buzzardnotes

2014 cast (Don’t forget to click on the photos to enlarge)

Above, you see the cast of characters for the 2014 Prime Time at Pajaro.  No, Pat is not asleep. I think she was beginning to blink. But I think this is still a good picture with good smiles all around. We missed those of you who were not able to attend and hope that you all be able to come either next year or in 2016.

Trish’s place is the one that looks like a light is on in the second story

Diana and I were the first to arrive and haul all our stuff up to Pelican 10. We had the first night’s dinner with us, so we had a bit more than usual. Dot and Sherry arrived next with essentials that they picked up at the grocery store…essentials like TP. It was unusually HOT at Pajaro. I can’t ever remember it being so warm…low 80s or high 70s.   Diana and I thought it felt a bit like a Santa Ana wind even so close to the beach. Of course, this is the first time that we’ve been there in May. Pat, Lynda and Shoo were to arrive the next day.

It was so warm that we were able to walk on the beach without the usual heavy jackets.  Part of the beach close to the berm was roped off so that the snowy plovers can nest in peace.  The little plovers nest in depressions in the sand, perhaps one that a footprint created. I guess it works for them, but it seems rather unprotected to me. Plovers are a type of shorebird that scurry along the water line looking for tasty morsels. I always get a kick out of how quickly their little legs seem to turn. It’s almost like cartoon legs.

A little snowy plover on a nesting site

After Pat, Lynda and Shoo arrived, we walked again, thus adding more miles to our tally (not that we were keeping track). It’s such a flat beach that we can walk a long way without pooping out. You can see that by the picture that it’s flat and one can walk literally for miles.

We love it this beach!

In the next picture, you’ll see the view of the beach from Pelican 10. However, it is somewhat marred by some passing seagulls’ deposits. Trish decided that it should be washed, but if you’ll notice in the picture of the condo with the “light”, that one needs a VERY TALL ladder in order to get to it. Trish had a solution, using a hose and squeegee with Dot’s able assistance. Those of us inside took great delight in pointing out missed smudges. They really did a good job, though, and the view was greatly improved.

Bird deposits on the window marring the view

Trish and Dot with the hose

The Whole Enchilada in Moss Landing was on the agenda for that night’s dinner.   It’s tradition to have at least one meal there while at Pajaro and get our picture taken there. I think we look darn good in this one.

Having fun at the Whole Enchilada

The Enchilada owner came by the table and gave Lynda a Lotto ticket after she agreed to be his partner with the winnings.  It was for the Mega Lotto that was worth $136 million. We were all thinking about how we would spend our portion of the winnings. Alas! We had only one matching number.

Lynda and her Lotto partner

A full moon was so pretty shining through the trees.

A ghostly sight

At Diana’s and my suggestion, several of us brought some pictures of us as youngsters and we all got to reminiscing about past times. Angel, we were all happy to receive your picture of you with that bag of candy. You were/are so cute! Thank you, too, for sharing some of your childhood story. It had never occurred to me that you and your family suffered after the War.  I guess, because I didn’t know you then and I don’t think you and I ever talked about the war. Thank you for making me more aware of that part of post-war history.

I think if I had to choose a theme for this year, it would be dealing with life changes and challenges. All of us have had some challenges, but Pat is dealing with some health issues that have yet to be identified. She told us that it is NOT Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s and that is good news. She will be learning more in future doctors’ appointments. We all wish you well, Pat, and please know that if any one of us could help you in any way, we’ll be there.   I’ll tell you one thing, though. Pat has not lost her wicked sense of humor. She had some good lines this year.

Being at Pajaro in May for the first time showed us some differences in nature that were fun to see.  The sun set behind the Santa Cruz peninsula (or whatever that land is called) instead of sort of in the middle of the ocean as we usually see in February or March. I already mentioned the plovers nesting, but there was also a starling nesting in the eave of Pelican 10. I just happened to catch her leaving the nest as I was taking a picture of brown pelicans.

