd. You should be able to get the right one from
the local DFG game biologist. Find out who it is and
ask. It should be free and have all kinds of great
info in it. Could lead to some great fall sights as
puma converge on these trails for obvious reasons.

I should have thought of this earlier. Look up the
local game biologist. There maybe two, one for game
and the other for endangered species. Both will be
fun to talk to.

Doc


So there you have it. I have yet to come up with a biology related question that Jim can't answer!