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)

9/7 Anderson

Last week I commented that we were at the end of the Summer and Fall was just around the corner.  I was sure wrong - it was Fallish during the week but this week end and into next week we are headed for some high temps at 106 or more.  I can't remember it being that hot here in September before!!??  Last week end it did seem like Fall - we had some great sunrise and sunsets with all the clouds to the East and West.  This week not clouds - not breeze and no rain - - we got all that last week end.  I am looking forward to Fall  - can you tell?

Last Monday we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary - had a very nice day and ready to push on for 25 more of the same.  We both feel very blessed and life sure is good when you have the right mate!!  I won't belabor that point - just to say " it is nice"!! 

We arrived Thursday after dark and created quite a stir in the neighborhood.  We had not mentioned to our neighbors that we would be back up so soon.  Turns out as soon as we arrived the neighbors started calling each other to check out the situation.  We did get a call from one to see if we were here.  Two or three of them got all stirred up and were headed over here (packing) to see what was going on.  In the interim Kathy had sent a note to our closest neighbor to tell them that we were here.  They did see that note finally so called off the militia - - of course we were clueless to all  that was going on.  It was Friday when we heard about all the commotion .  We really do have some great neighbors - a little distance between us but they do keep an eye out for us.  We are very thankful for that and appreciate their support and assistance.

A couple of follow-up comments from last week -  I wrote about the new cows on the pasture, the raccoons and our task of cleaning and polishing the wood floors.   The cows are doing great and they sure like the willow tree, lots of shade for these hot days - - caught one of them with a bird sitting on it's nose and head, it was picking off flies and the cow did not mind a bit.  The raccoons were back during the two nights Tessie went crazy several times.  I did block off  2 culverts in the back pasture which was their home - they were pretty confused when they got home last night - they were running from one to the others.  Not sure where they ended up but Tessie did settle down finally.  As lastly - - we moved the cleaning and polishing the floors to the wooden doors throughout the house.  Sure made a difference with both the floors and the doors.

We are a little bummed - this will be our last week end for awhile - won't be back until the last part of the month.  Kathy is working on the end of year financial close so she has to work on her AWS (Alternate Work Schedule) day off.  When that happens our trip up here is set back to 30 days.  She did ask for a vacation day in 3 weeks so that will put us here a little sooner - that is a good thing.  It will also mean that we get to be here two weeks in a row - actually it could be 3 as Kathy wants to come back during the middle of October to attend the Roses and Rust Show.  This is a shows with lots of artists come to sell their wares.  She has participated in the show in the past but not this year.

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

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie (the cat)

8/31 Anderson

We are on the tail end of summer for sure - temps are hanging around 95 for a high and 65 for a low.  A little warmer than last week and I suspect we will be seeing lots of mid 80s in the coming weeks - I am ready for that!!  We are not getting much of breeze so that is why the temps are climbing.  The sky's are clear - the haze of smoke we had last week is gone and I think the fires South and East of us have been contained. 

Had lots of yardwork this week end and also had to do some mechanical work on the tractor.  One of the spindles for the blade on the left side went bad - bearing went out.  It was making some pretty strange noise yesterday so today I dropped the deck and replaced the spindle.  I had purchased this spindle a year or so ago as a space, good thing to have a extra around and we have another one on order.  This is the first time I dropped the deck - pretty straight forward.  In the past I have worked under the desk with it jacked up - kind of tight and hard to see.  The learning curve was pretty low and glad I did it - next time it will be a snap.

We now have cows on the pasture again - - good thing.  We have 4  - 2 black Angus heifers and their calves.   They are well behaved and should do fine?  I am glad the pasture is back in use - we have had several inquiries about its use and we did have a commitment for this season but did not know the status of the new cows.  They have been here a week or so and they have already cleaned up the irrigation canal and fence line.  I have been cutting those areas to help the water flow - now the cows are doing it for me. 

Last night we had dinner out with a old colleague from Lockheed Martin (LM).  He has a plum tree farm in Red Bluff and is finishing up this years harvest.  We had a very nice dinner and he came over for desert (blackberry pie and ice cream),  His has less than a hundred acres and his brother has about the same.  His nephew takes care of the trees throughout the year.  Kirk still works at LM and lives in Sunnyvale.  He is 73 years old and doing great - not sure when he might retire?  He seems very happy working and being close to his family. 

Around 3:30 this morning Tessie woke us up with loud barking.  We got up to check what she was barking at - a large raccoon was walking across the back patio.  She was really having a fit - I scared the raccoon off then took Tessie outside to settle her down.  She was sniffing all over the place - then I heard some noise coming from behind two chests that are stored against the wall.   The patio door open - put her inside then immediately shut it  to check what the noise was?  There tucked behind the chest were 3 babies raccoons - looked like the three stooges peaking over the top.  After some coaxing they departed then I had to bring Tessie out again so she could see that the area was clear??!!  Just another restless night out here in the wild  - wild  - west.

On Monday we get to celebrate our 25the Silver wedding anniversary.  That will be fun - - we have a nice 4 day week end then 3 days of work for Kathy then we are back up here next Thursday.  That will be out third week end up here in a row - we don't get that many but enjoy the ones we do get.  We both stay busy and the time seems to fly very fast!! 

Not much else for news - hope you all have a great holiday week end and good work week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie ( the  cat)

8/24 Anderson

We are definitely heading into the fall season!!   The temperatures are dropping at night and during the day.  The temp now is 74 with a slight breeze from the South - perfect!!  We have the back doors open and the breeze is really keeping us cool for the day.  It did get up to 91 yesterday but don't think it will make that today.  The hills and mountains have lots of clouds and lots of smoke.  We have two or three fires burning in the area - just 3 for the 50 or so that are burning in the Western states.  This high fire period was certainly predicted - no rain, lots of fuel from years without any fires and now mother nature is taking charge once again.  Seems like we hear about 2-5 fires in the area each day and I suspect that will continue for some time to come - at least until the rains start in October.

Fire near Yosemite - Picture taken in downtown Groveland on Aug 22nd.
 

Lassen Peak hidden in a shroud of smoke

 

Kathy had a very hard week last week and sure is enjoying the week end to unwind a little.  They are in the middle of budgets - close out 13 and bring in 14.   Being a government lab - they are dealing with the pesk
y sequestration issue once again.  They did have some luck with the voluntary terminations but they will probably offer up another one next year again to take the strain off the budget cuts that are forthcoming.  They continue to have problems with their overall staffing - when one of their researchers runs out of money or is finished with their project they are put into a pool and carried until funding or projects becomes available.  That system has worked in the past but now with all the project and budget cuts they can't afford to carry those folks.  Hard management decisions needed to tackle the issue head on!!?? 

Worked on the yard yesterday and a little today.  Everything is looking pretty good - we still don't have any cows or horses on the pasture.  The grass is getting pretty high and we have lots of folks poking around to see if the pasture is available.  I did sign a contract with a neighbor who has had cows on the pasture (moved them because they wanted to roam into the adjacent pasture) and does help with our irrigation.  I am committed to him for this year - just now sure what his plans are for the rest of the year?   I already mowed half of it which has grown back and will mow the rest of it in a month or so.  This is the 1st year we have not had animals on the pasture and I am amazed with the difference, that grass and some weeds sure get tall and thick.  The mowing will definitely be a challenge for me and my little mower?

Kathy and I are looking forward to the next couple of weeks.  She is taking some extra days off and we will have at least 3 weeks in which we will be here in Anderson for long week ends.  Next week end we have a special celebration - party time for our 25th wedding anniversary.  It is also 25 years for us to be in California.  That will be fun - hard to believe it has been 25 years, how time does pass so quickly.

