Off to the Dentist

On Thursday the 13th I left for California for a few days. It was time to visit my long time friend, Brad... who happens to be my dentist of choice. We have been doing this for many, many years... over 30. It is always a good experience. He is a great dentist and a great friend. Our visits are pleasant ones. Of course over there in California low lands Spring is more at hand than it is here in the high desert... and especially here a little higher and closer to the High Sierras. One of the first things I do when I run down there is smell the flowers. I always love the flowers. First up on the picture posts, then, will be a couple flowers for you to enjoy too.

I always shoot pictures when I ride with someone..... sometimes I shoot pictures while I drive.... ahhhh, not recomended... don't try this on your own. You will notice that the pictures are not the best.... they were quick and dirty shots and you will not see other vehicles moving along the highway because I do it while alone. I never get tired of driving thru the High Sierras. It is always spectacular.

Coming off the mountain and down ther other side this time of year is also very rewarding. The rolling hills of California are beautiful...... AND..... for a couple of weeks at least during the Spring they are actually green along with the flowering trees.

Finally we get to Brad's house.... about 2 1/2 hours. Brad actually designed his house, drew up the plans and acted as the contractor while still practicing dentiry at full speed ahead. Nice neighborhood.... it's right on the airport... his plane is parked in his garage and he taxies right down the street to the runway.

After we finished working and visiting I left for Ikea... the giant furniture store. The shelves I bought come knocked down in a flat box ... a fairly heavy flat box.... these I had to handle very carefully. Assembly was not too bad at all. In the first picture you will notice that Unocchio had to tap in all those dowels with a small hammer. I was not sure how many times I would miss .... but... believe it or not, I did not miss and do not have a bunch of smashed digets :-)

I assembled 4 units. ... one I installed in the main room next to my computer table. There will be a little re-arranging going on here from time to time until I get my space a little more efficient.

That's it for today....... you arrange to have yourself a great week..... slow down... smell the flowers.

Is it Bear Season/

Big John was kind enough to send me this foto taken in his back yard .... it was 2 weeks ago when this was taken and look at that guy...... he looks friendly enough...buttttttt

We're hoping our visitor goes in the trap so Fish and Game can take him to the wilderness .... I suggest hauling him up to Yellowstone :-)

Hikin' the perimeter

What a gorgeous day today...... and what a pleasure to get outside.  After painting for a while Jim and I wandered along some of the fence lines checking out where Mr Bear had stepped on the wire fence and made his way into our hide-a-way... at least 6 places we could verify..... evidently he comes more often than he tells us.

11x14 oil on canvas board...... maybe I am finished with it... maybe not..... this is one afternnon in Carson Valley looking off  towards Jobe's Peak.... the sun is dipping down behind the mountains now and casting longer shadows... it drops fast about this time so pretty soon it will set and darkness will set in. I love that valley.

Too many people compained when they heard I was going to set a "rope-bent tree trap" for the bear so they brought this contraption over today..... sure looks good to me.... there is a dead goat in there and some honey to lure him in....... if that doesn't work we place watermelon in there.... that'll git im for sure. I am told when that door slams shut it sounds like a small cannon going off.... Jim says it'll wake up everyone in the neighborhood.... I can't wait to shoot some pictures of that guy.... my camera sits ready to go.    Dang... I'm gonna miss ropin im :-)   Sounded exciting.

You have an exciting evening too.

Onion Soup?

6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

Today is 10 May... pretty cold outside.. the snow froze on the blades of grass standing straight up in the pasture. Must be that global warming stuff somebody keeps talkin' about :-)

Well, other than going out to feed the chickens I simply stayed inside painting and watching the beautiful scenery out the window... oh, yes.... Jones College radio was playing some happy tunes. this radio station is in Jacksonville Florida..... they announce the weather and temperature every now and then.... today it was 85 degrees and a sunny day..... hey, that seems better than having the Reno station play music which may or may not be pleasant and announcing every now and then that it is 24 degrees :-)

There seems to be a few extra onions around here.... maybe I should make onion soup.... do we make onion soup with red onions?

Well for now they go in my salad tonight.

You have a good evening.

Art Show at the Sparks Marina

Yesterday was a fine day with a few fluffy white clouds scattered here and there across a gorgeous blue sky and we were hoping today would be very similar. Sunday started off cool and very still. the old wind indicator was not spinning. Calmness reigned. Looking south there were clouds..... on the top of the mountain a shower poured. I had scheduled the art show at the Sparks Marina. Looking northward there were spots of blue sky here and there. OK. Going to the art show.

This yesterday...... in hopes for today too

Heading east on I-80 we see Sparks .... and the sky seems to be changing

Show had set up early in the morning... the Art in Bloom show on Mother's Day is in full bloom.... it is a one day show

Entering the show was no problem..... the crowd's were thin.... and most were down by the live music tent drinking hot coffee and humming.....

you are seeing no closeup pictures of the tents and art works because it was but minutes when the wind picked up to about 60 mph.... art work started flying out of the tents... not exactly what the vendors wanted.. it was the wind, not the buyers ..... a few sprinkles started..... the wind picked up ... the vendors started quickly folding up and we were all out of there. Thus ended the Art in Bloom Mother's Day show. 3 hours later the sun was in the sky again and the day ended fine.

Here's hoping your day ended fine.

55's 55th

Time flies. Imagine, it's 55 years since the class of 55 graduated from high school. I'm not really that old..am I? Well, I don't feel that old ... maybe look even older but I don't feel that old. Back in those days I'm sure few if any thought about a class reunion 55 years later... but now it's here.... coming up on the 15th of this month. Fritz Donavan put forth much effort in organizing and putting this even together. There will actually be 40 people attending .... and there are a few still alive and kicking that were not able to attend for one reason or another. Best to all who attend and who are not able to make it.
Me? ...... I'll be in Sacramento at the dentist's office. Great Dentist... Brad Smith .... a long time friend and buddy. He is a cordial host inviting me to come stay with him a couple days when I travel over there to visit. It is always a good time. Brad is THE painless dentist.

This is what it looked like when we were there.... it was one of 4 high schools in the city.

I think I lived at least 5-6 miles from school... this is how I got there...sometimes... other times I took the city bus.

This is Fritz Donavan... the spearhead behind the reunion. It is the picture he posted on his page at Classmates.com. Best to you Fritz.

Fresh from the garden

Unocchio's Strawberry Rhubarb Soup

Now that may look like Campbell's Tomatoe Soup in the Campbell's Tomatoe Soup bowl but I guarrantee it is not. Some year's ago when Ben was attending CCA in San Francisco he introduced me to cold soup... otherwise who know's if I would have every tried it. So now we start to harvest things from the garden and it's time to eat..... Jim has rhubarb, asparagus and onions growing out there and is ready to plant other things. We help eat as they ripen... no use letting anything go to waste :-)

Here's how we made the soup:

2 cups freah strawberries

1 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb

a cup of water from the well

a couple tablespoons of xylitol

1 fresh apple

another cup of water

 a little cinnamon

I heated up my pan that the manufacturer calls a wok (but Ben says it is not a wok)  and brought to a boil the strawberries, rhubarb, cinnamon and the first cup of water...... after the boil started I reduced the heat to simmer until the fruit was tender... about 20 min +/-.

After it cooled, it went into the Vitamixer until smooth.

While that was cooling I cut the apple into quarters and placed it and a cup of water into the Vitamixer and made apple juice which I cooked a little while.
After everything was smooth and cool and stirred together, I placed it into the refridge until the next day..... of course it only needed to stay in there until it was cold but I did not want to be eating strawberry rhubarb soup at 3am.
There it is ... simple, easy, delicious.
Grow something and eat it... even if it needs to grow in a pot in your window.
 

Mid-week madness

Well, it was another fine day here on the ranch. Last night we had a visitor... tore open the garbage can that held the chicken feed and ripped open the sack...... I don't think he really liked it much because he ate little or nothing from it.......... out in the field by the chicken coop there sat a couple halves of a watermelon. the chickens ate the seeds and some of the red meat but left a lot... including lots of juice. I guess cinnamon and black bears love watermelon... he sure did clean it up...ate the melon and scaped the rind down as thin as paper. The chinese eat it as a vegetable.... the rind is stirfried, stewed and pickled... hey... how come we always throw it away?

Jim told me that last night the bear raided his garbage cans and threw the stuff everywhere... and ate the watermelon he had for his chickens.. heh heh.... there is a motion sensor light by his garbage cans but the light did not freighten the bear. None of us has see the bear yet... I wonder if I should sit up all night by the window or out on the deck. I guess we will hold off on buying the lambs for now :-)

I have lots of apples sitting in the kitchen so between painting landscapes I did the above. Maybe I will start painting an apple a day :-)  ........

