buzzardnotes

It seems that my constant refrain is how interesting and historical this valley is and yesterday’s adventure supports that theme.  Jerri and I had the awesome opportunity to join a Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce tour of several ranches in our valley to learn about eagle habits, habitat, and their life cycle and the history of agriculture in Carson Valley.  For 12 years, the Chamber has fostered this program is focusing on non-renewable agricultural land and wildlife habitat we lose when we pave over the ranches and farms.  My last blog mentioned viewing the birth of a calf and how the cow took care of it along with how the eagles come in to eat the afterbirth.  This tour ties into all that.

We boarded a bus and went to the Mack Land Company, which is right on the edge of downtown Minden.  It is one of the few Nevada ranches that remained in the original family for more than 100 years.  There, we

The restored eagle statue

learned about the ranch, its people and the trials and tribulations of working with government regulations, rising costs of raising a calf, coyote kill (at least $1000 down the drain if a coyote kills a calf or if it is stillborn), and the severe drought we are all suffering through.  We didn’t get to see any eagles on that ranch because no calves had been born recently.  In case we didn’t get to see any eagles that day, Mrs. Mack showed us a small eagle statue that she bought at a garage sale and kept in one of the barns.  She told us that a barn owl attacked it and broke off its beak!  Don’t mess with a barn owl!  We also got to see a DVD of pictures taken on the ranch depicting calf births and eagles eating the afterbirth.

 Another historical note about the Mack Land Co. is that the fence around the main house is the original fence that was around the Carson City Mint (now the NV State Museum where Jerri and I volunteer).  Mrs. Mack said she didn’t know the story about how the fence got there, but some of her relatives had been mucky mucks in the state government and they probably pulled some strings after the mint was shut down in 1893.

James Settlemeyer, in the chaps, talking to a constituent

Our next venue was at the same place where I saw the calf birth.  I learned it is another historical place…just a few miles from my house.  It is the Settlemeyer Ranch, established in 1890.  Our host was JamesSettlemeyer, NV state senator and ranch owner.  This was a cool place because we got to see 12 eagles!  They were more than 100 yards away, so our binoculars and scopes came in handy.  The birds were in all stages of development and were scrapping over a dead calf.   The birder on our bus told us that it takes 5 years for the bird to become a full-fledged (pun intended) adult.  Another interesting fact is that “bald” in old English means white.  So a bald eagle merely means, white head.

The following is my picture of an adult eagle  (the little dot in the center of the picture) and the picture after that is what fully equipped photographers got.

My eagle shot

An internet shot of a bald eagle

Barbara Galeppi in her knitted cow hat

The Galeppi Ranch, founded in 1864, was our next destination.  We were met by Barbara Galeppi who wore a cow hat to help us remember her.  Quite a character, she was.  Her ranch raises registered Herefords, which is why all the cows and even newborn calves have special ear tags.

Checking us out

Lunchtime on the ranch!

We didn’t see any eagles on the Galeppi Ranch but we did see a pair of sandhill cranes.   Bob and I had seen them in Colorado and Florida, but I didn’t know they also spent time in Nevada.  Again, they were very far away and if it hadn’t been for our birder friends, Jerri and I never would have spotted them as they blended in with the grey sagebrush.  Here is an Internet picture of them.

Sandhill cranes are tall like herons

Our fourth stop was at the Nature Conservancy near Genoa.    There, we hiked a little way and were able to see a pair of eagles nesting.  Again, too far away for my camera, but I did get a picture of the Sierra Nevada and Job’s Peak reflected in the Carson River.

Job’s Peak reflected in the Carson River

Our last stop was at the Dangberg Ranch that began as a homestead in 1857.  Heinrich Dangberg built a log cabin in the sagebrush and began to build his empire that eventually grew into more than 20,000 acres by the time of his death in 1904.  His ranch is now a Douglas County historic park that one can tour.  We saw a soaring golden eagle, but no bald eagles there.

Dangberg Ranch House

Jerri and I are going to return to the Dangberg Ranch to spend more time and take a guided tour of the land and the 4,000 square foot ranch house.  Quite a difference from his little log cabin.

I learned a lot on this adventure about the local history and even more to keep my mouth shut about being a newbie from Southern California.  I can relate to the old timers’ angst as I experienced it down south watching the land transform into something that bears little resemblance to what I grew up in.  Those of us who grew up in Orange County can’t go home again because it’s not there.  How’s that for a bit of sour grapes?  I feel a bit guilty moving into this beautiful place, but at least I didn’t destroy any land or build a new house to get here.  Perhaps I can assuage some of that guilt by supporting the movement of trying to retain the agriculture that is still here and help people enjoy it as I do.

Valentine’s Day, 2014 dawned with a beautiful sunrise, but, of course I didn’t have my camera available on the way home from the gym.  Take my word for it, sunrise was beautiful!

On a whim, I decided to drive a few miles south on Hwy, 395 toward “downtown” Minden (I live in the ‘burbs of Minden) and see if I could spot any eagles in the pastures that line 395.  As I might have mentioned to some of you before, they begin to arrive this time of year when the cows give birth to the cute little calves.  No, they don’t eat the newborns.  They eat the afterbirth that is filled with lots of good nutrients that raptors like to eat.

Thirsty cows with the Sierras in the background(don’t forget to click on the image to enlarge it)

I stopped alongside the highway and began to check out a herd.  Many were too far away for good pictures, but a few were drinking in a creek and a few were resting not more than 50 yards from me.  Cows are curious, but when you make a slight move toward them, they scoot away.  There was a resting mom and her calf of just a few days not far.  Those calves are so cute!  In the picture below, you will see the cow and her calf, but also a couple of black lumps in the background.  Those are not large cow pies.  They are the newborns catching some z’s.   There were lots of them all over the pasture with more being born every day.  (Don’t forget to click on the image to enlarge it)

Cow and her newborn of a few days

Yea!  I spotted a pair of eagles quite a distance away.  I only spotted them because I was using binoculars.  They were obviously feeding on something, so I assume it was afterbirth, but the cow and newborn were not nearby.

The  calf below is the same one in the picture above.  He had wandered over to the little creek but didn’t go down into it.  Maybe he doesn’t drink water yet.  I think he’s less than a week old.

A little dogie

As I was scanning the pasture for more eagles, I saw a reclining cow and just happened to realize she was giving birth!  WOW!  As much as I’ve been around animals, I’ve never gotten to see this miracle before.  So I watched the entire process.  At the end, she stood up, in a move that I suppose makes gravity help with the birth, and the calf just dropped out on its head (I’m not sure it was the head because of the distance in viewing this miracle).  So there is truth to the saying that cows drop their babies.  Then I watched the new mother meticulously clean up her calf and begin to nuzzle it.  In just a few minutes, it tried to stand up.  There were so many tries and I wondered if it would have enough energy to finally make it to all four legs.  Oh, I of little faith.  In just about 15 minutes, the new baby was getting its first meal from mom.  Animals are amazing!  I would loved to have gotten pictures of the baby trying to stand up and eat, but, even with the binoculars, the images were pretty small.

Later, I drove over to Genoa, a small town right at the base of the Sierras in hopes of seeing more cows, calves and eagles.  I did see some cattle, but nothing as exciting as what I’d already observed.  Genoa (the oldest town in Nevada, if you don’t talk to people from Dayton) is known for antiques,  the oldest thirst parlor in Nevada, cute little restaurants and mule deer.  Those poor citizens of Genoa never have any flowers in their yards because the deer eat them faster than they can plant them.  Here is a small family in somebody’s front yard helping to crop the lawn and fertilize it at the same time.

A deer family in downtown Genoa

Carson Valley ranchers and the Chamber of Commerce have found a way to bring in tourists and make money with this annual, natural phenomenon of the eagles coming in to get the afterbirth.  They organize tours of the ranches, rafting trips down the Carson River, tours to see wetlands and then also photo contests along with expert lectures on this natural happening    I think it’s a cool way to introduce people like me to the inner workings of ranches, the eagles and the cattle while keeping the riff raff out of the ranch property and their herds safe.  Jerri and I will be taking one of the tours next week and then we’ll understand what’s going on in more detail.

Of course, there is the cheapo way that I did today by just driving along the highway and stopping to take pictures..  Many people do this but I think it will be fun to learn more next week and maybe have an opportunity to get some better pictures.  Hope to be able to show you more soon.

Dalan and I on a sandbar in the Carson River. Don’t forget to click on the images to enlarge them and see more detail

Yesterday was a landmark day for my great-nephew, Dalan, and me and we both seemed to realize it just about at the same moment.  It was the first time that we had taken a hike together, just the two of us.

