Climbing a small mountain

Maybe Spring is really here to stay... fingers crosses... today it was in the high 70's and I'm lovin' every minute of it. Local dafodils are in full bloom... down in Carson and Reno the apple trees are in bloom... and I'm outta here on the bike...............
Well believe it or not I've got the easel set up again and sorted out all the supplies... time to get going with the painting...and for the past couple days I've been a today I took aim at the Bosc pear sitting on the cutting board. It's easer to paint things we love.... and that we can eat when finished.

There may be some out there that think ol'geezers can't make it up the hill any more... maybe they think an ol' geezer is really "over the hill"..... got news for ya tho... this is where I am going today... it's close to home and will be great fun....... ya'll come on over and we'll do it together somme time

Can't go anywhere in this valley without meeting up with a friendly neighbor.....

OK... let's get started up the grade... this is going to be fun....

Yup... it's still fun... and we're starting to burn the calories and get the blood flowing

At the bottom of the road there was a sign telling us there were some lots for sale up here..... I investigating... tht I'd come take a look at what is actually for sale..... nice lot... 40 acres... and a great view.... there was a white dodge pickup that passed me on the way up... they are also here looking at the lot

Heh, heh......you thot I was spoofin' ya...... there's my wheels and the valley far below ..... what a wonderful morning

Here's the view from Lot 3..... great spot for a house..... but I think the market has a little adjusting to do yet so I am not going to make an offer today :-)

Well, here we are at the bottom again... coming down was a blast... the cool breeze blowing thru what's left of my hair felt really good...... thru the holes in my helmut of course... If you look very closely... or enlarge the picture a little... you can still see the white Dodge pickup sitting almost halfway up the hill just a speck to the left of center...

back at home on the ranch to do a little reflecting on the day's adventure  :-)

Teamwork gets it done

A fine day lands on us in the Spring-time then out comes the tractor to get the garfden started. Yep... and teamwork gets the job done. There's Jim and Vickie hard at it... that sure beats clibing up in the tree to do the trimming. These guys are a work-together team.... and they made short orcer of preparing the garden and moving the fence. the garden is going to be a little bigger this year .... I already saw the rabbits snoopin' around here. the quail are up and about, too. Things are coming to life..... and yes, old mother hen is keeping her eye on it all and adding her 2 cents worth..... she's just dreaming of all those veggie trimmings coming her way.
You can tell my job... I'm the cheerleader :-)

Guests for Breakfast

We never know who will show up for breakfast over here ..... a couple of Canadian honkers today. I like those gueese even if they did not let me get too close. The chickens generally get fed twice a day and I let them roam around the pasture all day to pick and scratch all they want. When I get into town I stop at Save Mart and pick up a bag of food for them from the produce department. they are very kind there and generally have have a bag or box for me. We never know what's going to be in there either. Somedays it is mostly lettuce.... today it was lettuce and lost of other things. The chickens shared with me today :-)
It's a lot better than the old days of dumpster diving :-) ..... yea... all those fruit and veggies came with the lettuce leaves today... I ate some... the ladies got some......

After a Restful Weekend

It was a fine week end in Washoe Valley ..... "I could hear the old piano playing down the avenue..the wind was ruustlin thru the pines...an' I could only think of you" ... well that's kinda how The Prairie Home Companion starts out... hear it for yourself
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/2010/04/03/
This radio show plays on pbs Saturdays and Sundays... usually broadcast live from somewhere.... we can't hear it on the net until Monday...but there are archives of old shows which are entertaining.
The week end here was restful...watched a couple old movies on netflix..... napped a couple times... worked on paperwork inbetween all that.... maybe it was I worked on paperwork and did all that other in between.
I could tell today the outside temp had dropped considerably by the size of the goose bumps all over my bod whenI stripped out of the night clothes to jump into the day clothes. Heh. We call some clothes night clothes but who ever called those other duds "day clothes". Anyway, on days like this I layer on the longjohns, T-shirt, longsleeved shirt/sweater and then the fleece jacket. No. I'm not going outside. That's what I where inside. How else could I keep my utility bill down at $44 in the Winter. About 8am I went out to feed and water the chikens. They are always glad to see me. We clucked at each other a few times, I tossed some goodies to them, broke the ice out of their watering bucket and went on my way. there were aonly a few inches of snow on the gound which we do not expect to last very long so I threw some of the feed in the snow.... the first toss..... they actually went out there and picked it up. good for them.
I knew that if I left the snow on the porch it would be gone in a couple hours but I pushed it off anyway. I like shoveling a couple inches.
By 11AM it looked like the pictures below..... notice the very low clouds when looking south...that's hanging over Carson City.... maybe they got a little snow this morning too. the commuters love that :-)
Mr & Mrs Duck werefloating down on the pond this morning. Always nice to see them coming back. Maybe they'll nest there and we can watch the ducklings this year. I'll get some pictures for you if it happens.