Continue eating your apple a day and smile a lot

Recalling

From time to time as I wandered the Florida coast there came by a brown pelican .... not a rare ocurrance but not always a "Kodak Moment" either. I felt fortunate that I was able to caputre some pelicans occasionally. The flying birds in NV brought me back to a different time and place as you can see here. I miss Florida and the beaches. To me, it was the best of both worlds to be able to live in Florida and Nevada.
Maybe I'll get to go back for a holiday sometime ..... for now, the 100's of fotos and a vivid imagination will have to do .... then there's always..... dream, dream, dream :-)

Another day on the Nevada Desert

Today was a paperwork day but the gorgeous great out-of-doors  outside alluringly beckoned ..... it was tooooo much ...  so before things got too intense I left the cabin for a walk. I had all ready been up an at it for a couple hours and grabbed a few bites between clicks on the keyboard. Soon my friends would arrive and then we would be at it for a couple hours.

No stroll outside here is the same.There are dramatic and sudden weather or wind changes. Spring can serve a warm day then a cool day. Today was extremely fine.... sunshine, blue skies and just a little cool...not cold tho.

As soon as the door opened I could see that today was giving us a little more excitement. It is migration time for many birds.... we do not know who will fly by next...... but wait... what is that... NO... it coundn't be... yes... IT IS .... they are very high and this old eye may not be seeing everything there is to see but those birds... they fly like pelicans... they are shaped like pelicans...... dang, I think those are peilicans. Yup. pelicans in Nevada... desert country.... well don't that beat all...... or is that some sort of stork or something?

It's almost like being back in Florida.

There is not too much time until y friends arrive so I  pick up the speed a little ... after walking briskly for 10 minutes the day was feeling even warmer.

When leaving the property we pass by the pastures where the chickens live and where the sheep will live. Right now there is fresh golden color everywhere..... ahhhhhh, those dandilions... I love em!

It doesn't matter when I slip on pass the gate... the chickens hear me and come running .... it's because they love me :-)

Northbound on the old highway always presents a wonderful and peaceful view.... how can we help but to like it?

Arriving back at the ranch a new visitor greeted us with silence and curious looks ... a Double-crested Cormorant waited. So that you can learn a little more about Double-crested Cormorats I have placed a link at the end of this post.

I quietly slipped up closer and closer... he did not seem to mind .... I came as close as 4 feet ... amazing ... my chickens hardly let me do that... especially the rooster

The fotos are all of the same bird. He actually started on the pile of brush then moved on about the property. He didn't seem like the smartest bird..... in most ways I think I give the chickens a higher score.

The pose you see on the brush pile is very typical of the cormorant. Their distinctive shape and the way the position their wings presents immediate identifying characteristics.

Yea, they swim. They are waterbirds with webbed feet. They walk kinda like a duck.

After a cruise on the pond  the wings are spread to dry and soak up some rays.

I can't wait to see what the next day is going to bring... this is exciting!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/id

Exciting times

Black bears are North America's most familiar and common bears. They typically live in forests and are excellent tree climbers, but are also found in mountains and swamps. Despite their name, black bears can be blue-gray or blue-black, brown, cinnamon, or even (very rarely) white.




Black bears are very opportunistic eaters. Most of their diet consists of grasses, roots, berries, and insects. They will also eat fish and mammals—including carrion—and easily develop a taste for human foods and garbage. Bears who become habituated to human food at campsites, cabins, or rural homes can become dangerous and are often killed—thus the frequent reminder: Please don't feed the bears!



Solitary animals, black bears roam large territories, though they do not protect them from other bears. Males might wander a 15- to 80-square-mile (39- to 207-square-kilometer) home range.



When winter arrives, black bears spend the season dormant in their dens, feeding on body fat they have built up by eating ravenously all summer and fall. They make their dens in caves, burrows, brush piles, or other sheltered spots—sometimes even in tree holes high above the ground. Black bears den for various lengths of time governed by the diverse climates in which they live, from Canada to northern Mexico.



Female black bears give birth to two or three blind, helpless cubs in mid-winter and nurse them in the den until spring, when all emerge in search of food. The cubs will stay with their very protective mother for about two years

So why the words on black bears?



Well, the bear in the picture above isn't the exact one but there is one in the neighborhood..... but close. Jim went over to the neighbor's to help bury the goats and whatever else it killed. they actually saw the beast. ..... estimated it weighted about 600 pounds... that is a big one.... maybe old and clever... maybe he ate a goose and a hen recently. I decided not to shoot at him with my pellet gun :-)

I'm not even going to shoot at him with my 22.... if forced into a corner the shotgun and/or the 45 might be considered. No .... there is not going to be a race between him and me.... nor am I going to climb the old oak tree to try to escape.... I'm sure he would better me on both attempts.

