Allergies, Work, Trips - we got it all

I've had some major allergy attacks lately - one really, really scary - and haven't figured out what's causing. I may have to break down and go for testing if it keeps up. We do have some lousy air quality in Tulare County, much of it due to agricultural activities in the valley. I'm thinking we should have looked into that issue before deciding to build our home here.

Here's mama - or maybe papa - bear, seen up above.

Scottie is off to work in the Park, none too happily. I think he was expecting to play King of the Mounties for the summer, or perhaps Dr. Livingston, but he's run into the fact that this IS a government job. And, government equals bureaucracy. He finds himself checking the campground at Lodgepole, dealing with campground reservations, enforcing rules, etc., etc., etc. But, he's learning to view it as AFGO (another f---ing growth opportunity).

This is taken right behind his summer home, and you can see the public campground in the background on the opposite side of the river. I think it's a wonderful, peaceful place! Scottie's summer roommate, a man in his 80's, will arrive this week. Fingers and toes crossed that it's a good fit!


This little guy was right along the highway when I drove up and still there when I came back down - by then with people stopped, out of cars, within a very few feet of the animal, either not realizing or not caring that he's getting way too acclimated to humans.

I've been on a bit of a mental rant about what idiots we humans can be, and that's just one example. Our arrogance leads us to destruction. Take the air quality in Tulare County - the so-called "Great Central Valley" of California was never, ever meant by Mom Nature to be an agricultural center. But, we dammed the rivers, drained the Tule Lake in the process, planted mono-culture production factories (they can't really be called farms) on the floor of the valley, then proceeded to inundate with pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers - and the water we hold captive behind dams - to the point that we poison the air and the water tables for generations to come. But, we have done service to the mighty dollar, at least in the pockets of a few; and at the same time, we've accustomed ourselves to strawberries in January, oranges on demand in snow country, cheap Mexican labor for the harvest to hold down our food prices. . . . And Nature will win. She always does. We think we are winning because the Mother is patient. She is allowing us to do most of the work ourselves through our own short-sighted activities.

Long, long after we've become just another blip in the history of earth, the Mother will be quietly repairing herself, undoing our noisy, messy, poisonous activities.

Oh - the "trips" part - I'm off to Charlotte, NC for my oldest grandson's graduation. That would be Cyrus John, almost 18, and just a super-great kid! He's on to UNC for college in the fall. Check back for photos from the trip!