7/27 Anderson

We are sure having a warm week end in these parts - - 106 for the last 2 days and more of the same for tomorrow.  It did not cool down last night either, supposed to get down to 70 but I think we may have gotten down to 75 or so, hot restless night for us.  We did use the A/C and that definitely helped keep us a little cooler.  Mother nature is teasing us - North and East we see these big black and fluffy clouds - moisture coming up from the South monsoon and the high country is getting lots of rain.  Those clouds are also kicking up the humidity so our 106 feels much warmer.  This sunset picture last night gives you some idea of the clouds that are surrounding us.  It looks like the temperature may be cooling down to the mid 90s next week.

Kathy and I had busy weeks - she is very busy at work and lately she has been walking at work whenever she gets a chance.  She uses her fitbit to monitor her steps and other stats.  She had several days last week where she exceeded her goal of 10K steps - got over 22K on several occasions.  In addition to the extra walking at work she also walks when she gets home.  That extra exercise is putting a squeeze on her artwork in Tracy.  She is definitely committed to the extra exercise - now with the days getting shorter that will also get in the way of more exercise.  During the week I was busy with the routine chores - mostly yard work but I did manage to get one of the cars smogged and also got the new Comcast router activated for our wireless service.  The old router was fast enough ( 25 megs) for us but they ungraded the service in our area and sent the updated router (100 megs).  I had problems with the activation initially and tried to get tech support.  They could not figure out the problem and sent me to a 3rd party tech support who wanted to charge me.  I was not receptive to that so researched the problem and activated it myself.  The service does seem faster but frankly I don't see much difference - I don't think I utilize the service which requires that kind of speed?

Tessie has a new buddy here in Anderson ...



Flower

So far she has been sprayed 2 times and had we let her out yesterday she would have gotten it again.  This critter was not afraid of us - I tried to get rid of  it and did not cooperate and stood it's ground.  I finally got the water hose and that seemed to do the trick.  Now that the pasture is mowed the critters do  not have much area to hide - now they hang out in our yard.  We have lots of critters in the yard - moles, rabbits, cats, and lots of birds.  Lately ,we have had lots of turkey vulchers hanging out in the adjacent pasture.  Tessie sees these critters flying and starts chasing and barking at them as well.  Essentially she chases most anything that is running or moving quickly.  She has a hay day with the small calves in the adjacent pasture - actually she has becomes buds with them, they are very inquisitive with her. 

Two weeks ago I mentioned that the black berry picking was at the peak - not the case those berries are still going strong.  Yesterday, I picked a gallon after spending several hours in the yard.   At the end of that activity I felt really weird - came inside with my cash of berries.  I was talking with Kathy and she noticed my confused state and was (arms wrapped around me) leading me to lie down when I went down to the floor.  She helped me get cooled off and get hydrated - that was pretty strange.  I knew that I had exceeded my limits.  I did learn a lesson and today I went back for more berries- this time I changed my harvest methods.  Instead of picking each berry separately, I took my clippers and two 5 gallon buckets.  The cluster of berries are very ripe and over  50 percent of the berries on a cluster are ripe.  I collected 10 gallons of berry clusters - brought the buckets back and picked the berries off.  That part of the job I did while sitting in the shade - all nice and cool.  I think I will use this method in the future - have to wait later in the season but it is sure much easier.  I got 2 gallons of berries from my 10 gallons of clusters and the time was about the same as yesterday and I only got 1 gallon of berries.  Most importantly - I did not have to spend so much time in the heat!!  The freezer is overflowing with berries - maybe I will make some more pies soon.

Photo Credit:  Ron Duncan
 

Not much for news - hope you all have a great week end and a nice week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat) 

7/13 Anderson

We are definitely deep into the summer season - - temps are hanging around the century mark and the lows set at 70 or so.  We usually get a little breeze to help keep things cooled down a bit but for some reason it has been pretty quiet this year.  We get locked into these low systems and things don't move very fast.  This week we were surpassed to get a little cooling from a tropical storm called Erik that was moving up the Pacific coast - it pushed onto land and ended up pushing moisture across the Sierras.  Seems like they got a nice shower each afternoon the temps were still pretty high but at least they got some moisture.  We did not get much of any breeze or cooling.

Fire nearby...

They closed off some streets nearby.
 

Speaking of  the summer season - I did learn a lesson this week end.  I have been picking blackberries for the last two weeks or so - have about 3 gallons in the freezer now and this Fall I will make up some of those great pies.  Lesson - - when we arrived I noticed that the birds had deposited little black/purple piles all alone the sidewalk and patio, they were resting on the rain gutters.  Guess their systems don't do a good job of digesting the berries.  Turns out that this was the perfect time for picking berries -  the birds certainly knew it and I suspected it would be the case.  The berries were definitely all rip and ready for picking.  With the temperature so high I don't think the berries will last long - those that get lots of sun dry up pretty quickly.  I think we got our share for the 2013 berry season.

Last week end I mowed the pasture - got tired of looking at the weeds.  We do have lots of grass on the irrigated areas but the rest of the pasture is pretty dry.  We don't have any cows now the fellow moved them and has not replaced them at this time.  I did spend the morning fixing the fences those cows sure take a toll on the fence.  They either push their head through for the green grass or just bust through to the adjacent pasture.  The fence does have a strand of barbed wire on the top but that does not seem to deter the critters.  I really do prefer horses to cows on the pasture.  I got a call from our irrigater who advised that another person is interested in putting more cows on the pasture.  Have to see how what happens - having animals does help  to keep the grass down.

Kathy is busy working with her artwork - lately she is generating postcards for other people in her art community.  They sign up to exchange  their artwork on postcards - seems like most of the people are in other countries.  Kathy is also working on several art journals.  She is very busy at work - lots of  folks are on vacation and she has lots of work.  She is still training some new people and that puts lots of extra work on her plate as she has her own work plus theirs as well.  The days pass quickly and she does enjoy staying busy.



Postcards done this weekend -  2 to go to reach my goal!
 

Postcards received
 

My current favorite by Gillian Lee Smith from the UK

Kathy got a Fitbit - this is a wristband with a pedometer that helps you track your activity.  It has a computer chip of course - wifi to her phone and computer for downloads data.  She has specific targets and it monitors her activity to see if  she achieves the goals.  Last Monday she asked me to wear it for my morning golf outing and chores.  I played 36 holes and collected 145 golf balls.  My stats for that activity, took 26,000 steps, walked 10.6 miles and consumed 2600 calories.  This was pretty typical for me - usually do 3 of those each week then 27 on the alternate days.  My exercise and weight seem to be pretty constant these days - that is a good thing.  On the golf ball inventory - - sold all the balls now I am building up again.  I have about 1200 ready for sale already.  I have them listed on Craigslist - 2 orders since the big sale during the second week of June.  Kathy sure likes the extra space that was cleared up! 

Not much else for news - - with regard to the frequency of future blogs.  I plan to generate them periodically - getting away from the alternate week schedule.  I really do enjoy sharing the activity of our life but don't to bore you all?   Watch this space!!

Reminder - we have a big birthday celebration this week for the little sister.  This is a big shout out to the birthday girl, hope you have a wonderful day - Happy Birthday.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat)