10-19 Anderson

This Fall weather is perfect - - cool nights (44) and high for the days (85) perfect temperature swing.  In addition to the great weather we have a seasonal change with the trees and other plants.  The colors are spectacular and visible from all directions from our little corner of the world.

Below is a picture of Ron participating in Lockheed's FunRun.  They have the event every year and he participates.  This year he placed 5th in his age group.  Not bad for his first run of the year!

Ron is number 212, red shirt, white cap, black shorts.

Along with the seasonal change we have lots of birds preparing for the winter months ahead.  We have one mated pair that gives us a great show each day, they are white falcons - all white with black wing tips.  Yesterday they were playing - hovering then attack each other and then fall  - spinning  to the ground in a grasp.  One usually takes flight and the other lands on the ground.   We have another mated pair of hawks but they are not very energetic.

White Falcons

We also have a pair of eagles nesting along the Sacramento River, they return each each year at this time.  Last year the male ( Patriot) was killed in a fight with another eagle.  The female (Liberty) has taken another mate ( name TBD) and will likely have eggs laid on our around the second week of February then hatch and fledge in April and June respectively.  The local folks enjoy a cam that has been set up to watch their activities.  Watching the young eaglets mature is pretty cool stuff.  If you are interested in watching these critters this is the URL http://www.turtlebay.org/eaglecam - save the bookmark and enjoy!!

Lastly, during this time period we are also blessed with some great sun rises and sun sets.  Especially good when we have some clouds - that makes for some great colors.  This week we have also had the rising full moon which is yet another treat. 

Thursday's Moonrise (Oct 17)

Friday's Moonrise (Oct 18)

They shut the lab down for most of the week so Kathy decided to take time off.  We have been here in Anderson for a week.  Sure nice when we can walk away from our urban life then slip into our rural life with all of comforts.  Guess we are little spoiled but that's OK by us.  Kathy is very busy with her artwork and she was able to attend the Roses and Rust show last week end.  She did not participate but did partake and did her part to support her local artists.  She ended up bringing home a large bird cage.  She is going to insert a chandelier - not sure what that is about about  - guess it is a artsy thing?  She has been working on  large journal which has been competed  - now she is moving on to other pieces. 

My week has been devoted to working in the yard.  I did manage to get most of the blackberry vines off the pasture fences.  Last year I removed the vines from the fence and burnt them -  this year I removed the roots and vines that returned and have some pretty nice burn piles ready to go.  The fire danger is still pretty high so I will have to wait for more moisture so they can open up the burn days. 

Tessie ran in the pasture when she saw Ron out there helping the neighbor reign in her horses.  Next thing all the cows are chasing Tessie and she's yelping, running for Ron.  This is her after the bath that ensued...

Tessie after her bath (taken with my iPhone!)

This afternoon we are headed to Red Bluff for a art show then diner afterwords.  Some local artists are putting on a show and Kathy wanted to see their work.  We don't get to Red Bluff very often so it will be nice to get out for the evening.  Not sure who has more red necks Red Bluff or Redding.  We went to Costco on Monday and we had a challenge to see who could count the most red necks at Costco.  I quit counting after the first 5 minutes as everyone fit the image that we created.  All these folks are pretty good people and we enjoy all of them.  In retrospect - we both looked and acted like a red neck so I think we fit right into our community very nicely!!??

Enough babble - - hope you all have a great week end and wonderful week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat)

October 5 - - Anderson

What a great fall week end - low of 58 and high of 80 all week end.  We did get a little breeze yesterday but today it is very calm.  The Fall and Spring for that matter are great for the moderate climate.  The trees are starting to turn color  and we are definitely headed into the Fall with the Winter to arrive much earlier this year ( my prediction). 

I have been very lazy with my blogs - I think I missed most of the month of September?  We have been busy as usual and the weeks seem to just fly much too quickly.  We will be back in Anderson for the next two week ends - Kathy wants to attend the Roses and Rust show next week end in Redding.  She did that show last year - this year she gets to be a spectator and/or buyer?   She is looking forward to seeing some of Redding Handmade friends again. 

Last week end we did have some clouds and a weather system that moved through which made for  some great sunrises and sunsets.  The yard is looking great for this time of the year and the trees here in Anderson have sure grown allot in the last 2 years.  We did have lots of wind in Tracy last week and I sure did not miss the mess from those pesky big trees.  I get the leaves and branches from the neighbors but not from those big trees anymore!!  We do have lots of trees in the yard - I think the total was 34 -  that is now 30 with the loss of the 4 big ones earlier this year.  Most of the others are fruit trees, ornamental and 8 pines. 



Cow in the pasture - Black Angus!

Today, we went to a horse show in Cottonwood.  Our neighbors had their daughters participating in the show and we wanted to see them with the horses.  The event was sponsored by the Rescue A Horse program - our neighbors have 10 horses or so and  3 of them are rescue horses.   It was nice to get out and see the folks with their animals.   Most of our neighbors have animals - lots of cows, horses, goats, dogs, etc.  We get some pretty strange noises during the day and night. 

Kathy continues to work in artwork - lots of drawing and journal stuff.   This is a very busy time of the year for her at work so she is not able to much in Tracy.  She has the ability to unwind here in Anderson with her artwork.

2 weeks ago from last Thursday I went over to LM to participate in the Annual 3K Fun Run.  I had not run sense the event last year and my performance was impacted by my lack of training.  Last year I finished 3 in my age group and this year I was 5th.  My time last years was around 26 and this year it was at 28 minutes.  It was a good race and I knew my time was much slower this year.  My first mile or so was pretty good but then lost ground with a much slower pace for the last half.  It was nice to participate and much nicer to see some of my coworkers again.  I have lunch with them in the cafeteria after the race.  I certainly did not enjoy the trip - took me 2.5 hours to get there in the morning rush hour and a hour to get home - usual.   That traffic to the bay area is very hard - hard to believe that I did it for so many years?

I will close with a just statement that I for one feel that our government has once again let us down.  If I performed in my professional job like they do - I would have been fired in a heartbeat.  I for one am embarrassed with their inability or unwillingness to do the job they were elected to do!!

Hope you all have a nice week and great week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat)