readers

Last week we wandered over to the beach to check out the "huge" waves that were supposed to be there.  We were just a little late for the waves, but I took some "postcard pictures" while we were there.  The sunlight on the water was really great, and I caught a heron trying to pose as a vulture.

He was probably looking for bugs or lizards.  I'm not usually able to get this close to these birds, but beause he was high up on the bluff, he probably felt safe.

We then went to the old Sebastian Store, and I stood around for the horses to wander into th picture that I had framed in my mind.  I sent this snapshot to the Tribune.  They post photos from readers three or four times a week, and I've already had a couple of mine in the newspaper.

 If you look really close, you can see the castle on the hill behind the steeple.  This is the old San Simeon Schoolhouse.

'Til later...

January 26, 2015

Hey there...

Bill and I went to the La Panza today so that he could pick up some dirt to work at home.  He remembered a spot that he had worked about 5 years ago, and he figured that he could go back there and bring some buckets home to run through his gold cube while it's raining tomorrow.

On our way out, we stopped and said "Hi" to the bison that live along the Highway.

We are still in a major drought, and we are only
due to get another 1/4" with this storm.  You can see that the grass is pretty sparse around where the bison are.

The only wildflowers that were in evidence at this time were some shooting stars, and they were almost finished.  It's the first time I really looked at their seed pods, and they were really interesting.

Looking really closely, the seedpods were cup- shaped and looking down into the little cups I could see the tiny seeds.  They probably get dispersed by the wind or maybe the rain.  They are fragile enough that it wouldn't take much to fracture them.  Again, you can see how little grass

                                                                                      there is.  Hopefully we will get more rain to keep the wildflowers going.

There are some Indian grinding rocks back where we went, but it was obvious that we weren't the only visitors.  In the five years since we had last visited, some thoughtless dolt had actually broken off one of the rocks and taken a grinding bowl away.  I'm sure it looks nice out in his landscape.  (Jerk!!)  And then people wonder why places get closed to the public.













On our way back to the truck we collected our      own "artifacts" that folks had left behind.  I took a photo of some of them.  Lots of spent shotgun shells, too.

Except for the disappointment of finding damage to the grinding rocks, and having to pick up after slobs, it was a nice day.
                                                                                   

Has anyone else noticed that things seem to run in threes?  Especially mishaps?  Or broken things?  This has been the week of water trials.

About 2:30 Saturday morning, Bill was awakened by the sound of rushing water coming from the cabin bathroom.  Since I'm not known for getting out of bed to take a mid night shower, and our dog is even less likely to be willing to bathe, he was pretty sure that there was a problem.  There was.  The feeder pipe leading to the toilet tank had broken (darn plastic fitting) and water was SPEWING out at full volume.  There was over an inch of water all over the floor, and it was pouring out the back door.  

He hollered for me, and the two of us took turns trying to turn the shut-off valve off.  The darn thing was stuck, so we went outside to the shut-off outside.  It was stuck too.  We finally had to go up to the main storage tank and shut off ALL the water.  

I went in and warned Les and Debbie that they wouldn't have any water in the morning;  at least until we could get to the hardware store for parts.  Poor guys...sleeping soundly, and then being awakened by a screaming maniac hollering something about water...

After being at the store when they opened that morning, getting all the parts (including a flex tube with a METAL fitting), stopping for some muffins for the plumber (Bill) and his helper (me), we had everything fixed.  (Mishap #1)

The floor may have to be replaced, because even now (Tuesday) it's still feeling squishy when we walk on it.  We have the fans blowing on it and are hoping for the best.

On Sunday, Bill was walking past the back of the house where the water heater is located and noticed that the stucco looked wet and then he saw the dripping.  Upon further inspection, it was decided that we indeed needed to replace a leaking hot water heater.  (Mishap #2)

Luckily, the leak wasn't so bad that we had to shut everything down again.  

Today we did the water heater.  I turned the water off right outside the house so that Les and Debbie wouldn't be disrupted while we worked on it.  While Bill was doing the heater, I hand watered the potted plants on the front porch.  I was talking on the phone with Maggie while doing this, and noticed that I was losing water pressure.  DANG!!!  The pressure pump up at the tanks had quit. (Mishap #3)

Our pump guy, who is also a good friend came by tonight and changed out a capaciter  (sp?), and we now have a pressurized water system and hot water again. 

Lets hope that our water woes are over now.  Threes are the charm, right?   
  