We went to Riverview Park that sports some nice, easy trails along the Carson River.  As we all know, it is terribly dry here in Northern Nevada as well as in the Sierras.  Consequently, Riverview Park wasn’t real photogenic with snow, pretty trees and so on, but we had a good time making our own beauty.  This past week, the weathermen have been saying to get out and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather since we have no snow in the near forecast.  So we did.  It was cold in the shade

Contemplating the ice.

but in the sun, it got up to about 50+ degrees, which is very warm here this time of year.

Dalan and I walked toward the Carson River and discovered a lot of ice along the shores.  Of course, we had to test the thickness (very carefully).   The ice makes such a cool sound when it cracks.  I can imagine how loud and perhaps even scary it might sound on an icebreaker ship.  Anyway, we managed to break a large plate of ice apart and we sent it out into the main stream of the river.  We followed it so a way to see how soon it would melt or get hung up in on rocks or reeds.

Dalan is sitting on the log to test the ice thickness. He broke off a piece shortly after this was taken

Pushing out the ice floe

Watching it go out into the main stream

Dalan is a Boy Scout and is quite good at improvising with tools.  He is also quite careful and prepared.  Check out his backpack filled with water and snacks (he didn’t know that we were going to be in a Carson City Park)

Another aside here.  You might have noticed his bright orange and black cap.  This cap was given to Bob by Michael, one of our nephews in Holland.  Bob treasured it and kept it in pristine condition.  Dalan asked if he could have it to remember Uncle Bob.  Dalan also treasures it and wears it constantly.

Ok, continuing with the adventure.  As we followed our slab of ice, we noticed a sandbar/small island not far from the shore.  We found that we could walk on some pretty thick white ice to get to this sandbar.  Such

Throwing hunks of ice onto the icy area that looks like just plain water

fun we had here!  The area between the sandbar and the shore was frozen over with fairly clear ice.  We didn’t know why there were different colors, but we didn’t try to walk on the clear ice.  Anyway, we broke off pieces of white ice and then threw it on the clear ice to watch it skids and break apart.

Such fun we had!  I felt like a kid again, throwing and breaking stuff and not having to worry about cleaning it up afterward.  We must have spent at least half an hour playing.  I got such a kick out of the different sounds the different type of ice made.  Some sounded like glass breaking.  As other pieces slid over the clear ice, it sounded like someone ice skating.

Thin ice that sounds like glass breaking

If you click on the images, you’ll get more detail when the picture enlarges.  Dalan is holding a thin piece of ice that shows the different strata of freezing, I think it’s not unlike tree rings.  The next image reveals the results of our frolicking with the ice.

Our tossed ice on the icy river. You can see how dry the shore is

We walked around a bit on our little island/sandbar and discovered clam shells.  Dalan was amazed that clams would be in fresh water.  I was too, the first time I ever saw them in fresh water.  We found a pearl like

Our pearl

object and decided it had to be a pearl.  At least that’s what we told Megan, Dalan’s 9 year old sister.  You can see from the image that it really does look like a pearl, but it was probably amarble.

As we walked on, we met some people watching an eagle in flight.  I didn’t see it, but Dalan did.  Soon many more eagles will be arriving in Carson Valley when the cows begin calving.  It sounds gross, but they and other raptors eat the afterbirth.  This is such a big deal that people will stop alongside the highway to watch the birds  and there are organized tours that take people through ranches to get closer (but not too close) to see nature in action.

Riverview Park is leash-free in certain areas and you can tell the dogs really enjoy it.  We met several friendly dogs and observed a man throwing a ball for his black lab.  The dog was loving running into that cold river and retrieving his ball.  I tried getting some cool pictures, but the dog never posed properly.  The following picture is of him returning to his master and being met by his much older brother.

Enjoying a day at the Carson River

Dalan and I wandered around a bit more and finally ended up back at the parking lot.   It is in an historical area called the “Old Wiggins Ranch.”  Two Italian brothers named Pierini leased land from Dr. John Sullivan

The Pierini Brothers oven

in 1919 and began ranching.  In the early 1920s.   An oven was constructed and was used to bake their bread, tortas, various meats and even a whole lamb on Easter.  A milk house was also constructed near the oven.  These two structures are still there and apparently all that remain of the ranch.

There is history all around this area and I love it!

It was a good day with Dalan and we are looking forward to more hikes and some that will be a lot more strenuous (but not enough to exhaust the aunt).

A beautiful dawn – Don’t forget that you can click on a picture and make it larger

This is the pretty dawn that I awakened to yesterday morning.  So crisp, so fresh, so pristine and so cold!  We received about 6″ of snow overnight (which is not a big deal to those living in Colorado or Holland, but it was to me)   I was pretty surprised to open the side door to take bird food out and find the snow piled up against the door.  I learned to use my new shovel very quickly!

The snowed-in bird bath

This snow made me glad that I’d moved the bird feeder but sorry that I’d put a tarp under it to catch stray seed (to prevent my lawn growing foreign stuff in the spring).  The tarp is very slippery underfoot.  Live and learn, I say.  When the snow melts, I’ll take it up and deal with the foreign grasses in the spring.  Anyway, I fed the birds, took care of their snowed in birdbath and then worked my way out to get the morning paper…conveniently at the foot of my driveway…a zillion feet away from the garage.  Actually, the snow was very powdery and easy to shovel and it was kinda fun until my fingers got very cold.  That’s when I took a break and had some breakfast.  But just as I was going into the house, a kind neighbor brought me some delicious baked goodies.  She’s a good cook!

A lone pathway to get the paper prior to more snow falling shortly thereafter

A snowy abode

I did eventually get the entire driveway  (well, two-thirds of the driveway.  Not much point in shoveling what is not going to be used) cleared.  It took awhile but I had a great feeling of accomplishment, plus I didn’t feel that I had to use my treadmill  for my cardio exercise.  The only problem is that I couldn’t go anywhere because my car is low clearance and I was/am a wuss in driving in snowy, icy conditions.  It’s not so bad once one gets to the main highway because that’s plowed.  But my street, the main street into the tract and the street to Highway 395 are not plowed.  So they get very icy from people packing the snow down.  Once I learn more about how to do this winter driving business, I’ll probably be out and about.

A snowy bird scene taken during a smaller, previous storm

In the meantime, I’m enjoying the snow and its beauty.  My birds might not be enjoying it but they do flock around the feeder.  I get such a kick out of watching them!  yesterday, a flicker was trying to eat some suet cake and a starling was pecking on the other side of the same suet cake.  The flicker took offense that someone else was eating his food and tried to peck the starling.   There are all sorts of squabbles that are interesting to watch.

Hope you are all nice and toasty and enjoying your winter scenes also.

It’s been a long time since I’ve entered anything in the blog.  It’s just that I’ve been busy with stuff around the house, activities with the family and Nevada’s Sesquicentennial.

The family and I journeyed over “the hill” (as we call the Sierra Nevada mountain range) into to visit Apple Hill, just above Placerville, CA.   This is an area suited for apple growing and not a real town.  The closest town

Apple Crisp Sundae…YUM!!!

is Camino.   My sister and her family have been making this annual trek for many years to visit the many apple orchards, buy boxes of apples and enjoy the ecstasy of delectable  treats made with apples.  My folks used to love this trip.  Dad especially loved going to Denver Dan’s Apple Patch and eating an apple crisp sundae.  I had one in Dad’s honor.  Man!  It was GOOD!

A few days after the Apple Hill trip, Jerri and I served as division marshals for the annual Nevada Day Parade.  They have this parade to celebrate Nevada’s admission to the union on October 31, 1864.  It used to be celebrated on Halloween Day but they realized a few years ago that they could make more tourist money if they celebrated it on the last Saturday of October.  Hence, they now have a three-day weekend.  The parade annually has more than 200 entries which outdoes the Rose Parade in that regard.  I can’t say the same for organization, but everyone surely does have a lot of fun even if it does last for about 3+ hours (or more if it’s an election year with all the politicians).  It seemed like most of our family was involved with the parade in one way or another.  Jeri and I organized and walked with our divisions.  Allan rode on the Carson City float.  Grandniece Sierra rode with the Storey County entry and Dalan and Megan (grandnephew and grandniece) rode on their gymnastics club float.  Nephew-in-law Jason was on standby duty with his firemen buddies and fire engine on one of the side streets.  I didn’t get a picture of Megan and Dalan because they were in a later division and I couldn’t leave my group to get the picture.

Allan is the Carson City Park Ranger

Sierra and her ride

The marshals after the parade

We were very lucky with weather this year as it started out being in the 30s but became very sunny and warm during the parade.  Jerri tells me that she has sat in snow to watch the parade.  The weather turned the next day and we had strong, cold winds all day long.  I’m glad that I didn’t have to be outside in it.

Halloween night saw Jerri, Allan and I making the trek to Virginia City (about  30 miles from my house up in the Comstock silver mine area, about  6200’ elevation).  We attended an Antsy McClain concert that was a lot of fun and filled with costumed characters as well as local ones.  Antsy is the lead singer for the Trailer Troubadours and tours the country singing his insightful songs as well as a lot of whimsical tunes.   My Sacramento buddies, Dick Schmidt and Jan Haag introduced me to Antsy and I’ve been a fan ever since.

The concert began and Antsy was into about the 2nd or 3rd song when this OLD dude waltzed down the center aisle, put down a couple of things he was carrying and stood off to one side at the foot of the stage.  I forgot my camera (dumb!) so you’ll have to picture this.  He reminded me of an old prospector with long white hair and a longer white beard.  He initially wore a cowboy hat but he took that off and had on a skunk hat (not unlike a coonskin cap).  His clothes were as follows.  Knee high boots, knee length cargo shorts and a sweatshirt that I couldn’t quite read what it said.  He also wore dark glasses throughout the concert.  Antsy was singing “Living in Aluminum” and this guy began to dance.  He reminded me of a bobble head doll with arms that flopped around and legs that sort of hopped around.  Jerri and I almost fell on the floor laughing.  Antsy just about lost it, I think, as he sort of did a double take when this guy walked in.  The guy was obviously a fan as he sort of lip-synched every single tune.  He kept up the dancing throughout the first half of the show.  A couple of times, females (I’m not sure they were all ladies) would dance with him.  They just sort of sidled up to him and began to dance.  It was truly Halloween!

I found out later that the dude’s name is Cephus Glover and he is a true character who follows Antsy’s concerts.  Dick sent me some pictures of him, so now you get to see the real deal.  After the intermission, he came back in wearing a hospital gown over his original outfit.  He was a real kick and added to the Halloween aura.

Antsy and Cephlus – photo by RD Schmidt in 2010

I also wanted to share with you, BC’s new trick that she does on the rim of the bath tub.  She’s gotten into the habit of jumping up on the rim and then wanting to get up on the counter while I’m brushing my teeth to get a drink out of the sink.  Why she does this, I have no idea because she has water dishes all over the house.  So I’ve taken to filling little Dixie cups and she drinks them down about half an inch.  Then she looks up at me as if to say, “More?”  So we go through this at least one more time if not more.  My cat is a goofball!

BC and her Dixie cup

BC, the deep drinker

Two days ago, I woke up to a VERY crisp morning of 16 degrees.  Allan had warned me about freezing pipes and such, so I am glad that I heeded his advice about unhooking all the outside hoses from their faucets.  On the morning when it was 16 degrees, there was ice coming out of the hose that I had carefully rolled up the day before.   I thought the water would drain out as I rolled it up, but I learned another lesson.  Oh, I’ve learned so many since moving here!  This picture was taken just after dawn when I came home from the gym.  I hope you can see the ice at the end of the hose.

Cold morning! The bird bath was frozen solid

Yesterday, I bought a weather station at Costco so that I can follow the rainfall, temps and most of all, wind speed and wind chill factor.   I am my father’s daughter when it comes to things like this.  I don’t keep records like he did and don’t remember all the weather extremes that he could from 50 or more years ago, but I am interested in this stuff.  I guess you can tell this about me since I’ve written about the weather several times.   Today, Allan helped me get it organized and tomorrow we’ll put the final touches on the rain gauge and wind speed indicator.  The wind speed instrument is solar run, so I don’t know how that will work when it snows (the snow will cover the solar panel), but I’ll figure it out when and if that happens.  When it’s all hooked up, I can glance at a panel in the house and will be able to get all the details that I want.  It probably won’t be long before there is something else that I want to go along with it.  Again, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Tomorrow is a first for me.  I will be observing a couple of school tours of the Nevada State Capitol.  I doubt that I’ll be interested in running these tours, but never say never.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to this experience.  I have been told that often, the governor or sometimes the lieutenant governor will come out of their offices to chat with the kids.  That will be fun if that happens.  This doesn’t surprise me as Governor Sandoval is very personable and even hands out treats to kids at the governor’s mansion on Halloween.  (Good photo ops and PR)

Until next time…

A week ago, I awoke to a 25 degree morning.  This was a first for me.  My birdbath was frozen over and the poor birds couldn’t get a drink before I broke the ice (literally).  I didn’t go for a walk that day, but that drop in temperature spurred me to join a gym, which I am now attending three times a week.  The next morning was only 32 degrees and I did go for a walk all bundled up.  The birdbath was only slushy that morning.

The days here can have quite a range of temperatures.  It can begin in the 30s and go up to the 70s or even low 80s.  The morning I decided to complete the staining job on the back fence was in the mid-50s and went up to the 70s in the late afternoon.  I never thought that I’d be wearing shorts when it was that cool, but it was quite comfortable.  Anyway, on to what I wanted to tell you about.   You have to remember that this is all new to me and is still quite an adventure.

A change is beginning!

The cold snap last week caused some of the trees to begin to turn colors and, for some trees, it happened almost overnight.  This picture was taken last Sunday at Diana’s (a great friend from kindergarten through high school) ranch as were some of the other pictures I’ll show you.  I should have asked Diana what type of tree this is, but I didn’t.  It’s beginning to turn but her giant cottonwood is not yet.

Diana’s giant cottonwood

We get some high altitude winds that create some interesting lenticular clouds.  We are in awe when we see these beautiful, colorful clouds, particularly at sunset.

Some lenticular clouds looking southeast (I think) from Diana’s house

Turning around, I saw this looking toward the Sierras.

A couple of mornings later, I happened to have my camera with me and the following pictures will show what I’ve been trying to describe in earlier  reports…that is how the sun dawns on the Sierras. The Pine Nuts range is to the east, which the sun has to rise over to illuminate the Sierras.

Tip of the morning on the Sierras! Taken about 7 AM

Almost full dawn on the Sierras…taken about 5 minutes later

I think these trees are maples, but I’m not well versed with tree names.  They are planted along the open space trails upon which I take the morning walks.  When the sun hits them, they seem to become a brighter red.

The luminous red tree

You can see the luminous quality of the tree as the sun lights it up.  The back side of my house is the second or biggest roof visible to the left of the tree trunk.  It’s quite a large open space here with abundant sagebrush, rabbit brush, thorny plants along with many rabbits, quail, white crowned sparrows as well as coyotes and snakes.

The picture below demonstrates the contrast of the variety of trees

Contrasting types of trees and their colors

The little aspen

The back side of the house

This is a little aspen in my back yard.  Last week, all the leaves were a light green.  My cottonwoods and other trees haven’t begun to turn much yet.  Or maybe they don’t and just drop all their leaves.  I don’t know yet.  Check out the picture of the backside of the house.  Click on the picture and if you look closely in about the center of the picture, you might see the silhouette of a quail on the rocks just to the left of the birdbath.  He’s in, more or less, the bird feeding area that I have set up for all the birds.  In the foreground is the fence that I stained (not real well as you can see holidays on the wood and you can also see bird poop stains since they love to sit on the fence).

I’ve already cropped this, so I don’t know how much bigger he’ll get if you click on this picture.

I might have mentioned Earl Squirrel previously.  He keeps hanging around and last evening, I finally got a shot of him stealing seeds from the quail on the patio floor.  He’s not a golden mantle squirrel but I think there is one like him at the Nevada State Museum.  I’ll find out his official name tomorrow while I’m there.  Earl scurries about and barges right into the area where many birds are foraging on the ground (to get at seed that the other birds spilled from the feeders).  He’ll dig at some of the rocks, trying to flip them over to get at some seeds and doesn’t seem at all intimidated by birds that are larger than he.  They peck at him sometimes but he just keeps on going.  As long as he doesn’t bring all his cousins, I’m not too unhappy that he’s there.

Jerri and I did some observing yesterday at the museum and enjoyed ourselves.  We helped with 31 second graders who were learning about leaves and their impact on our lives.  Next week, we get to observe and help with tours about American Indians (particularly local Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone tribes) and geology and the mine that is in the basement of the museum.  It’s fun to go in because it looks and feels very authentic.

The NSM

The old Carson City U.S. Mint, which is now the original part of the Nevada State Museum and Jerri’s and my new adventure site

Carson Valleyites awoke this morning to something new in the air…or rather a return to “normal.”  The Sierra Nevada were clearly visible and we could take a deep breath without choking or gagging.  The smoke from the Rim Fire near Yosemite that has plagued us for almost a month is no longer with us giving us the sharp views and bright blue skies that we are used to.

You might say, Cora, you’ve only been there 6 weeks and you are sounding like you’ve been there for years.  Yes, that’s true.  But this area quickly rubs off on a person and it’s easy to become accustomed to things that attract one in the first place.

As I began my daily walk this morning, I couldn’t help but grin and put a bit of a hop in my step as I sort of rejoiced in seeing “my” mountains with the sun reflecting off buildings at Heavenly Ski Resort at the top of Kingsbury Grade, the bright green fairways of one of the Genoa golf courses that zig-zag their way up a foothill, and sharp mountain crags on Job’s Peak.  It was just a most beautiful morning and I wanted to share with you the feeling of exultation that I had.

I also wanted to share with you some of the critters I’ve seen on my walks that add to the fun of going out each morning.  This morning was a crisp 44 degrees when I began.  That would be very cold in Cerritos, but here I wore my shorts, a t shirt and a light windbreaker.   My hands get a bit chilly but I stick them in my pockets until I’ve been walking for a bit.

There are some settling ponds just north of my housing development and hundreds of Canada geese spend the night there.  Each morning they organize themselves into family groups of anywhere from 2 to 30 birds,  talk about the journey for the day

A Canada Goose

and then rise up as a unit and fly to their destination.  Now this organizational talk is very raucous with everyone talking at once and it makes me think of the following conversation (condensed)

“Doris, do you have everything you need?”

“Just wait a second, I don’t have my feathers just right.”

“Come on, I told Jack we’d be there in 10 minutes.”

“Junior, Put away the frog!”

And then all of a sudden, it’s “Up, up and away!!!”

I just learned today that a flock of geese in flight is called a “skein” while a flock on the ground is called a “gaggle.”  A skein can also be called a “team” or a “wedge.”  If they’re flying close together, it’s a “plump.”  Who makes up these names?

A skein of Canada geese in the early morning

A gaggle of geese

The skein shot was taken about 6:30 AM.  Sadly, I’ve tried to get pictures on my own, but everything is too far away or I didn’t have the camera with me or I just missed the shot.  So I took some pictures from the internet so that you could see what I am talking about.  Those pictures will not enlarge when you click on them as will the shots that I took.  Bummer.

These geese spend their days in pastures or other areas south of my house and then fly back in huge skeins.  I have heard them flying in total darkness, which seems odd for large flocks.  I suppose they have some type of internal compass or something.  I get a kick out of hearing them fly over.  They seem to continue their conversations as they fly.  Perhaps they are talking about the dumb human down below with her mouth hanging open watching them.

I can’t remember if I told you before that my housing development was originally supposed to be built around a golf course.  The developer decided he wouldn’t make enough money because there are too many other

Cottontail who roams the neighborhood freely

Jackrabbit – a large hare with larger ears

courses in the area, so he turned the course into open natural areas between streets.  It’s really a neat deal as the trails wind through areas with natural vegetation such as sagebrush, rabbit brush, ragweed, tumbleweeds and some other bushes I don’t know…some with lots of mean thorns.  The birds love these bushes and so do the rabbits.   The cottontail and jackrabbit are critters that I see every day.  The jacks seem to be more wary than do the cottontails, but both will not allow proximity to a human.

It follows that if there are hundreds of rabbits, there should be natural predators out there to eat them.  That is certainly true in Saratoga Springs (my development).  The coyotes here are very handsome and well fed.  I have seen 3 not far from my house and have seen their scat in my backyard.  This fellow is not as sleek and good looking as the local coyotes here, but this is the best picture I could find.  None of locals have a hard time like Wiley Coyote used to with Beep Beep the Roadrunner.

A coyote looking for dinner

Our local coyotes never need help with catching vittles

I mentioned in a previous blog that I have seen a mountain gartersnake in my yard but I have not seen any other slithering creatures in the neighborhood.  Neighbors have reported sightings of bull snakes and rattlers, but I haven’t had the privilege yet.

A turkey vulture sunning himself

There are also birds of prey such as hawks like the northern harrier and American kestrel.  Of course, there is the ever present scavenger, the turkey vulture but Jerri and I like to call them buzzards.

A pair of California quail

California quail abound in the entire Carson Valley, not just Saratoga Springs.  Many people feed them and they hang around all year long.  I am one of those people as I love to watch them.  They are out in the sagebrush every morning and I see them scurrying along the ground, sometimes on fences and sometimes in trees on people’s property.  One of the males in a covey usually posts himself as the lookout and if he senses danger, he calls out “Cuidado!”  That’s “Be careful” in Spanish.  Really, the call sounds like that.  When the family is contentedly pecking around, they have a calm little chatting call to each other.  It doesn’t sound like hens in a barnyard, but they sound happy like that.  Jerri tells me that quail mate for life as do the Canada geese.  So it’s sad when one dies as the survivor sometimes dies from heartbreak.

Yesterday, I was walking through the sagebrush when I heard a unique call…sort of a high, thin buzz followed by a warble.  It was a happy sound and I tried like the devil to find the bird.  Eventually, I saw him, a small bird that resembled a wren.  I looked him up when I got home and discovered he is a Bewick’s wren.  This is a new species for me and I was excited about that.

Bewick’s wren

A house finch

One of the more common birds in the area is the house finch.  Dad used to call them linnets, but everyone calls them house finches today.  They have flocked to my feeder and become very territorial over the limited feeding space.  Two or three birds can fit on one side of the feeder but they fight about it and only one ends up feeding.  It’s funny to watch them line up on tree branches to get to eat.

I constructed a little tray for peanuts in an effort to attract blue jays and mountain bluebirds.  These birds love peanuts and Jerri has many of them.  So I wanted to be

A scrub jay

entertained by them also.  I have seen zero mountain bluebirds, one scrub jay and many magpies.  Those rotten birds scare away my jay and eat up all the peanuts.  They are very pretty, but they are hogs!  They also scare away the smaller birds when they zoom in for a peanut.

A black-billed magpie

Earl Squirrel Chipmunk

A visitor that I didn’t expect is a little chipmunk.  He visits the backyard feeding area and is so skittery and tiny that a picture is almost impossible.  I’ve named him Earl and enjoy watching him scurry around the rocks looking for tiny seeds that the birds have dropped from the feeder.  I’m surprised that he hasn’t climbed up the feeder or tree in an attempt to get to the cornucopia of food.   Perhaps that will happen when it gets colder and there is snow on the ground and he’s a bit hungrier.

An Anna’s hummingbird

I have had some hummingbirds and think they are Anna’s hummers.  Like the ones in Cerritos, they are territorial and will chase off another hummer while they are trying to feed.  They seem to not be bothered by the other birds feeding in the same area, however.

There are some new additions to the flamingo holdings that you might like to see.   I purchased Ming while I was in Sacramento a couple of weeks ago and Jerri bought Curt for me yesterday while we were in Reno.   Ming rides his bike in perpetuity when the wind blows and is posted next to Jay, the bluejay and the tilted birdbath that I found in some overgrown brush in my backyard.  The birds don’t care and love to drink there and take baths.

Ming the flamingo

Curt is posted in the front yard next to the porch and greets visitors as they come up the walkway.

Jerri thought his name should be Curt

BC waiting to go outside

Lazin’ in the afternoon

You might be wondering about BC and how she’s doing.  I think she’s finally getting adjusted and hasn’t had any accidents during the past few days.  That’s progress!  She sleeps most of the day in her nest in the workshop but likes to go outside for a stroll now and then.  She particularly enjoys sitting in the sun to catch a few late afternoon rays.  She has chased a cottontail in the front yard but didn’t catch it.  The ol’ girl still has some oomph in her!  As you might surmise from the tales I’ve told about critters and predators, she is not allowed outside without close supervision.  Quite a radical change from her wanderings in the backyard in Cerritos.

The cloud photo was taken a bit ago while I was waiting for some quail to come through the back fence…which they never did while I was back there.  Can you beat the color of that sky?