Over there in the West it looks like a little more weather is happening up in the High Sierras... the wind has started and the weather vane is turning again.

11:37 AM and the sun is shining, the snow is starting to melt and I am going back to work.

If you want to take a look at some interesting original art (not mine) go here

http://lindarorer.com/lindarorer/RORER_ARTIST_Original_Oil_Paintings_HOME.html

Thru the door

A very fitting wakeup call for the last day of March .... what was that old saying?... "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb"? heh heh ... I don't think so this time...
It's ok, tho.... just ol' man Winter taking his last blow at us. We like this light weight snow. It's refreshing.... always will be ... I hope I can get out there and shovel it when I'm 95 :-)
....... but then there is nothing like the signs of Spring pushing thru .... I remember years gone by when this time of year gave us the sights and smells of Spring so I have included some pictures taken this time of year in the past .... now ain't that great? I love those Spring flowers.

Earlier today I took the short walk down to visit the chickens. there was several inches of snow on the ground and still falling so I made a trail of footprints across the field to the chicken coop. I could hear them talking as I approached and joined in the conversation. I heard music helps them to enjoy the day but I did not sing to them... I really want them to keep on laying :-)
After giving them the table scraps and cleaning up their water I picked up 3 eggs and added more footprints to the trail as I headed back up to the cabin. They all looked and sounded happy as their voices faded off in the distance.
The snow had piled up a few inches on the porch so I pushed it off then slipped back thru the door into the warm, cosy cabin. After leaving my wet boots just inside the door and the jacket hanging in the closet it seemed like time to have some eggs and toast then get to work on that stack of papers while I dreamed of some of the early Spring days of the past.
Remembering the good times is always better.

It was a good day

There is an old saying that the way to a man's heart is thru his stomach ... maybe my new ladies are trying to make an impression....... this morning they gave me a couple eggs...... then this afternoon they gave me 3 more... aren't they beautiful?!
They must be happy in their new home ... and I am happy they are here. Santos said they were only laying 2 a day........ things are picking up :-)

Here is my new chair. It's comfy all right. The rug?.... brought it from Florida... I liked it down there and I still like it.... I'm glad I threw it on the top of the load. Later I may trade off the chair for a different one but for now... I'm keeping it. Drop on by and try it out..... who knows, we may whip up an omlet :-)

 

The days are not all "work"

Friday Santos came over with his ladies ..... seems he is cleaning up the back yard and could no longer support so many of them so he brought some of them to me..... they moved right on in and seemed to enjoy the new home right off the bat.....

Some people are always so grateful they do everything they can to show their appreciation ... now isn't that just fine.... looka dem aigs .... gotta say, they sure tasted good this morning :-)

As soon as Santos left I headed for Gardnerville to the CVAA meeting ... opps ... got 5 miles down the road and realized that I rushed out so fast I forgot my camera .... well, to go to the Carson Valley Art Association meeting without my camera just won't work... I might as well go without my pants ... I turned the Sprinter around and went back ... it all worked out ok... I was not even late for the meeting.... and a great meeting at that ... go see

http://cvaahappenings.blogspot.com/2010/03/26-mar-2010-meeting.html

http://cvaahappenings.blogspot.com/2010/03/26-mar-2010-meeting.html

After the meeting Vickie gave me a reclining chair since I am still moving in and have very little furniture. ... that was very kind... a person never realizes how nice it is to have a soft chair to sit in until there is none in sight...... I get tired of sitting on a hard oak chair all the time... this will be a wonderful change.

Now it is getting late in the afternoon so I headed over to Kollina's house..... just in time for dinner  :-)

We had a good time... Justin was just back from a couple weeks in Africa... I got to see some of the pictures... and dinner was superb

Nick was having some digestive problems and thought the best solution would be a couple of blue blazers

Maybe not all natural remedies are the best right after dinner.

Springtime in the Valley

The windows by the table face towards the East so from sunrise until late morning the sun comes streaming thru... it is so relaxing and cheerful to sit in the sun shile eating. So what's for lunch?.... crock-pot chicken soup... campbell's soup will just have to deal with it... I make my own. The Campbell Soup bowl is still fun to use tho.... hope they do not mind too much :-)

..

Yesterday it was 71 degrees ... ahhhh... Spring weather at it's finest ... then last night the wind howled most of the night.... the morning greeted us with a little ice and snow ... yup... Spring weather. the daffodils are in bloom.... the early flowers are such a delite. Some of the daffodils are already finished. The hollyhocks are sprouting up and the leaves are big and green already as you can see in the last picture. there's probably some mint leaves in there also.The white stuff is leaving and the green is returning. Can't blame Willie for getting out there and doing some plein air painting. Nice going Willie... jump start the season. Who is Willie? Good friend and fellow artist... go see him at

http://wilsonbickford.blogspot.com/

Wednesday wonderland

Wednesday was another one of those spectacular days ... we woke up to about 4 inches of snow .... frosty trees and bushes..... wonderful! First thing I did was get out there and take some pictures... then I shoveled snow. I love shoveling the snow here.... it's so light and fluffy .... and it is not shoulder high :-)
Of course, I suspected that shoveling was only because I wanted to and the ol' Sol was going to take care of it all anyway.... yup, by noon it was mostly gone except in the deep shade of bushes.
Here is what we saw..........

