3/23 Anderson

Spring is officially here and we certainly had Spring day today.  The temperature is around 75 a slight breeze and clear sky.  It was about 10 degrees cooler yesterday and the wind was much stronger and very cold.  Looks we might get some rain in the middle of the week.  That would be a good thing.

Lots of yard work today - mowed and trimmed then headed out to the pasture on the South to get rid of some blackberry bushes.  I had planned to generate a kindling pile then let it burn.  I decided that was not a good idea as the grass on that pasture ( belongs to neighbors) is very long and two years old.  Lots of dry stuff under the green grass that is coming out.  I went ahead and cut the bushes down then piled them up - I created 1 burn pile that I could control then pulled the others into the main fire.  That worked out great  - took me a couple of hours to generate the piles 15 minutes or less to burn them off.  I only have one fence section that has bushes on it - - very large and I will definitely have to plan that one out pretty good.  I am sure if I burned the whole bush pile the adjoining pasture would catch fire as well.  I suspect that I will attack it is sections - - lots of work but safer than the alternative.  Watch this space?!!

Two week ago I mentioned our 40 foot pepper trees in Tracy that are causing heart burn for our neighbors.  Kathy and I trimmed them some last week end.  We were at the end of the task  and I was working on the ladder about 5 feet or so - not on the top step but close.  I was using my tree trimmer which is a saw on the end of a 10 foot extension pole.  Somehow I lost my balance and stepped off backwards from the ladder.  Kathy tried to catch me but I landed flat on my butt.  I am probably 2 inches shorter now as I heard my spine popping when I landed.  I tried to land on my feet but that did not work.  Needless to say I shook my whole body up pretty good.  I have been dealing with a sore neck and shoulders all week and suspect the pain will last for some time.  I did not hurt myself but certainly bruised some muscles in my back and neck which will take some time to heal properly.  Back to the trees, we have not heard any more from the HOA or the neighbors - the issue is not over we are sure of that. 

Even with my sore back, I played golf all week, slowed things down and did not do very well but I did get some good exercise.  On Tuesday, I  played wiht some fellows at a course in Livermore.  I did not do very good but it was nice to get on another course for a change.  The conditions of that course were much better that Old River!!   I need to play other courses more often - good change of pace. 

Kathy is working hard on a art journal - another project from her on-line art class.  She is really enjoying the class and the interaction of the other students is very rewarding for her as well.  She has backed off on her other art show stuff - they have a Roses and Rust show in Redding in 3 weeks.  She participated in it last year but will wait for Fall to get engaged in that kind of activity again.  It does take a lot of time and effort to put one of those shows on and she has come to the realization that they are really not very profitable.  She enjoys the interaction with the other artists and working with the public.  She will have a time this fall at the next one.

We are looking forward to Easter week - we will be here all week.  Kathy is taking some time off and we plan to be here to enjoy more of this beautiful Spring weather.  This will be that start of our 3 year  - hard to believe that we have been here that long?    The place is shaping up and we really enjoy our time here!

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

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie ( the cat)

3/9 Anderson

What a beautiful week end, temp hanging around 70 or so.  We were supposed to get some rain - just a little on Thursday.  We really do need some rain - the yard and trees are dong OK - had to water them this week end holding off with putting the automatic sprinkler on here.  I did checked the system and for some reason the control box is not getting any power.  Another project for me to put on the list.

Got uncle squared away - the IRS finally completed the forms and the taxes when through accordingly.  Had to wait a whole month for that - guess IRS was OK with the delay as most businesses wait for the deadline to file or get extensions.  At any rate it is done and glad to get that done.

We have a very interesting issue stirring in Tracy - our 40' pepper (2) trees in the back yard are causing the neighbors great distress.  Over the last 10 years they have asked us to cut them down as they are very dirty with pepper and branches falling into their yard and pool.  Now they have the HOA board  on their side trying to work the issue. Not sure how this will play out just have to wait and see what happens.  We struck a deal with the neighbors years ago - they can trim their side of all the branches.  That worked well until now when the task of trimming those pesky branches is dangerous and expensive.  Watch this space on this one.

I executed a plan to remove all the blackberry bushes on the fence adjacent to the main driveway.  I have tried lots of different things but have narrowed the practice down to one simple process.  Kindle up branches on the up side of the bushes with the wind to your back.  Torch the kindle and let it go with feeding it from either side to burn off what is not caught off in the initial burn.  Having a nice strong wind to your back was certainly the ticket to success!!   It worked great now I can move the project to the other side of the pasture - that will take place another day.  That will be a little more challenging as the bushes are surrounded by lots of deep grass both dead and alive.  It will be a challenge to control the burning of the bush and the adjoining grass?

