Blossoms in Lotus

Parts is Parts

Mon, 26 May 2008 23:15:11 -0700

Parts is Parts

All Fall Down

Mon, 26 May 2008 23:12:35 -0700

All Fall Down

Fire Season

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:24:00 -0700

Heading home Monday night, we saw a plume of smoke rising into the sky. We weren’t worried because it looked like it was well east of us. As we got closer to town, we saw that the smoke was much, much closer. As we drove into town, we saw that the smoke was behind one of the neighboring hills and the gusting wind was blowing away from the house. We had planned on stopping at the local diner for dinner so we stopped and got a booth by a window so we could keep an eye on things. We figured that if we did have to evacuate, we should eat first. We saw two flatbed trucks hauling the dozers while we were eating. That was an impressive sight. We finished eating and went home and everything was fine. After arriving home I was able to log on to the online scanner and listen to the progress. No buildings were lost and everyone was safe but I have not yet heard how it started.

The Chase

Sun, 04 May 2008 20:51:00 -0700

Living in an area where wild animals can still live by hunting is sometimes a very odd reality, the hunting usually done outside of my awareness. Today I was very nearly in the midst of the hunt. As my husband and I drove up the road to the house we saw a rabbit tear across the road from uphill to downhill. Seconds later a coyote tore across the road and when he heard that we were nearby, he stopped and turned to look at us. Then he headed down the hill. It was one of the most exciting and incredible moments of our time here.

The coyote probably lost the rabbit but that means that the rabbit didn’t lose his life. I have great sympathy for both.

It rained today making everything so beautiful and green and sweet-smelling.

Fried Green Seedlings

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:19:33 -0700

Well, the sad news is that the seedlings about which I wrote (doing well, yada, yada) are no more. I think I should not have left them outside… where they fried… and died… gone is my pride…

Such is the news from up on the hill by the river.

The Lady's Not for Burning

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:00:53 -0700

Today was a burn day and those are likely to be few and far between in the next few months as the heat of approaching summer flirts with the threat of wildfire. So we burned. We spent several hours burning all the small branches from the tree that went into the shop. I can’t believe how hard it is to just feed branches into a flame while trying not to set the rest of the hill on fire. Still, we were successful and the branches are all reduced to a 5-foot diameter, 5-inch deep circle of ash and charcoal.

Now all we need to do is everything else. 100 feet of bare earth all around the buildings, no trees within 30 feet of the buildings, and 20 feet of bare earth on either side of all roads. Last fire season was very scary because of the number of fires — several were set by an arsonist. I heard that he was arrested. Hopefully, no one has the desire to cause such unforgivable damage this year.

The seedlings are still growing but I’ve seen no new little friends. The herbs that I got from the college are all reasonably happy and the lemon grass is thriving. The wildflowers are still providing wonderful color. The blue, yellow, purple, red, and white against the green (and now yellowing) grass is still a thrill. It has been a great year.

Seedlings!

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:40:02 -0700

I have two tiny little seedlings poking their optimistic little green leaves up over the thread-like stems. I’m so happy.

The cats are happy with the Lemon Grass plant from John. The plants are doing well. So are the hitchhiker plants that came in the pot. They might be little tiny lemon grasses or they might be something else but as they are low maintenance and seem very happy, I will wait and see what they become.

The plants that I bought from the college are all doing well. Even both catmint plants are doing okay thanks to my recovery rotation. One plant on duty while the other recuperates.

The local wild plant that volunteered in a pot seems to be finishing up its life. I can’t seem to stop caring for it. I think the other plants have enjoyed having it around so I won’t just throw it out or stop caring for it.

Rain

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:26:19 -0700

… again. End of March and all is wet. At least I put my planter boxes up on the deck to try to catch some rain. It won’t be much as the rain has been light and infrequent. Still, might as well catch some water while I can.

Seedling Mix

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:13:31 -0700

I found a recipe for seedling potting mix in the March/April edition of Hobby Farms. I made it up last night and put it in some seeding containers before the mosquitoes chased me in. The mix is light and smooth and beautiful.