Looking east from my backyard

It was so uplifting this morning to see the clear blue skies once again.  Everyone I met today was talking about how good and happy they felt upon the lifting of the smoky veil.  It’s amazing how this affects everyone and how much we all enjoy our mountains. So you can see there has been a bit of a metamorphosis, a striking change in the appearance of our skies and also by me, who grew up with hazy skies and now wants to see the pretty blue skies and the sharp outline and details on the Sierra Nevada.

Minden or Bust!

When I left you in the last blog segment, BC, Jerri and I were heading north to Minden on July 26.  BC’s Xanax was not working yet and she was in her little crate in the back seat, talking and telling us she was not a happy camper.  About an hour into the trip, Jerri and I began to smell a foul odor and discovered that poor BC had diarrhea and she was really unhappy about that.  So we took the first exit ramp and pulled off the road to take care of her.  Remember that she had her harness on and that we could attach a leash to her to make sure she didn’t run off.  I mean, who would hold her with that type of poop in her long hair?  Anyway, we did get her and the crate cleaned up and off we went.  (Luckily, someone had recommended lining the crate with disposable diapers and they were a lifesaver)

This method might have made it a bit easier

Jerri and I had to make a pit stop at Red Rock State Park and BC was still unhappy.  So we decided that Jerri would drive and I would hold BC in her crate on my lap.  She settled down quickly after that and she rode like that for the next 300 miles until we reached Minden.  I was STIFF after sitting for so long with little chance to move around but it was better that than hearing her cry for that long of a time.

It made me wish that I paid heed to good friend, Dick Schmidt’s recommendation of special handling for BC. This method might have been a lot easier on her and me.

Beautiful flowers from Connie, Shirley, Jan and Dick

We arrived a bit after 10 that night and Allan, Jerri’s husband was there to meet us.  We drove right into the garage, unloaded BC, unpacked some basics, and viewed a gorgeous flower arrangement sent to me by 4 dear friends welcoming us to our new home.  I had purchased a bed from the previous owners, so had something to sleep in.  Allan had brought over a couple of camp chairs and there was a coffee table as well as a game table and dining table with chairs the previous owners had left.    So BC and I began our campout until the truck arrived on Monday, August 5.  She slept in the laundry room and I slept in my bed.

As most of you know, there was no landline phone, no internet and no TV as Charter would not hook up those items until the TV was

The campsite in the great room

actually in the house.  So, BC and I sat and waited.  Well, that is not exactly true.  I bought a vacuum and new TV stand because I decided the old one was too big.  So with the vacuum and some borrowed cleaning supplies, I set about preparing for the furniture to arrive. This is how the campsite looked with the new TV stand until the moving van arrived on the fifth.  Other than the refrigerator, I didn’t miss all the other stuff too much.  It’s amazing how little one really does need.  Of course I didn’t stay a minimalist very long because I do enjoy the creature comforts even along with the responsibilities that go with them.

The camping days passed quickly with dinners at Jerri’s and my good buddy, Diana, who

Christina, Dalan, Jolee, Cora, Uncle Bev

lives in Gardnerville (a small town adjacent to Minden).   Peeps were watchin’ out for me!  I did and have done quite a bit of walking around the neighborhood to get acquainted with the walking trails and streets in the ‘hood.  Also, our Uncle Bev from Aurora, CO and his granddaughter, Christina from Texas, visited Jerri and me.  It was so great to meet Christina and see Uncle Bev again.  We had lunch and then toured a portion of Lake Tahoe.  As it was Sunday, there was bumper-to-bumper traffic around part of the Lake, but we did manage to find a good place to park to get out and take pictures of Emerald Bay.  Jolee and Dalan joined us for the tour as you can see in the picture.  It was a superb afternoon and evening.

BC was not such a happy camper.  She didn’t like being in the laundry room for several days and then didn’t like being kept in the house.  She showed me her displeasure by leaving little presents in several locations of the house.  Luckily, Jan, a Sacramento friend, had recommended special stuff  called Anti-Icky Poo to rid the carpet of stains and smells.  Such a varmint she is.  Finally, I was brave enough to let her explore the garage and then the workshop.  She loved the workshop and still does.  She first nested on an old piece of carpet the previous owners had left and then graduated to couple of towels I put down for her.  Slowly, she began to adapt to her new environment.

At last, August 5 dawned and the Mayflower truck arrived on Agua Caliente Court about 8:30 AM.  YEA!  Willie, the driver, was met by a helper named Monty.  Together,

Comin’ ’round the corner

they unloaded 6920 pounds of Johnson stuff.  Because I had sold off quite a few big items, BC and I had about half of the normal household weight.  Still, I would not have liked to have carried all that stuff on a hot day like August 5 was.

As I had mentioned in the earlier blog, all my stuff fit into the fifth wheel area of the van.  I still am amazed about that.  The goods were loaded from the middle of the truck but unloaded from a smaller door over that fifth wheel.  It was quite a puzzle to find the right pieces to take out first and begin the unloading.  They worked until a little after three to finish the unloading and put things together for me.  As the boxes stacked up pin the house, I began to feel very intimidated about unpacking all of them.   This is going to be a lot of work!!!

Getting into the fifth wheel to unload

The first load

This shot shows only about half of the kitchen. There is more to the right.

A funny thing happened in the kitchen.  When the refrigerator was moved in, I discovered the dishwasher door does not fully open because the ‘fridge door is in the

Check out the dishwasher door

way.  The only way to open the dishwasher door fully is to open the refrigerator door.    Somebody wasn’t thinking about large refrigerators when the kitchen was designed.

Putting the recliner together

Boxes in the bedroom

BC was kept in my closet during the unloading and wasn’t happy again.  Finally, toward the last and when doors were beginning to be closed, I let her out to check on matters.  Again, her environment had changed.  I had

Forlorn BC. You can see she’s not happy.

been hoping that when she began to smell familiar scents that she would become a lot more relaxed and realize this was going to be home from now on.  I’m not sure that theory worked as she reverted back to the present leaving trick that night and she still does it on occasion.  Such a grouchy, finicky old lady!

The job is done and the truck is finally leaving

The two movers finished up with the furniture and then spent some time putting together my tinker toy bookcase for the office.   As I said, they finally finished up a bit after three and the truck pulled away shortly after that.

I took some pictures on my iPad to show folks how filled some of the rooms were before unpacking, but I can’t figure out how to download the pictures from an email.  They won’t open up properly.  So you’ll just have to imagine many boxes in the rooms.  Jerri came over and helped put away the closet stuff and other things.  But, as she says, it’s hard to put away someone else’s stuff as you don’t know exactly how they would like it done.  But she did a good job and I appreciate her work.  Allan has helped me with hanging some stuff and getting stuff organized

Jason, my nephew-in-law, came over and hooked up my washer and dryer. They work great and now Jerri doesn’t have to do my clothes for me.  She’s cheering!

Jason and the laundry room

It is now August 23, 2013 and all the boxes have been opened and most things have been put away.  The workshop is put together more or less (Bob would have loved this room that is attached to the garage) BC has several little nests in the workshop much to her delight.  I had to get her a bigger water dish because the small one ran dry a few days ago and she was ticked about that too.  She’s happy with the blue dish.

BC and her nests

One thing that has been bugging me is the front door lock and dead bolt.  Allan told me that he would fix it for me, and yesterday, we went to purchase a new one that works correctly and that I can end up with one key

Allan and the door lock. What a pain!

for the whole house.  So off to Lowe’s we went and found the perfect hand set for the front door.  We zoomed back to my house and he began to take apart the old lock.  ( I had more or less made arrangements with Diana’s son to do this but Allan insisted on this and it turned out to be a good deal because Jim would have wasted quite a bit of time with this project.)  What happened was that the new lock set would not fit in the routed out part of the of door because modern hand sets only contain the opening lever mechanism, not the actual lock.  My old one has the lock just above the lever with a separate dead bolt above that.  It’s difficult to explain, but suffice to say that the two hand sets we purchased would not work (we also went to Home Depot to try to get one to fit).   Allan spent a long time trying to get the old lock to work properly because the parts were worn and had been Mickey moused several times before.  He finally got it back together and it works much better.  I looked online for the type of hand set I have and discovered I can still get one.  The drawback is that they cost more than $300! I decided to leave the old lock in for a while until it totally breaks.

One thing that has delighted me is being able to get out with some of my tools and do some yard work.  I’ve ripped out some dead bushes, trimmed some other

A long mountain garter snake in the back yard

bushes and then taken out some VERY thorny suckers from a tree.   Some weeding has taken place, too, but I have to ask Jerri which of them are weeds or are some type of plant trying to make a place for itself.  I know that there are rattlesnakes in the area and am careful not to put my hands into bushy areas or little crevices.  I was very surprised one morning to be weeding and see what I thought was some thick black and yellow wire.  Then it moved!  It turned out to be a more than 24” mountain garter snake trying to find a place of refuge amongst the rocks and stones in the backyard.  It was so quiet that I could hear him slithering in the dry leaves.  He quickly found a place to hide in and I haven’t seen him since.