Sunset behind Santa Cruz

Starling in flight with pelicans in the background

The bees were visiting ice plants and we saw some folks riding their horses on the beach at sunset. I thought they made great silhouettes.

The bee is at about 11 o’clock

Horses on the beach at sunset

The surf was calm and almost good for surfing if one wanted to do that. Seagulls were on the shore, but we didn’t see many little birds. Perhaps they will return soon when their babies hatch and they need to be fed.

Seagulls taking a break at water’s edge

It has become Diana and Trish’s job to add new captions to our album documenting our Pajaro and Cambria adventures. They have a really good time doing this task but I don’t think they began imbibing soon enough as they didn’t get very many done this year. They had fun doing what they did though.

This caption is the best!

Now, as all know in our Pajaro group, the majority of us are turning 70 this year (three of you will do that next year). Diana ordered a beautiful, tasty cake from Gayle’s in Capitola. Oh my goodness! I loved all 3 layers of hazelnut and chocolate cake iced with chocolate ganache (I’m not sure about spelling. Spell check isn’t helping and my dictionary doesn’t have the word. Whatever, it is, it is really good!), whipped cream and regular icing. We celebrated with candles, party hats, ice cream and later, some Bailey’s.

Lighting the lights

Happy birthday to us!!!

It was great!

Trish loved it!

As I told you, it was hot and the sand was also. Pat went barefooted during one of the walks and in crossing the hot sand from the shore to the stairs to get back to the condo, her feet got too hot. She began to hurry across the sand and ran into some wood in her path. She really banged up two toes (one of which I feel sure was broken) and shortly had very bruised toes. The first aid committee got together and fashioned an ice pack for her and bound it with what Pat called an Arafat kerchief. I hope she was able to board the plane to go home without any problems.

First Responders

Pat and her Arafat foot cover

Prime time always has to end and parting consists of many hugs. Our friendship means so much to all of us.  I’d like to include some comments from Diana and Dot about our friendship as I think they are much more eloquent about US than I am.

Dot said, “I loved visiting with each of you. We are all different in many ways and yet meld together into a great group.”

Diana’s comment was, “How blessed we are to have each other! I think it’s remarkable that over and over year after year, we have fun together, discuss serious subjects and yet never ‘bump into each other.’ That was Schwab talk for have a squabble in the olden days. Let’s squeeze every drop of togetherness we can out of the years to come.”

I liked this shot and would like to close with it.  We’ve been making tracks together for more than 50 years!  Yea!!!

Best friends making tracks together.

The twelfth annual Donate Life Run/Walk was held on April 26, 2014 at Cal State Fullerton with more than 13,000 people celebrating the Gift of Life.  The fact that this event began with only about 1500 people (or less) in attendance and has grown into the largest of its kind in the country is positively amazing.  It has been my privilege to attend and/or work with at least 9 of those events and I continue to be inspired by how Kathleen Hostert and her mighty crew of staff members and volunteers continue to grow this event.  (Don’t forget to click on photos if you want to enlarge them)

Bob’s and my first DLRW in 2005.

This April, I felt a bit at odds bods, sort of not feeling exactly right. It finally dawned on me that I wasn’t spending every day in April helping to prepare for the Walk…packing stuff for the various Walk areas, hauling donor family t-shirts to be counted and inventoried, speaking at several city council or county supervisor meetings and accepting proclamations proclaiming April to be Donate Life Month, amongst other little chores. Here I was in Nevada doing NV State Museum tours, working in my yard and other mundane chores.   The Walk was calling me!

I zoomed down south in time to be able to help make final packing preparations to move all the equipment, shirts, VIP bags, promotional material, ad infintum to the Cal State Fullerton campus. It used to be just a couple of truck loads of stuff taken to the campus. Now it takes many more loads to complete the task. Then…it all has to be sorted out and set up in the various areas. (Kathleen has devised systems to make that easier, but it’s still time consuming)   To complicate things this year, there was a threat of rain which did actually materialize during the night. The actual Walk day dawned with glorious sun.  A great day

Sorting donor family t shirts into their proper boxes. There are thousands of shirts that are put into these boxes. Each shirt has a picture of the family’s loved one on the back.

Getting ready to load those boxes onto the truck. They will be claimed in the morning by the donor families who proudly wear their shirts on the Walk.

Meanwhile, activities continue in the office portion of the Placentia Office of One Legacy/Donate Life.  Lists are being finalized, stuff is still being packed, sheets are being laminated and the list goes on and on.

Iva and her endless lists. She keeps track of EVERYTHING!

The Nut House (or Kathleen’s office)

Where I’ve worked for the past several years. It’s fun to meet the VIPs and their families and sometimes it’s hectic when someone thinks they are a VIP and aren’t.

Promoting the social media aspect of Donate Life to increase awareness of the cause. Just point your smart phone and click. Doesn’t work on my phone, though. I have a dumb phone.

Some of the contributing sponsors, of which I was one

One of the necessary evils of an event like this with SOOOO many people is the trash detail (and also the port-potty issue, but we won’t go into that.  Ick!).  Dave Hollon and his son, Michael, have worked on this area for many years and have it down to a pretty good science.  The fact remains though, that he has to line all of these cardboard “cans” and distribute them around the campus.  Then someone has to empty them when they are full.  It’s a continuous task to keep all of this trash from overflowing and looking awful.  Dave and Michael do a great job and makes it look pretty easy but I wouldn’t trade jobs with them.

Dave Hollon and his “cans”
Can he or can’t he?

Monica Ramirez took my place as chairperson of the VIP Check-in area.  She also does many tasks at the office…a gal of all trades.

Monica waiting for her first VIP to check in. Do you think she’s practicing her welcome smile?

Checking in the VIPs. Sharyn Miller is the helper.

Nicole Hostert greeting the crowd with her family around her.

Donor families releasing doves. It’s always an inspirational portion of the program, especially when you know some of the donor families and/or have been directly affected by donation.

After the release of the doves, the Walk is just about ready to begin.  Just a couple of more things to do…the National Anthem and the countdown.  This year, Emily Reisling, daughter of good friends and a sophomore at La Habra High, sang the Anthem.  She was terrific!  People actually stopped talking, listened and acted respectfully.

Emily Reisling

A small portion of Emily’s audience at the starting line

And they’re off!!!

A very inspirational portion of the Walk is the Circle of Garden, an area where posters are hung to honor loved ones who were donors, are living donors, are waiting for a transplant or perhaps who have passed waiting for a transplant.  It’s supposed to be a sort of reverential place but with 13,000 people, it’s difficult to have total quiet.  But I like to go into the Garden to see all the people looking at the posters and to see Bob’s poster.  This year, I chose a picture with the two of us in Delft, Holland with the caption, “We enjoyed the Gift of Life.”  This gift from Tim Baptista’s family allowed us to travel near and far and allowed Bob to be best man at our nephew, Michael’s wedding to Floor in 2008. Bob was so pleased that he got to do that.

Bob’s sign in the Garden before it was hung up in place

The Walk and ensuing Family Festival activities ended about noon and I was on the road back to Nevada around 1 PM. It was a short visit and I apologize to the many friends I didn’t get to visit.  It’s just that now there were several obligations up north that I had to keep.

Here is a little addendum to this blog portion. As most of you know, I have a bird feeder in the back yard that attracts several species of birds and sometimes critters such as ground squirrels and little chipmunk type animals. This week, yellow-headed black birds graced the feeder along with their cousins, red-winged blackbirds.  Sorry the picture isn’t bigger, but one can only crop a shot so much.   I like these birds as they don’t seem to be afraid and don’t fly away if I’m working in the backyard.