I don't get it. Why do we keep having the same old debate, nothing gets done, and innocent people keep dying.  On one side are the people who feel that ANY laws restricting the manufacture, sale, or possession of firearms is the beginning of the end of our freedom.  Lose your guns, and the government is going to be knocking down your door and hauling you off to a concentration camp.

On the other side is the group who sees a gun and automatically places the possessor into the same category as Al Capone and Bonnie & Clyde.

WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG???

We own several hunting rifles, shotguns, and a handgun.  We enjoy target shooting and hunting.  Bill keeps them under lock and key.  After all, we have a 4 year old granddaughter who visits quite regularly.  I am not at all opposed to the proper ownership and use of guns.  I do, however, feel that people should have to go through a screening process to weed out the mentally unbalanced and unfit.  I can't understand anyone needing an arsenal of dozens of high powered assault weapons with 30 or 50 round clips. When one gets to that level, it presents the appearance of an obsession or paranoia.  (There are even some exceptions to this thought, too.  If you shoot competition, you need 20 round clips.)

I think that maybe we need to go back to when the Constitution was written, and think of what was available to folks at that time.  I propose that anybody be allowed to have all the muskets, flintlocks, and blunderbusses that their little hearts desire.  After all I seriously doubt that the framers of our constitution could begin to envision AK47s or automatic machine guns like we have today...AND I seriously doubt that they would have written the second amendment quite as obscurely as they did had they known..

May 15, 2014

I wanted to wait until we heard for sure that we would not be going to Nome this summer before planting a garden.  While waiting, I built some planter boxes with the old decking that we got from Gary's house.

They are redwood 2x6's that I cut to make a 2'x3' box.  with screening in the bottom, we should be able to hold the gophers at bay for a couple of years.

In the two boxes by the mulberry bush I have tomatoes and basil in one and squash seeds in the other.

The three boxes on the right side of the cabin have
 peppers, onions & garlic, and green bean seeds.  The big pots contain sun chokes, swiss chard, and day lillies.

I made sure to make the spaces between the boxes wide enough so that I can keep the grass down with a weed whacker.

I guess the summers of going to Nome are over. This summer would have probably been our last
anyway.  I really feel bad for the people who didn't get to spend as many times there as we did.  I made

 scrapbooks of every summer there, and got lots of great pictures.

I guess it's going to be time for Bill and me to decide what kind of summer adventure we will be doing from now on.  Maybe an Alaskan Cruise is on the horizon...

'Til later...

We made it home from Cripple River Gold Camp after 36 hours of travel.  It took 36 hours to get there, too, but who's counting...

The terminal at Nome is kinda small, and the folks are super friendly.  Thought I'd just show you a picture to demonstrate how small it really is.

Bill and I took about an hour to get settled into our digs, and then we took a well deserved nap..

Bill worked the beach helping the participants set up and take down the beach boxes, while I worked in the kitchen.  

Got a good picture of a muskox on one of my trips to Nome.  Since there was no internet access in camp, I had to make the 12 mile trip along the beach on my day off so that I could access the internet for bill paying.  

A lot of things are different at camp since the last time we were there (2009), but as soon as I got off the truck, I felt as if I had never left.  A lot of the old friends were still there, and a lot of new ones too.  

Because the long time camp cook was not there this season, things in the kitchen were sometimes a bit confusing and even tense.  I simply kept my head down and did what I was told, and everything turned out good.  I made some of the desserts, prepped veggies, did meat and cheese trays, served meals on the serving line, and had a blast.  There was another person who was brought in the same time I was, and we had everybody laughing.  Don't know who was goofier, Victor or me.  

Bill had a good time on the beach, too.  His boss, Norm, was glad to have the experienced help.  We have both been told that we will be welcome back next year,  have filled out our applications, and turned them in.

I hope to write more about some of our experiences in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

'Til later...

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Last night we had a farewell spaghetti feed for Maggie, Kaili and Elizabeth.  They headed for home early (for the girls) this morning. 










We were treated to a spectacular sunset to the West while being treated to a double rainbow to the East.










I got a snapshot of Kaili, Hailey, and Elizabeth before they went their separate ways.

Bill and I enjoyed the visit with the Canadian contingent, and hopefully all of them will be able to come next time.

Next week we will be leaving for cripple River Gold Camp.  I plan to send blogs and pictures of our adventures.  If I miss days, it will be because the weather isn't cooperating.  Last I heard, it was still internet by satellite, so when it's really overcast or stormy reception is iffy.

'Til later...