A portion of the back yard. Note the sunken fire pit

This next picture is of a portion of the backyard.  Please notice the little sunken fire pit in the left foreground.  We’re all excited to have a fire in it and make S’mores and maybe even roast a hot dog in the fire.  A few days ago, Jason and Dalan came over and we checked out the backyard.  We noticed a mama quail acting very nervous around the pit and we discovered two of her tiny babies had fallen into the pit and couldn’t get out.  Dalan and I rescued them and eventually they were reunited with mama.  Now I have a couple of sticks in the pit to offer a way for any other strays to clamber out of the pit.

I also have installed a classy bird feeder along with a finch seed bag and a seed block in the backyard, which is not in the picture above.  My Cerritos neighbors gave me the stand, feeder and a hummingbird feeder to get me started here in Minden.  There are two hummer feeders as another was given to me when I moved here.  I guess people know I like birds.  The seed block is for ground feeders such as quail.  I found the bird bath in an overgrown area in my back yard.  The birds seem to be enjoying it.

The new bird feeder and the smoky skies

Note the difference in the sky from the blue sky in other pictures.  The gray is from smoke from the big fire near Yosemite that has diminished our visibility to about one half mile.  It is eerie with odd colored sunlight trying to peek through the ick in the sky.  Many events have been canceled in the area due to the terrible air quality.  It’s crummy for us, but I surely do feel the pain of the residents and firefighters in the fire area.  It must be terrible.

In addition to the snake and various birds in my yard, I have also seen many cottontails who seem not to be perturbed by the wire mesh fence that lines my split rail fence along the back border of the property.  They love to chomp the grass and leave their little deposits on the lawn.  Varmints they are.  But they are a part of life here.  I’ve seen many, many Canada geese fly over in their V formations.  As Jerri says, they could never sneak up on anyone as they are always honking to each other.  I love to watch them in flight but am careful not to stand under their flight path. I know there are coyotes in the neighborhood as I’ve seen their scat in my backyard, but I have not seen one yet.  That and the snakes and hawks is why BC is a more or less indoor kitty now.

The calf with the attitude

Back to the inside of the house.  The great room has a large hearth and mantle with a large area above the mantle that cries out for a special picture of some sort.  Jerri and I were in downtown Minden a week ago and found what we think it is perfect picture for this spot.   The little calf has such an attitude and Jerri and I loved the picture.  So it is now mounted above the mantle, thanks to Allan.  It really is hung straight and level but due to reflections, I had to take the picture off center.

Here is a view of the great room with the photo (taken by a local photographer) above the mantle which also gives you an idea of the view I have from the great room.

Here are a few views of the other rooms but there is nothing real extraordinary about them in terms of decorations or art work.  This is just to give you an idea of what the house looks like.  Jerri says I live like a Spartan anyway, so there probably won’t be much more stuff.

The great room with some furniture

The office with too much glare to see the great view of the Sierras from the window

Jerri loves this bath tub in the master bath

A portion of the master bedroom

The workshop with little BC in her nest at the bottom left

Part of the garage.

All the boxes in the garage will be going to a neighbor who will be moving in September.  Why I’m storing them, I don’t know.  Just a good guy, I guess.  But soon, it will be clean and uncluttered (hopefully)

The house has a few flaws and needs a lot of work in the yard to get it up to where I want it, but all this is going to take time and money.  All in all, it’s a good place to be.

Except for the present air quality, I’m really enjoying being here in Minden and the Carson Valley.  The people are pretty friendly.  It’s fun being close to the family and doing things with everyone.  The little kids can ride their bikes over here and we can go riding on the trails throughout the community.  Eventually, Jerri and I will be getting quads to ride out in the wilderness (even though the family is not fond of this idea) to do some exploring.  But I don’t see that happening until at least next spring.

The last photo is one that Dick Schmidt put together for me.  I think it is true.  This house is made for me.

Made for me

What’s not to love about this sweet face?

This saga really began a couple of years ago when I began to think that I am not getting any younger and even though I have many friends and superb neighbors, it is nice to be around family.  The more I went up to Carson City and then Minden to see Jerri and the family, the more I liked the area and began to think about making a big change in my life.  I made it my goal to be located somewhere near Jerri by the time I was 70.

This past June, Jerri asked me to dog sit for her while she and Allan went to Erik’s wedding in Washington.  You see, Jerri has Max, a half lab and half Great Dane, that is just a year old and acts like a two year-old child.  It seems as though he’s in constant trouble…chewing books, getting into the garbage, coming into the house all muddy after taking a dip in the koi fish pond.  You get the picture.  So I said sure and zoomed up to Minden.  I had also decided to begin looking around at some houses, never intending to find something quickly.  After all, it took Jerri and Allan an entire year to find their new house.

Jerri contacted their realtor and she set up several houses to look at.  Since Jerri wasn’t leaving until the next day, she went with me to check out these places.  The first

1175 Agua Caliente Ct., Minden, NV

place was too dark with no view, the second was too far out in the tules, and so it went…until the last house we looked at.  We walked into this place and it spoke to both of us.  Nice, bright, clean, good neighborhood, a great view to the east and to the west, already landscaped with a drip and sprinkler system in place and it backed up to open space with lots of sagebrush that always smells good.  Jerri said right off the bat that I needed to buy that house.  I wasn’t quite so quick with the decision.

Western view of the Sierra Mountains

Eastern view of the Pine Nut Mountains

Jerri and Allan left the next day and I was left with the dogs to make sure Max didn’t mess up.  I fiddled around Jerri’s house, doing some weeding and thinking about the house on Agua Caliente.  Conny, the realtor, set up some more houses the next day and I requested to go back to the Agua Caliente house.  It still spoke to me when I entered it for the second time and I told Conny I wanted to buy it.  And so I did after getting a loan in Carson City.   The deal was done in four days and was to close on July 17.  Wow!  What had I done?

SOLD! says it all

I went home and began to talk to realtors about selling the Cerritos home.  Some came in very low and Gary, the eventual realtor, let me set my own price after some advice.  He listed the house on a Thursday morning and it was shown two hours later.  The first people who saw it offered full price in cash!  Another wow!  I decided to take the offer as I figured a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and then I’d be done with it and not have to worry any more about the sale.  The buyers wanted to close in 30 days, which made the closing on July 26.  Oh, my gosh!  How was I going to get packed, have a garage sale and get all the inspections done by then?

I began to make daily and long range lists and they worked!  Mayflower was hired to move my stuff, neighbors brought over boxes and even helped pack, (boxes were also

Garage sale prep in the garage

purchased), a moving sale was held on July 13 and I got rid of a lot of stuff with cheap prices, inspections were done and stacks of stuff were moved to the living room and the garage.   This picture is of just a bit of the stuff sold at the garage sale.  Amazing what one person can collect over the years.

Jerri arrived to help me finish packing and then help me drive the car up filled with our stuff and BC.  I was so grateful that she was there as she kept me safe and sane.  The day she arrived was also a going away party given by the neighbors.  Such fun that it was!!!

Everybody brought some type of a salad to Maurine’s house (my next-door neighbor) and it turned out to be a great international offering.  I wish I could have eaten more!  There was much laughter with all the neighbors in attendance.  I had such a good time and yet, it was bittersweet to say goodbye to these folks who have been my friends and neighbors for so many years.  You can see we are a cool ‘hood.

The terrific neighbors!!!

Little Nia giving a fine intro with her harmonica and drum

At the end of the festivities, the neighbors presented me with some going away gifts as well as a cool introduction by Nia Chavez.  She played the harmonica and beat

Farewell to Cora

on the drum a few times.   Don Knabe, our neighbor LA County Supervisor, had a pseudo -official proclamation made up for me which was also very cool.

The next day was back to work for Jerri and me as we toiled endlessly trying to get everything ready for the van that was arriving in just 4 days!  Boxes were beginning to pile up!

Stacking up in the living room

My dear friend, Dick Schmidt from Sacramento, flew down late Wednesday night to photographically document “Heebie Jeebie” day …the day before the van arrived and the actual day of the move.   Little did he know

Hoff sisters in action

that Jerri and I would put him to work in packing a couple TVs and sound equipment.  There is no rest when the Hoff sisters are in charge.  (That was the “handle” Dick assigned to us when he saw us in action)

Here are a few shots from that day.

Dick, the media man

All through this process, poor BC couldn’t figure out what was going on.  She would go off in a hidey-hole and sleep all day.  The trouble was that her favorite places were being packed and she had to find new ones.  Eventually, she chose Jerri’s bed because that seemed safe and people weren’t going in there to pack.  I tried to give her special attention but she didn’t want much to do with me as I was causing her consternation and stress.

Where can I go to hide?

Jerri’s bed seems best right now

Maybe I’ll eat and maybe I won’t.

It seemed symbolic to note #100 box

In packing, I had found a 1904 newspaper with my grandfather’s name written in pencil with the date.  I had assumed it was in Chinese as he was in China during the

Checking out the Japanese newspaper with June and Bo

Boxer Rebellion.  I asked June, my Chinese neighbor, to take a look at it and see if he was mentioned at all.  It turns out the paper was Japanese.  I think that since Grandpa was hurt near the Great Wall of China, he was sent to a hospital in Japan to get fixed up.  That’s the only reason I can think that he would have been in Japan.  Anyway, June did translate it (she knows something like 5 languages) and Grandpa was not mentioned.  Rather it was a regular newspaper with stock quotes, stories, and ads advertising canned milk. June and her husband, Bo, were quite animated when they were telling us about the paper and I found it fascinating that they both could read it and tell us what was going on.

After Bo and June left, I indulged in the last little bottle of Bailey’s.  For some reason, it was a little orphan in the garage ‘fridge and it needed to be consumed or tossed out as it would not have been good for it to make the trip in the van.   Dick documented its exquisite taste for me.  It was truly delicious after a hard day of packing and saying goodbye to neighbors again.

The delectable taste of Bailey’s!

The Mayflower team and me

The van arrived about 8:30 AM and the guys began to work almost immediately after some preparation with getting little green tags on every single item.

Dick did a great job of capturing every significant event that happened that day.  I really do appreciate his attention to detail and his sense of humor.

We were concerned about BC seeing everything leaving the house, so we made sure the master bedroom was empty so the movers would not have to enter the room.

This is a crappy place to hide!

That was to be her home for the duration.  She did one better, however.  She hid out behind the toilet and would not come out until I put her little harness on for her ride in the crate that was to be her transport device.

Her harness was not an easy thing to put on her.  She wanted nothing to do with it.  I had given her a Xanax (prescribed by the vet), but it didn’t really kick in until hours later. We didn’t try to put her into the crate until just before we left.  Poor thing was really traumatized.

It was an amazing thing to watch the movers load the truck.  My stuff was first onto the van and every single piece of it was packed solidly into the very front of the truck.  I guess it would be called the fifth wheel area.   This is the first item loaded and the next picture is of the items and how tightly they are packed.  My total household was packed to about a foot or two just this side of that step down area you can see in the foreground or about even with the ladder.  Then, two other households were loaded behind my stuff onto the truck.

The first item to be loaded.

Securing the load with just a bit more to be put on the truck

WOW! It echos!

The house was empty shortly before two and we were on the road at 2 PM trying to beat the outgoing Friday traffic through LA, Palmdale and Lancaster.

A couple of final farewells to friends and neighbors and off we went.

BC was last out of the house. She’s not too please to be in her crate.

A fond farewell to Duane

The three amigos, Cora, Dick and Jerri

Nos vemos, Cerritos! We’ll be seeing you!

As I said before, it was bittersweet to leave 41 years of memories and friends and neighbors who have meant the world to me.  But, at 1:58 PM, it was off to a new adventure and new chapter in my life.

 Just a year ago, I was on the beautiful, yet sometimes somber, Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokai that for more than 100 years was the home of thousands of Hansen’s Disease (leprosy).  It was a very thought provoking 5 days that I

On board the Catalina Express

spent helping the Sierra Club do a service project.  I didn’t think that I’d be on another island this soon, much less an island so close to home.  After all, Santa Catalina is only 26 miles across the sea, just a-waitin for me!  But here I was enjoying all of Catalina’s attractions with two lively, pun filled (plus groans), happy-go-lucky buddies, Connie and Dick

We left Long Beach on the Catalina Express catamaran, which seemed to go very slowly, but it only took a bit over an hour to arrive at Avalon.  I was excited and thought the trip was worthwhile just to see the dolphins frolicking near the boat.  Some just bounded through the water but others put on a real show, leaping high out of the water and doing a bit of a spin.  I was ecstatic to see this display!

Beach and Casino from Steve’s Steakhouse

We parked our bags at the Pavilion Hotel because our rooms weren’t ready yet and sauntered over to Steve’s Steakhouse for lunch.  It’s a neat place because not only does it have good food, it is on the second floor and provides a wonderful view of the bay and casino.  I had my first buffalo burger ever there and enjoyed every bite of it.  I doubt if it was a Catalina buffalo as just about every restaurant there offers those burgers and that would decimate the small herd of 250.

After lunch we were able to get into our rooms and then had a brief staff meeting to decide that we would go on a tour of the famous Catalina Casino.  What a delight that was.  I had walked around the building but never gone inside.  So this was a real treat.   By the way, there was/is no gambling in the Casino.  It was built strictly for social amusement such as dancing and viewing first rate movies.

The Casino

The Casino Ballroom that could hold thousands of people

The Casino of today was built in about six months in 1928-29 for about $2 million by chewing gum magnate, William Wrigley, Jr.  It was built in Art Deco and Mediterranean

The theater had/has terrific acoustics

Revival styles and the first to be designed specifically for films with sound.   With a height equal to a 12-story building, it was built to serve as a theater on the main floor and a ballroom and promenade on the upper level.  About 3,000 dancers can be accommodated at one time!  An amazing fact is that several thousand people can be dancing to a live orchestra in the ballroom while movie patrons can watch undisturbed a film downstairs.  It is that well constructed and insulated.  We were told the Casino was built by 500 men working 24/7 and that the building’s concrete was done in one pour.  That seems far-fetched but it might be true.  A testament to the fine construction and materials used is that many of the accoutrements of the Casino have not been replaced such as the walnut wood and ceiling material in the theater lobby.   Wrigley installed ramps in the building to allow large numbers of people move safely and quickly to their destinations, an idea gleaned from Wrigley Stadium in Chicago.   You can tell that I was impressed with the building.

Upon finishing our tour, we decided to visit the Catalina Museum since it is housed in the Casino’s basement.  We saw

Dr. Glidden’s charnel house (aka museum)

pictures of celebrities who have visited the island throughout the years, exhibits of tragedies (such as Natalie Wood’s unexplained drowning in Two Harbors) and exploitation.  A Dr. Glidden (who may or may not have been a real doctor) fancied himself as an archeologist and excavated many, many Native American artifacts on the island.  Glidden displayed his “treasures” in a garish, irreverent fashion. He sought respectability as an archeologist but, in reality, was a shameless promoter who tried to make a lot of money.

Posing with the buff (not in the buff)

Walking along the waterfront in Avalon doesn’t take a long time since it is only about 5 short blocks long.  Not far from the Casino, we espied a tame buffalo on the main street

right by Big Olaf’s Ice Cream Shop and posed for pictures.  He was very amenable to our wishes and didn’t even ask for a tip.  Probably the cheapest service on the entire island.

A daily offering at our hotel was afternoon wine and cheese tasting and, of course, we couldn’t miss that.  Oh my!  That wine was very tasty!  Originally, we were sitting near the

Ben, the considerate gull

main street ,which is right on the beach and it became cool with the afternoon breezes.  So we decided to move back into the hotel courtyard where lounges were strategically located amidst beautiful flowers and other flora. There, we encountered Ben, a gentleman sea gull who loved the fine cheese we were tasting.  Obviously he had done this trick before, but it was new to us.  He hopped up on the lounge and watched us.  Connie fed him a bit of cheese and soon he was eating out of her hand.  Ironically,  both Dick and I were taking pictures and we snapped the same shot from opposite angles.   You notice I said Ben was a gentleman gull.  He didn’t peck Connie’s hand and he hopped off the lounge when he had to poop.  I thought that was very considerate as sea gulls can be very messy.

Dick’s gullwings

Looking into the courtyard at the Pavilion Hotel

This courtyard, its privacy and serenity along with the colorful flowers, reminded me quite a bit of being in Hawaii.  In fact, I felt the entire experience was very relaxing just as I

Entrance to the Pavilion Hotel

have experienced in all the Hawaiian Islands.  Perhaps being on an island has something to do with it.  The pictures above display the simplicity, yet elegance of the Pavilion Hotel.