I can wait a few days to put the seeds in so I went through my packets last night and selected my choices. At this point I don’t care about what or when so I will plant anything out of the packets that I have. Some of them are so old that I’m sure the seeds won’t grow. I will be more careful with the seeds that I bought a couple of weeks ago because they are newer and should grow nicely with a little care.

Spring Is In the Air

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:23:06 -0700

Spring is sprung, the grass is going nuts, and the hummingbirds are demanding sugar syrup. Most of the grass will be taken care of with weed whackers and mowers but the stuff in the road has to be poisoned. It gets too tall too fast and has a tendency to dry out suddenly making the road a fire hazard to drive.

Trade Winds Fruit

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:34:00 -0700

Trade Winds Fruit: I got my seeds and I’m so happy. What a great company — they have great prices, no shipping fees but a minimum order of $7.50 (gee, I think I can do that), really prompt service, and a wonderful variety of seeds.

Tree Reduction = Firewood Production

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:29:53 -0700

We spent yesterday playing with chainsaws, cutting the tree that went down in the January windstorms into manageble sections that will next be cut down or split into stove-sized firewood. The tricky part was trying to figure out where to cut the main trunks that were actually resting on the shop. Fortunately, we guessed right and managed to cut the upper portions of the trunks so that the tree didn’t shift suddenly, nor did any loose ends take out a window. We even had time to work on a snag that had partially gone down a few years ago.

While hauling the smaller limbs to the burn pile, I found a shooting star dancing in the breeze. Then I found some poison oak. Fortunately, I found it before it found me and all is good.

seesmic

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:44:00 -0700

seesmic:

Sometimes referred to as Video Twitter, I like to call it Vitter. No, I don’t but it’s been that kind of decade.

Post a thought
Someone else (in a perfect world) posts a response
And so on…

There seems to be a stirring of interest in this site from the Deaf Community — some may see it as an opportunity for a deaf person to blog/twitter in his/her first language.

This site is still in alpha stage so you must request an invitation. Length of time to receive an invitation varies from a couple of hours to a couple of days but keep on it because this one is worth growing up with. You heard me, now go request an invitation.

Hail, Hail, the Weather's All Here

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:47:09 -0700

When the sky started looking grey and dark, I remembered that the main woodpile was still uncovered. While throwing the tarp over, I saw a lightning flash off to the side and seconds later, I heard the thunder. Bad sign for someone out in the open. I threw a palette in place to keep the tarp down and high-tailed it for the house. After a bit we had hail about a quarter to 3/8ths of an inch. The hail came down heavily enough that it started to accumulate but then turned to rain. And so it was off and on for much of the afternoon.

Rain and Such

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:18:35 -0700

It rained only a little yesterday but the clouds were moving fast. I could look out one window and see beautiful blue sky and look out the other window to see monstrous grey clouds threatening to open up and pour. I started the fire in the morning because it was cold and the cats were cranky and I thought it might rain. Of course, when I went outside to get the wood, I remembered that we had the wood in the back of the truck that we hadn’t unloaded yet, so I got to that as the rain started to sprinkle.

Spring Went Home

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:33:00 -0700

Spring was lovely while it lasted but now it has gone away again. Rain. I didn’t expect it until the weekend even though yesterday afternoon was starting to look overcast. This may clear by midday but the sky doesn’t have the look of a sky that will clear. Good news for going to work — the road maintenance work should be suspended for today. Yesterday, the vegetation clearing crew cost 10 minutes and the digging a big hole in the asphalt crew cost another 10 minutes. I was able to then dodge the confused and dazed and get onto the freeway in good time.

The bright green grass glows in the light from the grey sky. The brightness and intensity of color makes the day seem nicer but no warmer. The water is welcome and I wonder, now, if snow is falling in the mountains. The skiers would be happy to have some fresh snow for next week and more rain is certainly welcome here.

Found this on Vimeo. I think it’s funny.

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:20:45 -0700

Found this on Vimeo. I think it’s funny.

Water Karma

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:37:51 -0700

We’ve unburied the pipe that was leaking and replaced the section that was leaking. We’ll leave the hole open for the next week as it is easier to keep an eye on without the 18 inches of soil covering it!

It’s good to have water back even though we were without only over night.

Took the cats for a walk after and enjoyed the sun and a bit of a breeze.

One Windy Day

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:34:35 -0700

One Windy Day