Click {HERE} to see close-up photos of the pyro pictures, and a beautiful sunset!

Kathy busy with the artwork as usual, she was able to spend the afternoon yesterday with the ladies in Redding.  They had the old crew there yesterday and it felt like old home week for Redding Handmade.  She had a great time and enjoyed the interaction.

Another nice week for golf - ready for the time change now I can have a little extra time at home before I hit the course.  Have been getting out on the course around 7:00 and that was just about full sunrise.  With the extra hour that will give me more time in the morning and maybe a little more sleep.  Actually that does not happen - Tessie is wired with a alarm set for 5:30 and that is when she is ready to go outside - not much argument - just do it!!  Had my first nibble for golf balls yesterday - fellow wanted golf balls today but I could not deliver.  He was supposed to get 120 balls for $15.00 from someone in Modesto.  I told him that was a great deal  then offered to give him 200 or $40.00.  Hard to believe that someone is selling 120 balls for $15.?

Enough babble - hope you all have a great week. 

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat)

2/23 Anderson

Spring is not officially here but it sure seems like we are already there?  We are having great weather no rain and that is about all that is missing?  I think we are 10 -15 degrees above the normal seasonal averages for temperature.  It is still a little cool in the morning but the sun warms things up very quickly.

We are having a great week end here in Anderson.  Kathy took off Thursday and yesterday was her AWS ( alternate work schedule) so we are having a great 4 day week end.  Kathy only had a 2 day work week last week - talk about spoiled.  She was very busy and paid the price for the short week for sure.  The lab is going through lots of financial exercises to try and cope with the government's budget woes and sequestration.  That clock is clicking down very quickly - - 3-4 days to address the issue.  Good thing that congress took the week off last week to  think about it?  Not holding my breath that they will make good choices - - - not good business practices for sure.

Getting ready for Spring yard work here in Anderson.  I had to get a new battery for my mower - the old one was on it's last legs.  I also had to get some more propane for my weed dragon.  I did manage to get rid of  my burn pile.  I also was successful in removing one of the blackberry bushes that was hanging on the fence on the back pasture.  I tried using the weed frog but it would not catch fire - just burned a few branches.  Today, I cut the branches put them in a big pile and torched them and the pile was gone in 15 minutes or less.  I have other areas that need to be addressed as well but not looking forward to the extra work of cutting the branches.  Somehow, I need to find a way to generate a pile for kindling then let it start the fire ans sustain it.  I have some work to make that happen.  I know that burning the bushes down will not get rid of the bushes but it does reduce the size of the plant to a manageable area.  At any rate - I am happy with the progress thus far and look forward to having this project done in the near future.  The County will allow open burning for the next 2-3 months.  They cut it off in the summer after things have dried out - the clock is ticking!!

Kathy is deeply entrenched with her drawing.  She is learning a lot in her on-line class and yesterday she was able to spend part of the day with her art/craft buddies here in Redding.  Several of the ladies have opened a shop and has opened a workshop up to others.  This is beneficial for lots of reasons - that ladies have something in common and I am sure the creativity and competitiveness kicks in a little when they are working together on their respective projects.  I am sure the ladies spend lots of their time with babble but that is part of the process and the interaction is nice for all. 

Lots of fun with golf last week - got to play 2 days.  On Monday, I played  (holes) with several different people and was able to collect a record 156 golf balls.  I was also able to sell some balls to a regular at the course.  I also returned balls to several of the other regulars at the course.  I cleaned up about 1300 balls and found with special markings, I know lots of the golfers by their markings.  I give them their balls back after I clean them up.  This is a win-win - lots of those folks have bought balls from me in the past.  I did re-post my golf balls again on Craigslist but have not had any takers recently.  I suspect that things will pick up in a month or so.

Not much else to news - - hope you all have a great week. 

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie ( the cat)

2/9/13 Anderson

Spring is just around the corner, getting warmer each day and hopefully we will even get some of those Spring showers.  January was one of the driest months on record - I think we had 3 days with rain fortunately we got some good rain in December which helped to fill up the lakes and lots of snow for the mountains.  The Northeast sure got dumped on yesterday sure glad we don't have snow and cold systems like that in these parts!! 