Yellow-headed blackbirds (Click on it and it’ll get bigger)

You might remember how the house on Agua Caliente struck my eye as soon as I saw it. In fact, that was a great selling point and helped me to decide to buy it. However, I knew that the house needed a new coat of paint as it had faded and some of it was peeling on the east side of the house. So after much consternation and decision making about what color to paint it, I bit the bullet and had it done last week. It would have been done the week before (when the weather was cooperating much better) but the Home Owners Association had to give their approval of the new color, which delayed progress a bit. I might not submit an application for the next project, but right now, I was trying to be a good member of the association and follow the rules.  After all, they are one of the reasons it’s a nice looking, well kept neighborhood.  (Don’t forget to click on the pictures to get a larger view, if you wish to do so)

The before shot

The above picture is to refresh your memory as to what it used to look like. Please note the lawn to the right of the driveway. It is no longer there. Due to high water prices and the drought, I decided to take it out and install some red rock to tie in with the reddish roof with a white rock island in the middle. You might notice some green stuff to the left of the picture. Those were ugly, scraggly dwarf fruit trees and they are no longer there. Drought resistant foliage will be planted there as soon as the weather gets better.

The colors that I chose are called French Sonnet and Sequoia Red. I thought the Sonnet was more like a cream with some yellow in it, but it’s more yellow than I thought. This is a shot of the house with the new body color on it. Note the contrast of color between the two garage doors. The pale color is the old yellow.  The painter did that on purpose to let me know what the contrast was.

French Sonnet took to the house like a fine poem. Note the rock where the lawn was and the white rock island.

Charlo, one of the painters, is doing a dance to celebrate that the new body color was done. The difference in new and old color is just above his head.

I tried to get the two pictures above to be lighter, but it just wouldn’t work. It was a cloudy, windy and cold day. I was lucky that they could still paint in those conditions.

Painting the trim on the front of the house.

Charlo is spraying the back door fake shutters.

The house was officially finished on March 31, 2014. This is the finished product.

The back side of the house with BC going for an afternoon stroll.

As soon as the weather is better and not dipping below 32 degrees at night, I will be planting some colorful plants and posies around the house and in the back. I do have some daffodils, pansies and columbine in the backyard, but that is about all I can put out for the time being. The mantra is here to not plant before Mother’s Day because of the weather. It is a whole different ball game up here and I’m learning new ways to garden very quickly.  I’m pretty happy with the way the house turned out and how fresh it looks. I copied the color from a house a few blocks away and their house looks terrific even after 8 years of being in the harsh Nevada sun.

I just had to share this picture that I took this morning as it was beginning to dawn on the Sierras. I love to watch as the sun rises in the East and lights up those mountains in the West. It never ceases to enthrall me. It snowed up at Lake Tahoe last night but we didn’t get anything here in terms of weather. Just some pretty sights that we all love.

An April Fool’s Dawn on the Sierras

Today was a gorgeous, sunny, fun day filled with adventure, good friends and excited dogs.  I got to go on an outing with Diana and Jack Jacobs and their two loveable ranch dogs, Lucy and Molly, to Fort Churchill, an abandoned ruin about an hour northeast of my house (on the other side of the Pine Nut Range that sits to the east of my house).  Don’t forget to click on the pictures if you want to enlarge them.

Lucy and Molly, great ranch dogs and good on the trail

To give you a little background on the fort:  There was a great fear of Indian attacks in the 1860s, exacerbated by three white men who kidnapped two Indian girls in 1860.  They refused to release the girls and that led to the Indians killing the men.  Then rumors were magnified, battles ensued with the white folks being defeated.  An urgent call went out to get soldiers in the area and the tide was eventually turned against the Indians. The upshot was that Fort Churchill was established on July 20, 1860.  It was named after Sylvester Churchill, the Inspector General of the U.S. Army.  The fort was to guard the Pony Express route that ran near by and the settlers in the area as well as serve as a supply depot for the Nevada Military District after 1861. (Remember that the Civil War began in April, 1861)  The fort was abandoned in 1869 and the adobe buildings were auctioned for only $750.

