An Update From The Canyon

Just before the morning sun clears the mountain ridges.

So, of course I didn't accomplish a whole lot in my week off from blogging. My clean-up project is moving along at a snail's pace. Talk about snails, I highly recommend the book I'm reading right now, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. It's about a woman suffering from a strange virus that keeps her bedridden. A friend picks up a snail on a walk through the woods and brings it to her. The snail lives in a terrarium by the author's bedside and becomes a much valued companion. It may sound strange, but I will never look at a snail the same way again. Of course, I'm not likely to ever see a snail again since we don't have them here.

Wild sunflowers are decorating our roadsides. I stopped, took a ton of pictures and none came out well. This is the best one I can share.

Hubby's container garden first got hit by caterpillars, like the one in the upper right. They are really difficult to locate and remove. After much work, the garden was healthy again, but not for long. It was suddenly discovered by ground squirrels and mice, who climbed up the fence of the dog run and onto the platform on top, where the plants are. All the tomatoes and cherry tomatoes gone! Just like that. Every kind of pepper left alone, so at least we have that. Hubby's filled with revenge and sets mouse traps every evening. He catches as many mice as traps set. I think he's up to about 18 mice after a week.

 Then he drops them by the road side and Mama Raven comes along, fusses for a while, making sure this is neither a joke nor a trap, picks up the mouse, eats it on top of a telephone pole with her young adult ravens looking on, longingly. YA ravens usually get some leftovers, I have observed. 

Yesterday, I did some laundry. Our washing machine is in the shed. As I picked the clothes out of the washer to hang on the line, I grabbed them without looking and suddenly I grabbed something strange! I let out a big yelp, or I should say, I screamed in sheer surprise. I had picked up a mouse! A well-washed and spin-dried mouse, but a mouse nevertheless! Ah, country living, how sweet it is. Needless to say, I washed the clothes one more time.

Every morning, I wake up to the contented sounds of the quail as they gather outside the bedroom window, picking away at insects and seeds in the yard. They have almost raised their young by now and are such dedicated parents. I hope they are proud of a job well done. They are often joined by hundreds of house finches and other little birds that have
filled my summer mornings with so much joy.

 Samson and Soldier are both doing well. Samson's happy the weather has turned cooler. It was 38F this morning and we were all pretty frisky on our morning walk. 

Soldier is doing well too. He gets one pain pill at night and is ready for his march every morning. Sometimes his hind leg drags, but pain or not, he will march on to that strange drummer in his head. 

If you saw this old dog walk, you would understand what I'm talking about. He is very, very tough. It has been ten months now since he was so very injured and in so much pain we thought we would have to put him down.

The gray rabbit brush is beginning to bloom. I think it's about a month early, maybe because of the heat we've had. It is a pesky weed that requires a tractor, which we don't have, to remove. It is very invasive and, as you can see here, grows very large if left to its own devices. I am determined to find a way to get rid of it, at least some of it. But it is pretty for a few weeks in the fall of each year.

Other than that, all we did this week was to go to Bakersfield so I could see my diabetes doctor. All is well with me in that respect, something I am enormously grateful for. Yesterday, we gathered all the trash and went to the dump. This morning, I dug some little irrigation furrows so I could water the trees in the back yard. On one side there's no hose at all, on the other it's too short. But I've done it this way for six years now and the trees are still alive. I love everything about this country life so much, wish we had done it when we were younger. But, better late than never......

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone.

Early This Morning

When I let the dogs out this morning, I noticed these strange looking clouds. And you know me and clouds, I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures. 

I like the silhouette effect here, just before the sun clears the mountain.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, EVERYONE FROM US HERE IN THE CANYON!

Thoughts on Memorial Day

What I have to say below is not about politics, it is about my feelings on this Memorial Day. 

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. 

 ~From a headstone in Ireland

I am concerned this Memorial Day because I know none of our heroes died for a divided country. They died fighting an enemy from beyond our borders. They died because they thought this country worth fighting and dying for. This country isn't perfect now and wasn't perfect then, yet there was promise here. Promise that it would get better, promise that those who came here from other countries could work toward a better life, promise of civil rights for everyone, of same pay for same work, of a good education, and so much more. No country is perfect, but the United States is a good one. I strongly believe we have to watch out now, because damage is being done here. Damage from within that could bring us down in a way no outside force ever could. My one wish this Memorial Day is that we bury our differences and prejudices and move forward together.

This post was inspired by Kittie Howard's  post of today. 

A Country Road

The other week, when I was in town with my camera, I drove down the paved part of Cherry Lane. 

It's a pretty country road in spring when the cherry trees are in bloom. There used to be large cherry orchards on this road and many trees still stand. I was too late for the cherry blossoms, but look at all the poppies I found on one side of

the road. On the opposite side lilacs were in bloom. The picture doesn't show how pretty it was -- I stayed in the car and took it from inside. 

And I even found an old barn. There's such a shortage of old barns around here and I have been sort of envious of all the fun barn blog hops and photos that I see on other blogs. So  I was happy to come upon this one.

This was a private road, I think, so I didn't drive up to get closeups of all those poppies that seemed to get better and better further up the road. 

These looked like old, gnarly apple trees. Since they were on Cherry Lane, I don't know if maybe they were very old cherry trees. Doesn't matter, they were lovely to look at.

And here, I stopped the car, got out, and just inhaled all the loveliness of springtime in the mountains.


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I started playing with a new template a bit late in the day for me, so the changes are a work in progress.

California Poppies

On Monday, I went to town to run some errands and take some pictures of the surrounding countryside. It's been a while since I posted photos of nature there, so different from ours in the canyon, yet only about 15 miles away. Our canyon is only about 10 miles and 1,000 feet above the Mojave Desert and nature here reflects that proximity, while in town and to the west and south, nature is more typical California countryside with mature oaks, green grass, apple orchards, and this time of year, lilac bushes and California poppies in full bloom. 

I had a wonderful afternoon and got more pictures for later posts. 

A Canyon Sunset

Not one of our spectacular desert sunsets, but a picture I wanted to share anyway. When I went to the doctor last week, our little town was in full spring mode and so pretty that I decided to go back with my camera, just taking some pictures and enjoying myself. So that's what I have planned for today.

I will share the results here later in the week.

Lilacs

Every year since we moved here, late frost took the lilacs before they were in full bloom. For the first time this year their buds are unfolding. I picked some yesterday and that wonderful scent now drifts through our house.