Do you think the paparazzi will recognize me?

That evening, we ate at the Lobster Trap that a nice lady told us was excellent.  I think she had a dish other than what I had.  It was ok, but certainly not excellent.  I think Connie had the same experience.  But we made up for that by visiting Big Olaf’s and had some excellent Dryer’s ice cream.  The Pavilion Hotel provided a very nice continental breakfast the next morning.  Lots of good fruit, some pastries and coffee worked out very well.

At our staff meeting that morning to decide upon the day’s itinerary, we elected to begin with hike up to Mt. Ada (named after Wrigley’s wife).  Actually it’s not far and we were able to get some great views of Avalon and its bay.  It

The female Atlas

was fun to walk through the neighborhood away from the beach and see where the “real” people live.  Eventually, we accessed a relatively narrow road that kept going and going up in elevation.  We walked by a small canyon with little foliage and many markers that turned out to be a small pet cemetery.  It was obvious that Catalina folks loved their pets.  As we rose in elevation, the value of the houses did likewise.  It made sense as we were on the road to the Wrigley Mansion that is now an expensive inn.  There was a house overlooking the bay that was for sale with a view to die for.  We speculated on living there and Connie decided she would like it for her summer house.  We did get to the best vista point and took many pictures testifying to the fact that we were there.  Connie even got one proving to her personal trainer that she did work out on her trip to the coast.

Our patriotic Aloha from Catalina!

We hiked back down the hill and then headed up another canyon toward more points of interest…the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden, the golf course, the ball park, the hospital and Bird Park.

Connie had to stop and kiss a frog, but alas, there was no prince after the kiss.

Looking for a prince!

I was robbed!

The Memorial was waaaay at the end of the canyon and we never made it due to heat, fatigue and a time factor since we were scheduled to take an interior island tour that afternoon.  But we did visit the hospital where Dick was once

Looking for Cart Exit 44A

Dick no longer has to stand by

ensconced for possible heart problems.  We also saw a small ballpark but not the same one that the Chicago Cubs trained at during the 20s.  We walked by Bird Park, which once housed an aviary built from the steel framework of the original casino.  There are no birds in it now, so it’s just a bird park in name only.  One thing that struck me funny on our hike was  the Wrigley Field  #44A exit sign.  Most of the locals (and all tourists) drive golf carts (except for buses and trucks that need to go to the airport or remote locales of the island).  So there are no freeways or even wide roads, for that matter.

That afternoon, we boarded a 1953 bus that reminded Connie and me of Clyde, the bus that took Chapman students to contests or tours.  I doubted the bus could make some of the steep roads, but it did just fine.  Freddie was our very knowledgeable driver on the inland tour.  He fancied himself quite a jokester (We always knew when Freddie told a joke because he laughed like crazy at his own jokes) and, indeed, he had many puns. That fit right in with our punny duo.  (I’m primarily the foil which all punsters need). Freddie did give us a very thorough history and good running commentary of what we were seeing although about half of the tourists didn’t speak English.  I felt sorry for them, but they chose to take the tour, probably having no idea of what they were going to see or hear.

This was a great tour as far as I was concerned as we got to see two Catalina buffalo and one Catalina Island fox.  Freddie said his tours hadn’t seen these critters for a few days, so we were lucky to have the chance to view them.  The little fox is only as big as a large cat and is very skitterish.  So we only caught a short glimpse of him.

The elusive Catalina buffalo

Our tour took us to the “Airport in the Sky” aka Catalina Island Airport, a non-traffic controlled facility (elevation 1602’,

Catalina Airport in the Sky

runway length 3000’).  It sports a little restaurant, museum, hangars and places to park planes.  Here you can see the bus we were in.  Such a kick!

Our trip back to Avalon was uneventful as we saw no extraordinary critters or sights.  We did stop by the Catalina Zip Line place where the kids who run the concession were practicing on the lines.  It looked like fun, but I don’t think that I would like to try it.

We hit the wine and cheese tasting one more time before bidding farewell to Avalon.  It was a lovely tasting but there was no Ben to help us with our cheese.  I thought he was waiting for us at the dock to wish us “Bon Voyage.”

Sipping some classic wine

Ben again

I was right!  There he was atop the fish food machine, giving us the once over (and quietly exhorting us to give him some bites of our sandwiches)

The return voyage was great for me as we got to see some more dolphins giving us a short escort back to port.  Dick got some beautiful photos of the Port of Long Beach and I’ll share one of the Queen Mary.  I love his photos!

The Queen Mary in Long Beach

The next morning marked Connie’s transition from a relaxed Catalina cavorter to a “we’ll never be ready!” florist for her granddaughter’s wedding the following Sunday.  Off we went to the flower district in downtown Los Angeles.  The visit, in and of itself, was a new experience for me.   I don’t think I’d ever been in that part of LA before, much less seen any of those flower shops. Connie had ordered her flowers ahead of time and that part of her purchase took hardly any time.  They were ready for her!

Checking the flowers twice at Mellanos

After consulting with Ricky, her personal Mellanos’ advisor, she decided she needed more flowers and we went next door.  It reminded me so much of the Rose Parade and all the flowers they use there.  It was an amazing place filled with flower stalls, buckets, flowers of all kinds, colors, scents, and people scurrying to beat the deadline of the place closing at noon.  (They open at something like 2 or 3 AM!)

The following is Dick’s journalistic recounting of our experience at the Mart.  It’s short but to the point and that’s a journalist (especially a photo-journalist) for you.

The highly regarded and nationally-recognized floral design company of Colorado Springs, Connie’s Creations, sent their founder and Chief Executive Officer, Constance Raub, to California last week to oversee floral arrangements for the major wedding ceremony of Meredith Vivian and Brian Turner, Saturday, May 25, 2013 in San Pedro, CA.

In advance of the wedding, Ms. Raub performed professional expertise and keen acumen during a visit to the famed downtown Los Angeles Flower District, on Thursday, May 23rd.  From an array of billions and billions of botanic blossoms, blooms, buds, greens and various flora-miscellany spilling over the floors of the sprawling square-block LA Flower Market, Ms. Raub decisively selected the precise items in her floral vision that would beautify the wedding two days later.  She was accompanied by her West Coast Operations Director, Cora Johnson.

These photos convey Ms. Raub’s professionalism during her floral safari through the vast LA Flower District, the atmosphere of which, for an ordinary florist, would be a difficult, intimidating and confusing experience.  But an ordinary florist, Ms. Raub is not.  Striding assuredly through the District, from vendor to vendor, across the warehouse landscape of the LA Flower Market, she smoothly and efficiently gathered the ideal floral items to pay tribute to the bride & groom, to beautify the wedding party and to decorate the ceremony venue–all of which she would later assemble in her makeshift floral design studio within an otherwise ordinary room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in San Pedro, CA.

A bouquet of accolades and kudos to Connie for her floral vision and expertise under unusual conditions and deadline pressure!

Checking the invoice

Selecting more flowers

Almost done with selction

Where’s Connie?

Where was Connie?  I’m not sure. When we left her at the Doubletree Hotel, she was amidst hundreds of blossoms in the makeshift floral repository(aka the shower).  I know those flowers were stripped and prepped for manipulation into gorgeous creations  and Connie was pretty tired that evening.  I assume the wedding went off without a hitch…oh wait, they were getting hitched.  So I guess there was a hitch..  Anyway I haven’t heard anything to the contrary.  Connie created a wonderland for the bride and groom and I know the wedding was wonderful and will be remembered by all.

BC getting a little TLC

Dick and I zoomed back to Cerritos to see BC and take care of her needs before we drove over to Brea (some 16 miles) for Dick to get a Schlotzky’s fix.  He adores those

Dick showing off his Schlotzsky’s sandwich

This is a great cone!

sandwiches and, since there are none in Sacramento, he indulges whenever he is within 50 miles of one.  It was a tasty meal and we both enjoyed Schlotzsky’s best that they have to offer.  I must say that I really enjoyed the ice cream afterward as much as the sandwich.  Love that soft ice cream…especially with the chocolate sprinkles!

Again, this account has lengthened itself into an epistle, but there is just so much to say!  I used to not have much to say, but I when I’m having a good time, I want to share it with everyone!  So here it is.

I want to thank Dick and Connie for a wonderful, remarkable journey into two completely different realms.  It was great being with them and I hope they had as much fun as I did.  I also want to thank Dick for the use of his pictures because his always tell a great story.  Thank you RD!!!