Today, one can visit the fort and check out a little museum, the Carson River as well as Buckland station.  One item that caught my eye was an 1864 American flag with 36 stars and an odd arrangement of stars.

An 1864 flag with 36 stars. (Nevada is #36) The Nevada State Capitol has on display another 1864 flag with a 6 x 6 arrangement. I wonder why there is a difference.

Jack and I joined a guided tour and learned many things about the fort and the rest of the State Park.  (Diana is recovering from knee surgery and isn’t ready yet for this type of trek).   We visited three distinct  ecological areas in the park…the floodplain river terrace (Fremont cottonwood, and Indian ricegrass), riparian (reeds and willow) and upland scrub (low sagebrush and bluegrass and where the fort buildings are).

The following picture is our first glimpse of the adobe buildings of the actual fort.  The low, flat buildings were enlisted men’s quarters and officers lived in the larger two story buildings that are off to the right.

Fort Churchill cost about $200,000 to build

Officer’s quarters.
Building materials were later salvaged from them to build the Buckland Station house

We walked around the perimeter of the buildings that surrounded a parade ground.  It’s all covered with sagebrush now, but it wasn’t hard to imagine soldiers marching in formation out there.

Kim, our very knowledgeable guide

We left the actual fort area and walked along a trail that led to the Carson River, the only perennial source of surface water near the park.  As we trod along the trail, we could hear woodpeckers, quail, black birds and other birds.  We didn’t see any critters, other than lizards, but we know they live there because we saw some evidence of their presence.  Beavers had felled trees, scat was visible in some parts of the trail and we might have smelled skunk if we’d scared one.  But most of the critters Kim told us about are nocturnal, so we weren’t likely to see any.

It was pretty warm and Jack and I thought the “girls” (Lucy and Molly) would like a drink.  We took them down to the river, but only Molly took advantage of the drink.  She loves the water!

Molly testing the Carson River

Another view of the Carson River is below.  You can see how dry it is on the shore.

Kinda looks like the desert it is, eh? It’ll be prettier when everything begins to leaf out.

This stately old cottonwood will leaf out in another month and bring much needed color to the area.  John C. Fremont took samples of this tree back east with him and, since it was a new species of cottonwood, it was named after him.

An old Fremont cottonwood

A mighty big beaver felled this tree!

Shortly after we saw the downed cottonwood, we spotted a couple of mallards and a Canada goose.  But that’s about all the animals we saw.  Not even a squirrel!

Buckland Station is located on the Carson River at Weeks Bridge on Hwy 95A

As we completed our two mile hike, we neared Buckland Station, a ranch settled by Samuel Buckland in 1859.  It was one of the earliest ranches in the area, supplying emigrants, ranchers, travelers and the soldiers at Fort Churchill.  The Overland Stage Company kept horses at the station and the Pony Express stopped there for a change of mounts.  It was a thriving enterprise.  Today, one can see a short film about the Buckland family and tour the large house.  It’s furnished as it would have been in the late 1890s and is quite interesting.  There is even a dresser with a sign asking if you can spot the secret, hidden drawer.  I couldn’t, but then, I’ve never been very good with puzzles.

We enjoyed a most welcome and delicious picnic lunch at the station and then toured the Buckland house.

Our little expedition group

Our drive home took us through Wabuska (an abandoned copper smelting community), Yerington and Smith Valley.  A long way home, but it was pretty and we all enjoyed it.  The dogs were pooped and they didn’t care.

For those of you who don’t know Diana, a life long friend all the way back to Kindergarten, I need to tell you that she owns Quail Cottage, an antique shop in downtown Gardnerville.  She told me about a pair of Canada geese that had recently been building a nest on top of an old shed on the property in back of her shop.  She said the female was working hard, collecting twigs, putting them on the roof of this shed and sort of scraping the twigs together with her foot while the male stood around and watched her.  Anyway, when Diana took me home, we stopped by the shop to see if the goose was sitting on her nest.  What we found was a little pile of twigs with an egg outside of the “nest” and no geese to be seen.  Even though these geese are supposed to mate for life, we think this might not have been a successful relationship and they abandoned the nest and maybe each other.  What happened?  Inquiring minds want to know!