Actually I am hoping the trap will catch him and the Fish and Game will take over. I have not seen him yet but I would like to observe from the deck or the window. OK...OK... so me and the chickens have something in common :-)

I have some new or "improved" paintings but do not have any good fotos yet... hey, the paintings need all the help they can get... bad fotos ain't the way to go :-)

Yesterday I went to Reno to help Bear service his rental units ... not that I haven't done my share of that but it was a good day to spend with Bear. We had a good time.

Time now to rustle up some grub.... it'll be a raw salad tonight including a cage-free, fertile egg and some cheese... and probably a couple ounces of Shiraz.

Smile, relax and enjoy the rest of your day.

Night of the Full Moon

I bundled up in warm winter clothes as I prepared to feed the chickens .... it was still snowing out there... a lovely evening as far as I'm concerned. The chickens paid no attention to the weather.... they plowed right thru the snow and met me at the gate. Nice to have friends :-)

So tonight was full moon .... dogs howl; roosters crow; all sorts of things happen on full moon nights ... so I'm told.    Actually not much happening tonight because we are having one of our deepest snow storms of this year so far.... so here are some fotos.... maybe you think you saw them already.... however, it was very refreshing to be out there ..... and I got to see lots of quail tracks all over the place.... and these are fresh fotos from a few minutes ago.... howray for digital cameras
You have a good full moon

Scratch Board Class

Scratch Art is a reductive technique wherein a white board is coarted with black india ink. After the ink has dried it is scratched off to reveal the white underneath. Any sharp tool may be used to scratch off the black ink but there are specially made instruments to do the job in case you care to buy them... of course. Some of the instruments used to scratch are: sewing needle; razor blade; exacto life; dental tools; oil-free steel wool. the CVAA provided all the materials and tools for this class. I used a sewing needle and a manufactured tool.
Here is my first attempt. this was a fun project. I may do it again.

Yes... this is my rooster that lives in the field near the cabin... no... he did not stand still long enough for me to make a sketch.... I took a picture and used it as a reference. the morning, before I left for the class, I fed the chickens and they were all happy...... when I got back there was one missing..... the wild goose nesting in the field was also missing. Jim told me that the chickens were scattered all over the place including the golf course. Since these birds never wander far from their coop we think that whatever got the goose either got one of the hens or she ran off terribly freightened and got lost. Even the rooster was a block away by the waterfall in the golf course. Tonight, all that are left are safely looked in the coop.

Here is the class and what they all produced.

The other day

The other day I wandered out
to gaze upon the beauty near
The fog had filled the valley and the hills
it made the day quite misty here
When low lying clouds turn all to grey
there is a certain serenity that day
I love the fog, every now and then
it makes life clear for me
It provides a chance to contemplate
that life's for love, and not for hate.

So the foggy day inspired this 6x8 sketch.... oil on canvas board.
Today the snow is gone ... the fog is gone.... the sun is back and the sky is blue.... the hens are laying and the rooster is crowing ... the robins are chirping and the creek is flowing...... dang it's great not having TV and the news!!!!

Another exciting Spring Day

Here it is almost the end of April 2010... time flies when you're having fun :-)
I've been getting things in order around here and picked up some old sketches... 6x8's ... and added a few touches to make them fit the new scenery. I like this valley..... about 500 feet higher than where I was before and that makes a difference.  You saw yesterday's post with tah storm brewing... well it landed down here last night and this morning there was several inches of very wet heavy snow..... just like in New York and New England. Very rare for here and an interesting change. .... and check it out... usually our Spring storms are gone by noon....... it's still there and the afternoon is almost gone. I gave you a glimpse of looking out the window before I stepped out onto the deck. Heh, heh... there are the chickens... when they hear the door they all come a runnin'. Pets can bring a measure of happiness... even chickens.
Apparently there are certain lifestyles that aid long life..... David Bruettner has traveled around the world for the past 5 years investigating those folks who live longest. I'm sure he hasn't hit them all yet but he does have interesting stories to tell. Check out his article in the National Geographic
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/live-longer-dan-buettner-text/1
He lists 9 secrets to a long life...life styles these folks live by.... you probably know some of them... yup... happiness is one of them ... make yourself happy ..... Abe Lincoln said you are going to be about as happy as you want to be. Ya know... old Abe was right. Smile and be happy today.... shake off some of that stress ... go for a walk.

Nice to see old friends and family

This is today...... it snowed a little last night down here in the valley and the flurries continued during the day ... nothing much on the ground here early in the morning and nothing at all now. I guess the High Sierras got a little....... it was like a short visit from an old friend or family..... these little storms come and go during the late Spring... we expect them... they are kinda resfreshing.... but I can't wait for permenant warm weather. I got out for bike rides the last couple of nice days we had. ... not really warm enough for me to sit out there and paint right now so I keep busy inside