5/18 Anderdson

On the cusp of Summer - 85 today and headed higher for the week.  We did have one cool day last week and even got a very small amount of rain.  It did rain pretty good in the bay area and here in Anderson but we did not get very much in Tracy.  When we arrived on Thursday evening there was a big storm front to the South - just missed us all we got was some thunder and a great light show. 

We now have 3 cows in our pasture - they have plenty of food and should be content until winter or so?  The owner of the cows installed barbed wire on the fence section South of the house.  Not sure why that section was missing all the cross section fence has barbed wire.  He did a good job and that wire should help keep the cows out of our yard.  I should have done that when the other cows were here - Blackie ( black Angus)  may not have bothered the yard so much?  The cows should be fine in the pasture and should venture into the adjacent pastures as they certainly have plenty to eat.  That said - still have to deal with the notion that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence??!

I spend the last two days working in the yard - things are starting to dry out but overall it is looking pretty good.  The irrigation sure helps and I did had water the trees again just to make sure they have plenty of water while we are gone.  We will get irrigation water again on Tuesday so that should do fine.  They are all doing great - - even the one that died last year has sprouts coming out of the base, I still need to get a replacement but I will let it go and transplant it in the future if it doesn't grow.  Yesterday, I had my first mishap with my tractor - zipping along and suddenly the blades were not turning and one of the idler pulleys was laying on the ground.  This is the 3rd season for the mower and the pulley should not have frozen up in that period of time.  I cleared the bearing and reinstalled it to finish the job - that is a sealed unit so I went ahead and ordered 2 more as replacements.  I will install them when we return next time.  My theory on why - I clean up the mower each time and water may be setting on those pulleys and the water may be penetrating them - they rust up and eventually freeze up and the bold comes off.  Given that theory, I will make sure that the pulleys are dry before I put  the mower up.

Kathy has finished here Journal {click HERE to link to YouTube video} and is now starting to create artwork that she will make available for  sale.  She just showed me a piece that she is creating for her niece.  She will give it to her when she goes out for her high school graduation - - next Friday.  Kathy feels that she has progressed to the next level in her work - I would certainly agree to that and she has lots of  older work to compare the progression of her skills.  I think she is surprised with the skill level that she has achieved.  I am sure her skill level will even increase more in the future.

Played golf several times last week - get out around 6:15 or so and seem to finish up with my first 18 around 9:00.  I then proceed for another hour or so.  I am usually off the course around 10:30 now with the longer days.  Recently I took my neighbor out for some golf tips - he had not played since high school.  We went through the basics then hit the greens and driving range.  He has a very bad back and was concerned  that the golf swing might create a problem for him.  He did very well  - very athletic and now has a very good golf swing and plenty of power without much back discomfort.  He is very athletic so the golf did not really seem to strain him that much.  He also rides his street bike 3 times a week and that definitely puts allot of stress on his back.  I did much push him to get out on the course - just advised that he knows my schedule and has a open invitation to join me whenever he wants.  Other golf items - not many sales for golf balls on Craiglist so I am going to reduce the price - currently asking $30.00 per 100 balls.  I am going to list them for $25.  Another sideline - one of golf marshals wanted to get his clubs re gripped.  They wanted $8.00 per club at the golf shop.  I offered to do them for free - ordered up a set of grips and should get them next week.  Does anyone need any golf balls - let me know and I will get them in the mail!!

Not much else for news - hope you all have a great week end and wonderful week

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat)

5/4/13 Anderson

So much for Spring - we just plowed through Winter and then on to Summer.  It has been over 90 most of the week and things are sure getting dry fast.  We have a fire warning already because it is so hot and dry.  There is some rain in the forecast starting tomorrow then on into the week.  I sure hope we get lots of rain - - I saw on the news that Northern Ca has a 17% of normal snow pack in the mountains.  We rely on that water for the summer use - going to be a hot and dry summer in these parts. 

Lots happening over the last two weeks (1) Tessie got her summer haircut  (2) the 4 big trees ( 2 front and 2 back)  in Tracy were removed  (3) we got new tenant for the pasture here in Anderson - looks like we will have some cows - prefer horses just hope that cows stay in the pasture and don't break through the fence.  The fellow that is using it lives down the street - quarter mile or so away and it will be easy for them to keep things under control .

Tessie sure likes her new doo - seems much more comfortable with the shorter hair and it is easier to keep her clean.  It will also be easier to keep her free from ticks and fleas - she did have a tick on her 2 weeks ago when she had long hair now it will be easier to check her out.  She likes to dig for critters here in Anderson so she gets pretty dirty - mostly her paws and legs.  Actually, Tessie has a split personality - in Tracy she constantly sleeps and spends some time outside.  In Anderson she rarely sleeps and spends most of her time awake and outside looking for some type of critter to bark  at or dig after.  She has a good life for sure!!.

 As I have mentioned in previous blogs, we were put on notice by the HOA that our 2 big pepper trees were too big for the back yard and should be removed.   We had to do something so we decided to get rid of them and the 2 big Willows in the front as well.  We got a contractor in to remove all the trees and the stumps - they finished the work in Thursday night and it sure makes a big difference.  Those big trees were just 10 years old and they definitely got very large.  The neighbors behind us will love the fact that they are gone  - - so twigs and peppers in their pool.  I will enjoy having the two nasty Willow trees out of the front.  They are all very messy trees and I will not miss the extra work that they required to keep clean.   It was a very expensive project but it had to be done.  They hauled off 2 truck loads of chips and 1 truck load of stumps that were too big to grind.  All them are gone but not forgotten - - - - - end of that story.

We have offered the pasture up to several of our neighbors - one of them has decided to put a couple of his cows on the pasture - the grass is really lush and the cows will have plenty of food through the summer.  In return for the pasture we now have someone to help us with the irrigation, keep and eye on the place, and we will even get a little rent to offset the irrigation cost.  This is a win - win for all and we are very happy to have them here as long as they stay put and don't break through the fence - if that happens I will put up more barbwire and hot wire on the fence. 

Kathy has been getting several postcards with original artwork from her classmates across the world - in exchange she has been busy with her post cards to send out in exchange.  One of the last assignments was to generate and send original artwork to other students.   This has been a very busy exercise for her but one she has enjoyed.  Give and receive that is a good thing.!!  Now that she is finished she can get back to her Journals. 



Golf ball sales are starting to pick up a little.  I was supposed to have a order here in Redding this week end but did not get a call back - their loss not mine.  Cute golf story - Wednesday I was playing golf and talking with the marshal - we came upon a 3 wheeled cart that had been abandoned.   The handle was broken off and missing but the rest of the cart was fine.  I asked the marshal to see if the cart handle was in the trash next to the tee box some distance away - yep - and he hauled it back to my car and I proceeded on with my golf.  At the end of the round - I met up again with the marshal - he thought I was foolish to take the cart as he did not think it could be fixed.  I told him I would contact the mfg and get the parts from them and have it up and running in a week or so.  Same day within an hour from the course I had broken the cart down found the broken pieces and ordered them from the mfg of course and yes the cost of those parts were free including free shipping.  The cart cost over 200 when new and I have been wanting a 3 wheeler now I have a used one that should work fine for me!!

Not much else for news - - one open item from past blogs was the status of the sweet gum trees next to the driveway that got heated up during the blackberry bush fire.  All the affected trees are starting to come back and are doing pretty good.  Now that we have irrigation they should do fine.  I did water them by hand this week end  - - looking forward to those trees reaching maturity.  They will be easy to manage and maintain when full grown - they grow fast!!

Hope you all have a nice week end and a great week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie ( the cat)