This is a nest?

What a great day this was!  Diana and Jack are so much fun to be with and always know what’s going on in terms of history, geography and general info.  They add a great deal to my appreciation of Nevada and make me feel a part of what’s going on.  Many thanks to you both and to Lucy and Molly for welcoming me and making me feel at home here in Carson Valley!

There is a great group of people called Friends of the Nevada State Museum (NSM) who support the museum by being trained tour guides, doing outreach programs, and giving of their dollars and time for fund raising.  Last night was one of those fund raising events.  MURDER AT THE MUSEUM  or  Murder at the Deadwood Saloon! 

 Jerri and I originally signed up to do the raffle because we like to do things behind the scenes.  That way, no one will know when we mess up.  But, as The Fates would have it, Diana Michaels, our mighty director, couldn’t find a person (character?) for the Black Barbara role and she conned me into it.  It turned out to be a fun experience and I’m glad that I did it. (Don’t forget to click on a picture if you want to see more detail)

As you can see, Black Barbara was not the most savory person, but she liked Billy, the Bartender in the Deadwood Saloon.

Our cast of 20 characters, all with their own agendas and secrets, practiced many hours to get our lines and cues just right.  The only problem was that, for various reasons family emergencies, doctor’s appointments, and illness),  the entire cast wasn’t able to practice together until the day before the actual presentation.  I never knew who was really who until dress rehearsal because we were all playing several roles to get the gist of blocking and such.  Still, it worked out and the audience loved us AND none of us broke a leg!

I had attended only one murder mystery prior to this one and no one dressed up for that one.  I’d say that at least half the audience was costumed for the late 1800s and some were very elaborate.  It was fun to see them and interact with them.  It was also fun when they reacted to some of the lines and laughed heartily when they were supposed to.  We thought some of the lines were hysterical but one never knows until the actual performance.

Here are some of our characters:

The sign outside the Deadwood Saloon – Mound House is a town outside Carson City where cathouses are legal. The most well known is the Bunny Ranch.

Sally Starr, our director

Black Barbara & Harry Highstakes, owner of the Deadwood Saloon

Henrietta Highstakes, Harry’s wife and who is secretly seeing Sheriff Sam on the side.

Sheriff Sam with his slingshot in his holster and Jessie Wales, desperado

Taffy Garret, most social lady in town and Poker Alice, AKA, Assassin Alice and Black Barbara’s nemesis in trying to get Billy the Bartender’s attention

Billy the Bartender, for whom Black Barbara has set her cap and Jessie.

Gambling Jack and his wife, Annabelle. Being a true Southern lady, she is devoted to her card cheatin’ husband and abhors Black Barbara whom she deems uncouth (even though Barbara is telling her that her husband is bribing Poker Alice)

Elizabeth Money (married to Montgomery Money, an investor from Back East who wants to buy the Deadwood Saloon and turn it into a Sally Starrbucks coffee house) and Jessie Wales, her real life husband

Mitch Maverick, a dishonest gambler who owes a lot of money to a lot of people. He paid the ultimate price for his dishonesty.

The high stakes poker game in progress.

These are just some of the characters, good and bad.  The crime was eventually solved by Marshall Dalton and the culprit was taken to jail by Sheriff Sam.  I think five people in the audience came up with the correct solution and all won prizes.

As I said earlier, there was a raffle with many nice prizes and many people went home happy.  Jerri helped with that and did a great job with friend of the museum, Pat King.  I went home very happy too, as I won one of the top prizes, a beautiful quilt with a mountain theme.  Yee Haw!!!

Black Barbara and Jerri

The prize quilt that now resides at my house

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…