I am still not sure if the Baltimore Ravens are for real?   The 49er game was terrible - they did not even show up for the game until the second half when they turned on the lights.  The Ravens have been very lucky for the last 3 games of the post season.  They should have lost each of those games - take away 2 or 3 plays in the entire game and they would have lost for sure!!!??  Guess I just have to get over it and move on to next season?  If I were a betting person I certainly would not bet on Baltimore to repeat!!

Two weeks ago I ordered up and received my "weed dragon". I used the propane tank from the BBQ put it into service yesterday - - - - not really that happy with this product, it certainly works as advertised on weeds in the yard but does not do much for the dead or dormant blackberry bushes I wanted to burn out.  The conditions were not perfect so I will wait until next time to give my final verdict.  We had a pretty good rain Thursday evening and the wind was blowing pretty good yesterday - both of those factors may have played a part in preventing the dragon from working better.  It certainly burned 1 or 2 branches when I had the torch on but for some reason I could not get the brush fired up.  Previously, I have had good luck with the blackberry burn piles that I have created and eventually burned off.  Those piles were pretty dense and dry which made it easy to burn??!!  I did burn out some weeds but will have to wait a couple of weeks to see if the plants are dead?

While watching the boring football game - I finalized our 2012 taxes and sent them off.  The Ca taxes were accepted almost immediately.  Got a not back from TurboTax about the Fed taxes - turns out our wonderful government still has to finalize some our deduction items and our Federal taxes are being held until they get the issues resolved.  Based on their performance last year, that may take a very long time!!  We have some very big issues when it comes to our government financials.  It is a terrible shame how they are managing or (not-managing) our budget.  In business, one of my big jobs was to manage my budget and I was measured accordingly for my efforts.  There was accountability in that system  - - that (a) word is non-existent in our government.  Enough already - I can only hope they get their act together, our overall economy is driven by their actions - failure to act will result in yet another recession or opportunity to kick the can down the road for someone else to manage?

This blog has been a little on the "downer" side now it is time to pick it up and share some of the work that Kathy has been involved with lately!!  Creation is the name of her game and she is certainly producing some great work.  Each time a new project comes out of the studio I am amazed at the advancement from the previous work.  These pieces have been generated as part of  a on-line training program she is participating in with lots of other folks around the world.  Press HERE to go to the album of her work.

Pretty amazing how our communication media of today allows us to interact so freely with the rest of the world.  I am sure there are many downsides to this - one being the US postal service, my guess is that it will go private in less than 2 years.  On the up-side, the commercial carriers are picking up the slack and meeting the demands of their customers.  Last week they announced in Tracy that Amazon was going to build a new 1 million sf warehouse.  That will add about 1000 jobs plus construction jobs and the Tracy economy will certainly improve as a result.  I am sure there will be many other hi-tech companies that will come in to help support Amazon which will only increase the number of jobs.  This is certainly an upbeat story!!

Played lots of golf last week and yes got lots of balls as well but have not sold any yet this year?   My new golf shoes that I got last August were starting to split along the seams so I took them back.  Got a replacement pair and now I need to condition them from the moisture.  The shoes get pretty wet as I get out early and there was water from the dew or frost and now they are starting to water.   I have another pair of shoes that I rotate so I don't have to walk around in wet shoes.  The other golf folks don't seem to have problems with their shoes - guess that is because they are setting in the little carts and now walking much.  Lately, I have been averaging 27 holes and that seems to give me a pretty good workout.

Enough babble - - hope you all have a great week!  Also - hope the 4 boys (Pete, Bobby, Jodi and John) had a great day on their b-days.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie  (that fat cat)

1/26 Anderson

We can see the change in the season around us.  Everything is starting to get green, lots of new babies ( goats, sheep, cows and horses) and temperature ranges are definitely more fallish than winter.   We have had lots of frost each morning for the last month - now we get fog and even got a couple of days when it was clear thanks to little wind that helped bring the temp up.  Hard to believe that we are approaching the end of January already.

Last week end we headed to the bay area to celebrate the 70th birthday for the father of some friends.  It was nice to get out  - over the hill and yes we had the typical traffic jams and the overall density is very significant.  You can certainly feel the pace pick up when in the urban areas.  I guess both Anderson and Tracy are rural by comparison.  We did enjoy the celebration - the birthday celebrant is Indian and it was very nice to see how they keep their culture alive and well through food, music, dance, language and clothing.  It was a great party and we were pleased to be a part of it!!

Over the last 2 weeks I have been very busy making blackberry pies (4 total), and keeping us stocked with squeezed orange juice.  Our inventory of frozen blackberries was around 4 gallons between the two places - I decided to work off that inventory with fresh baked pies.  We still have about 1.5 gallons of blackberries remaining here in Anderson which came from this years harvest.  I get the fresh oranges from Redbridge - we have a lane at the entrance which has orange trees lined up on one side.  Lots of oranges to be had but nobody picks them - I do.  I get 2 plastic bags of oranges take then home and squeeze then which gives us about 1.5 gallons of fresh OJ.  I have been doing this for about 2 months and am at the end of the harvest season.  I suspect my last picking will occur tomorrow.  After that I need to work off the orange inventory from our own trees in our orchard.  I already got the grapefruit and 1 orange tree and have 6 more to go.  Guess you might call me a naturalist of sorts?

Kathy is working very hard with her drawing these days - seems that she cranks out of new drawing each day.  She does get stuck on some of them ( perfectionist)  but is able to move on without too much fussing?!  She is participating in a virtual art class with lots of other artist types all over the world.  She spends lots of her time checking out the work of others - totally amazed at some of their work??!!  I happen to be also be an evolutionist and it is very interesting to see how Kathy has evolved over the last 4-5 months.  A little guidance and direction has gone a long way - she sure enjoys the creativity and pleasure that this hobby affords her.  It will be interesting to see what new and different avenues she will take in the future??   I for one have no clue!!



Charcoal

soft pastels in earth tones

Yesterday, I was working outside and tried to get the burn pile going - it was still a little damp and would not start properly.  I also looked at some of the blackberry bushes on the fence line and want to burn then down as well.  I have killed the vines now I need to get rid of the branches.  I did some poking around on the computer and it appears what these country folks use is a "weed dragon".  This is a torch that you connected to a propane bottle which comes with a hose and wand.  The BTU is over 100K so that should be enough to keep a fire going and it will certainly work to burn of  those bushes.  We have lots of blackberry bushes in the adjoining pasture which are getting too height which impedes our view.  The owner has killed the patch but left the branches - - I might even venture there with my dragon?   That would be a little scary - it would be a very large fire and I don't have water hose long enough to reach it?  This one will test my courage!!??

I am playing lots of golf and collecting lots of golf balls.  I have only had 1 golf ball sale this year - several inquires but no other sales?  I suspect that will increase in the Spring?

Enough already  - - more later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie, and Sammie (the cat)



Sammie (the cat)

1/12 Anderson

Winter wonderland - 25 for a low and 48 for a high for the last couple of days.  Last week in Tracy is was also cold only around freezing enough for a good frost on the golf course which resulted in a late start?  It looks like we will still have some cooler morning but the daytime temps should improve a little.  We sure like the extra daylight - - - one of the best days of the year 12/21 that is when the days start to get longer again.

Lots of chores inside this week end, had planned on working outside.  One of my tasks was to get rid of my burn pile then try burning out some of the blackberry bushes on the perimeter fence.  For reason we are in a no-burn period so can't do that.  I suspect it may have something to do with the temp and inversion?  Not really a problem - - easy task for the near future.

Last Tuesday I had another tooth implant, actually just the post inserted then in 3 months or so when the post is anchored in the bone I get the tooth.  I started this process last year with a tooth extraction then bone graft.   This procedure last week took about 1 hour and at a cost of about 2K.  Wish I had all the money that I have invested in my teeth over the years?  I have included an animated YouTube video of the procedure if you are interested in how they do it.  I visualized the whole process as they were working in my mouth and it was pretty close.  Here  

As a follow-up to some of our tales of woe late last year -  this is what has transpired.  (1) Kathy paid her speeding ticket (expensive) and has signed up for a on-line traffic course, (2) the roof and ceiling in Tracy have been repaired and proofed tested with a nice rain last week (3) the car roof scrape from the garage door incident has not been resolved.  I contacted ( with pics) our auto body shop and they have not responded with a quote - I suspect that this job may be too small and not paid by insurance, I will work with other shops to get a estimate, etc.  (4)  the cows and horses have been moved and will not return - as the folks have moved to Red Bluff , we are looking for another neighbor who may want to use the pasture and (5) I took Kathy's car back to the tire shop or re-alignment, the tires were out of balance, not sure what happened with that?  We are ready and set for new challenges in 2013 - bring them on!!

Kathy has been very busy as she heads down uncharted waters with her new art mediums.  At present she is into drawing - she has several classes on-line which she is taking and much of the work comes from assignments from the classes.  She is very impressed with the work of other - nice process where the students get to post their work for other so so a critique.  She likes the interaction and challenges that these courses provide.

Last week she created a piece for a friend suffering from cancer. She collaborated with another friend in preparing a book of quotes to lift his spirits. Kathy's artwork will be on the front cover of the book. Kathy enjoyed this project - a little extra pressure as it had to be done a specified time period. I am sure her hard work will be appreciated.

Looking forward to Broncos (donkeys) football playoff today with the Baltimore Panthers.   We don't  have Tv so I am stuck with listening to it on the Internet radio.  It should be a good game - looks like they are favored which may not be a good thing?  I have been wearing my Bronco hat at the golf course and the peeps are giving me the business.  I have worn it in years past without any fanfare much different this year as they are certainly on a winning streak and I hope they can go all the way to the Super Bowl!!

Not much else for news - - - hope you all have a great week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat)

12/29 Anderson

Happy New Year!  Hope you are all ready for the new year?  We have certainly had our share of NorCal winter weather.  Not really surprising as we should be used to it by now?  Relatively speaking for the rest of the country - the winter has been pretty mild.  We have only had 1 or 2 sunny days over the last week or so.  Looks like we may get another one for New Years day!!  Our rainfall is about 170 percent of normal and snow pack is even better than that.  We have just started the Winter and sure to come Spring weather pattern.  I think Lake Shasta is at 70 percent of capacity already the lake level is about 8 feet higher than last year at this time.

Initially, I was going to devote this page to a reflection to looking back at 2012 - - - mentally I did that and have determined that the good and bad things of the past are no longer important.  What is important is how we address our future both personally and as a society.  We all have our challenges and we collectively will address them in due course.  From a reflection standpoint it will be interesting to see how we accomplish our challenges in 2013?!!~  2013 bring it on!!

We don't really get out much while we are here but we did make a run to Redding.  We has fun at Harbor Freight - lots of cool stuff that we really do not need but cool to see whats out there.  Kathy was looking for "texture" to use in her art and  I was looking for tools and stuff.  We both made a haul and one of the items I came up with was a rain suit - old yeller.  I have been looking for one to carry in my golf bag.  This one may work, might be a little bulky but it should do the trick on the course.  I have been scheming on one for some time - they all ran $30 or more - this one was $8.99, what a deal!!

Kathy has been very busy with her mixed media artwork.  Each day brings a new and different creative opportunity which she captures and puts to canvas.  She enjoys the ability to express herself through her artwork.   She allows me to be the critic - she trusts my unbiased opinion and makes adjustments as warranted.  She worked in lots of art media over the last 2-3 years  - - most of her work has been directed at her potential customers, the media she is working with now seems to be directed inward for herself.  Kathy will find many new forms of art media in 2013, now that she has settled into her studio the creative juices have been intensified.  The only limiting factor is the amount of time she is able to spend in the studio?

I have not been very productive - limited on the number of days which I was able to get outside.  I was able to do a couple of things one of which was to remove the flag pole which was anchored to the front gate.  The flag hole is aluminum and in sections for a total height of 40 foot tall.  This Spring I will reinstall it closer to the house either anchored to the fence or a post hear the driveway.  I was also able to pull up some of the weeds that are cropping up in the front yard - with all the moisture they are getting a great start.   The rest of the yard and trees are doing great!!

We do not have Tv service (dish)- terminated it early on because we never used it. We do have 2 Tvs so I thought we might be able to get some coverage via the rabbit ears.  I started working with the Tv in the master bedroom - - had it ready to go and tried to turn it on.  No power - - it did work earlier in the year but dead now.  I did leave it plugged in and I think a capacitor on the power circuit blew?  Pretty easy fix but have decided it is not worth messing with.  At some point we may activate some type of Tv coverage and I am sure that Kathy would prefer a new flat screen tv.  Enough for that project - -  Kathy and I have gotten into viewing the movies and shows on Netflex via the Internet.  Kathy enjoys movies in general and now she can view them in her own space.  I have been using them as well and have enjoyed them very much.  The movies and Tv series are not new but we have not seen may of them so they are entertaining for us and certainly take the place of Tv dish service.  The only thing I miss is the news and Golf channel?

We sure get some great sunrises and sunsets!  This week end we got to see a great full moon rising and setting.  It rises on back of the house and sets on the  front  - opposite the sun of course.  Over time these kind of pictures may become a little boring?  For us we are very fortunate to be able to experience them in person each day!!

In closing - - we hope you had a great 2012 and which you a very happy New Year. 

More later (in 2013)

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie  ( the cat)