There it is... that bright blue Nevada sky after the storm blows on past. How can we help not loving this? .... and there is one of the ponds... ice gone and sharing bright reflections with us.

time to go on in, grab an orange and get to work..... you have a great day where ever you are

7 March 2010 - we've come a long way baby.. I think

Today started out as another great day ... the sun came streaming in the easterly windows of the cabin very early. What a great way to wake up and get going. The door has been open all day ... storm door closed, however..... providing natural warmth to the main room here. It is paperwork time so my butt is still plastered to the oak chair. but I do take breaks. A couple hours after breakfast I had some fruit ... there it is.... then split for a walk. It is so fine to be able to take a break and walk in the countryside.... especially when the weather is so pleasant and the scenery picture-postcard perfect.

Today I walked south on old 395 ... not to worry ... 2 runners; one bicyclist; one harley and 2 cars ..... it's like having the street all to oneself. I was probably out there an hour or more. the shot is looking eastward out over the vally. The mountains sure look huge... and they are if you decide to hike up there. I'll be doing that... a little later.

Friday I picked up the mail in Gardnerville took some things to the shed and picked up some things from the shed. It just happened to be about dinner time so Kollina set up a place for me ..... I felt so grateful... always a gormet meal at Kollina's.

When I jettisoned all that junk in Florida there were always a few things that surfaced that were small, light and impossible to throw away. Pictures are some of those things. How can a photographer throw away pictures? There was a great time lapse between my taking pictures long ago and the present. Has anything changed much? There I am....... thinking I am living a healthy life..drinking juice :-)  .... well...I was tying anyway.... and look at that outfit..... not much change there either... I think I still have those clothes and I think I wear them when Kollina is not looking :-) ........ but you know, I was visiting Baron in San Francisco last month and dang...  he was wearing a hat that could have been that same hat. He has never seen this picture before.

Why are all these pictures coming up? Well to rescue them from the the trash I tucked them in with my reciepts and bookkeeping records. I'm working on the books today ... and LO... there they come...rising out of the billowing dust as it puffs out of the boxes. there's the accordion that I bought when I was 15. I just decided one day that I would like to play the accordion... went down and signed up for lessons and bought this one.... jumped in way over my head... it took me years to pay for that thing ....working odd jobs; collecting pop bottles and sellig them for the 5 cent deposit;  and delivering the "Shopping News". I played that accordion for years. In college I played for many sing-a-long parties, picnics and Bar-B-Q's. I still have it. Probably haven't played it in 40 years but it is still here in it's original case.

Back in 40's my dad designed and built this house. He was way ahead of his time. He was very "green" taking advantage of the sun... the large windows faced south....to collect the warmth from the winter sun.... in the summer time the overhang shaded the windows to keep the house cool. The roof was flooded with water during the hot months to help keep it cool inside. The walls were made out of cement blocks. The windows were aligned so that there was good air-flow during the summer, also.

Hey, baby... have we come a long way...... my dad's grandson became an architect and built him a house using some of the same principles.... ahhhh... but I think we have greatly improved on the ideas .... his granddad would be very proud. Amazing... notice the south facing windows... the overhang for shade in the summer....walls constructed of blocks.....great windows that roll up letting in the fresh air.  Thanks to the reknown Reno photographer, Asa Gilmore , for the foto.

This is where I lived in Pasadena in 1957-1958-1959 ... one of the fine old houses on Orange Grove Blvd. I worked at the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena in those years.... amoung other things.

Then there was my 32 Chevy.... when I bought it, that car was over 20 years old but still chugged right along .... oh... you don't believe me... you think it's one of those "walking 5 miles to school in waist-high snow" stories, eh

Well, on the spur of the moment a bunch of us hopped in the ol' bus and went down to New York city to visit Niel's uncle Posner who was the producer of the Jackie Gleason show..... there we are in front of his posh apartment house pretending it no longer ran    :-)      Posner liked that a lot .... he sent us to a hotel many blocks away....he got us front-row seats at the live Jackie Gleason show. We had a great time in NYC..... and the ol' bus got us back up to Springfield Ma without any problems...... it took us a while ... I never was a fast driver... probably a good thing seeing what we were driving.

So... how much has changed?     ... my 1989 Ford aerostar van is 20 years old .... I drove it down to San Francisco ...stayed at the Ritz Carlston... and had the valet park it... "hey, be careful with my van.... it's almost an antique, ya'know... and no smoking it it either!"