Yesterday, Kathy and I took on a big project - we cleaned and polished the wooden floors.  The last time we did that was 2.5 years ago when we moved in.  This time we used some home remedy ( vinegar, lemon, olive oil and water)  and the floors look very good.  It as a lot of work but definitely worth the effort.  It looks so nice - makes everything seem new and fresh, suspect we will change to frequency to at least quarterly.  We used several different tools - steaming mop and lots of rags and elbow grease.  We both ended up with blisters on our knees - talked about using knee pads but nixed that idea, should be essential next time.  At any rate the job is done and we are very pleased with the results.

Not much else for news from these parts - - hope you all have a enjoyable week end and great week,

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie ( the cat)

8/10 Anderson

The last 2 weeks have been very nice - temps are topping out in the mid 80s - about 10 degrees below the average for this time of the year.  The mornings are cool, days are pleasant and the nights are perfect for sleeping.  These are the temps that we usually get in the Spring and Fall, guess mother nature is changing things around a little.  The long range forecast call for 100 on Tuesday here in Anderson and mid 90s for the Tracy area.  Today it is 80 and a nice breeze out of the Northwest - very nice - about the same yesterday maybe a little cooler.  I am ready for Fall  - bring in on.

Last week we were notified that there is a mountain lion in our neighborhood.  The lion has killed several cats and even attacked the neighbors horses.  I think the critter is hanging out in our pasture and the adjoining pasture.  Over the last month while picking blackberries I have noticed several areas the grass has been flattened out.  We don't have any cows or horses on the pasture at this time so it has to be another big animal. 2 weeks ago I picked up a big scat pile next to our driveway.  I thought at the time it might be a coyote but it was too big for that animal - never really equated it with a mountain lion.  Kathy was escorting Tessie by leash late at night on our last visit and noticed a pair of glowing eyes peering at her from the pasture about 2 feet off the ground.  She ran for the door!  Tessie has had several barking episodes at night - hard to know what she is barking at, could be  cow, cat, rabbit, coyote or lion or a 2 legged animal for that matter?  Kathy borrowed a big spotlight - glows at 500 - 1000 watts or more.  We have only seen a rabbit thus far no sign of a lion this week end thus far?!!   I suspect one of these spotlights will be in our future?



Pasture full of Queen Anne's Lace

Speaking of berry picking - yes I was at it again.  This is the end of berry picking season - got 2.5 gallons this week end.  I used the new method of harvesting - pick the cluster then bring them back and sort at my own leisure.  The berries were not that good this week end - many of  them have dried out in the sun and those that are ready fall off when I pull the cluster out of the vines.  I am happy with this years harvest - I see blackberry pies in out future.  We still have 1 pie in the freezer from last year's batch - we will eat that one during out labor day week end. 

Kathy is very busy at work - the old year is closing down and the new year in quickly approaching.  She is still working with her new people so her workload is essentially doubled.  The training will continue through the new budget year then things should slow down a little for her.  She is having a hard time with her schedule - lots of hours of work, lots of time walking and not much time for her artwork.  She is making up for that this week end - she is in her studio and working diligently.  her artwork certainly keeps her occupied with not real thoughts of work - that is a good thing.  She is very lucky to be able to get away from the office stuff - the nice 3 day week ends work well for her.  This is the perfect work/life balance that works for her!!

The last two weeks have been filled with lots of trips to the dentist.  I finally got the implant completed.  Last Monday, I started to get a striking pain in my lower left jaw - thought is was a abscess?  I have had them before and this one was triggered by cold - a nice cold drink of iced tea gave me a jolt of pain which cleared as soon as the cold was removed.   I went to my dentist on Wednesday to check it out - she could not pinpoint the problem so she sent me to the periodontist on Thursday and yes a root canal was completed which corrected the condition.  I have accumulated considerable investment over the years and looks like my mouth will continue to invest more in the future.  I probably should have gone the way of dentures (Kathy says, "NO,NO!!!")  many years ago but have been fighting to keep original choppers - am paying he price.  I think the decision was a good one? (Kathy says, "yes!")

Happy Anniversary, John and Pat -- 57 years!!!  Congratulations!!!

Not much else for new from these parts.  Hope you all have a great week end and wonderful week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie ( the cat)

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)