OMG - 2026!

 We had a guy come and clean up some weeds in our yard and we wrote him a check.  The amount was scary enough but writing 1/6/26 for the date was even worse!  Wow!  That thing about time flying is real!

Of course the news is pretty scary these days too.  Invading another country?  Talking about taking an area from another NATO country?  Having American citizen shot and killed by ICE?   What the hell is the world coming to?  And, of course, there is the President's health that is clearly not great.  Every day brings some new weirdness in the news.  

On the good side, this was our sunset last night.

 We did get some rain last night but today it is 50ish and clear.  Of course the wind is between 15 and 25 mph so that keeps us filling the bird feeders.  We have a RING video camera in our front yard and the alert just went off.  It was a big dead bush being blowing across the yard!  Talk about fun times!  Sometimes a hawk or other pretty large bird will fly by and set it off.  The snow level on the mountains has come way down so that will get our water level up a bit.  Out here in Nevada that's a wonderful thing!  It's important too because there are lots of new houses being built.  My wife and I are blaming the cost of living in California for all the people moving here but who knows.  They might just be gamblers who like the casinos and we've got 7 or 8 of those; plus every grocery, gas station or whatever has 8 or 10 machines you can dump your money into.  I don't think any comes back out to you.  It just amazes me to see people at them; I'm just not that kind of gambler.  Now buying Nvidia or AT&T or Pepsi - yeah, I do gamble on them.  I've had some stinkers but some pretty good results too.  It's just a fun part of life.

My wife is doing ok.  She broke her ankle over 2 years ago and has had two surgeries to get it repaired.    She's got a cane, a walker and a wheelchair.  Which one she uses depends on how her foot is doing.  She is hitting the gym twice a week for a workout with one of the PT guys.  He's trying to help her build up her strength but she's got a way to go.  Having the surgeon tell you to stay off your foot for 2 months means those muscles don't get any exercise and they just fade away.  It's also known as life in the 75 lane!

Gotta go.  I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year and that 2026 will actually turn out to be great.  Take care and keep washing those hands! 

 

 

Well, it's summertime!

Our friends over in Las Vegas have had their first 100F degree day.  (Almost 38 C.)  We are about 500 feet higher in altitude so we haven't quite made it yet.  We've only gotten to 95F or 35C.  Don't worry, we'll get there!  

We've had an AcuRite weather station for quite a while.  Then 4 or 5 months ago the foldable post I used to support it folded in a breeze and it broke the sender unit.  Ok, it was a few years old so we ordered a whole new sender and display.  We started this in late February and finally got the station around the end of March. With our physical problems we've only recently installed the new sender unit and darned if it doesn't work!  So now we are testing it prior to the AcuRite people accepting it as no good.  

The photo shows the top of the sending unit (where it collects water if it is raining) and the receiver which is normally in the house.  AcuRite wants them within 3 feet of one another for testing so we took the receiver out to be near the sender.  Of course they still aren't communicating but it's what we have to do for warranty service!  Well, we'll see if those idiots cough up another sending unit or what.  Hmmm, I was just out on their website and they don't even advertise this unit any more.  Maybe that's why they aren't too happy about dealing with us.  LOL  We'll see what happens.

While we were out playing with the weather station I took a little video of our view around the place.  Unfortunately I can't upload it; I guess 80 MB is a bit large.  I'd intended it to be more about the sky, absolutely no cloud anywhere, but it also shows the flat valley floor and the mountains in the distance that have been seen in most of the photos I post.  It's really quite a nice place to live but it is warm.  Why do I think it's going to be even warmer than usual this year?  That's what I get from reading the news.  

We have a church in town who has a sort of Goodwill kind of thing they do two days a week.  We got a new bed a while ago and the church actually said they would come and collect the old bed!  What a deal!  So, of course, we managed to get them to also take our two bicycles that we bought in Holland 25 years ago, the two folding bikes we took on some of our RV travels about 10 years ago, a filing cabinet that has been replaced by bytes and bytes of storage and an old lamp.  What a deal!  Now I have to go reorganize the garage since we've got so much more space.  

I guess that's all the news from this corner of the world.  Take care and keep being safe.

Grumbling

You know I live in the Mohave Desert (map from Wikipedia).  Pahrump is in the southeastern corner of the darned thing.

Last year we got 1.97" of rain all year.  So what's happening this year?  So far in the first 16 days we've gotten 1.42 inches of rain!  For crying out loud.  Those California mountains aren't keeping us dry this year.  But honestly I shouldn't be complaining.  A nice snow pack and water in the streams and lakes; yeah, that makes a great change.

Of course it being overcast all the time does cut back on the photo ops.  This was a morning just before sunrise.

That sun is just starting to show way down in the southeast.  A day or so later this is what the mountains to our west were looking like.

Tough life but.....  Thanks for stopping by.  Take care & keep being careful!

Change

I said something in my last post about 90F (32C) days being comfortable; well, we don't have to worry about that any more!  Today we are talking 65F (18C).  Oh well.  At least it is sunny outside.

This was taken out the window on Friday.

It was just an odd day.  It wasn't windy but there was just tons of dust in the air.  We couldn't see the mountains or any blue sky all day.  Then came Saturday.

Same window, same corner of the garage but sunshine and mountains.  What a difference a day makes, huh.  Then on Sunday we were looking at winds mostly around 15 mph (24 kph) but, thankfully, no flying dust.  

I keep reading about iOverlander.com.  It is a site that people update when they have camped in a place and want to let others know about their experience.  So, of course, I had to look up our town.  Two of the local RV parks were listed.  We must have 20 spread around but only two made the grade.  What I really wanted to see was the free camping out on BLM land (Bureau of Land Management - public land).  There were a couple of places that were described as nice but the ones closest to town were described as trashy and I would have to agree.  We have a fair number of people living out here more or less permanently.  Every now and then there is trouble but not too often.

Hmmm.  Well, today it is November 8.  I started this post on October 24!  Nothing like letting thing go crazy.  Well, my excuse is, at least, different:  we took a trip to Colorado Springs, CO.  We have friends who live there and we wanted to stop by when we were coming back from visiting the kids but my wife's foot injuries just made her want to get home.  She was feeling better so we thought we'd hit the road again.  

This time we took the car.  We go up I-15 into Utah then pick up I-70 and head for Denver.  Just before Denver we cut down to Colorado Springs.  The drive is just nice.  I-15 does about 30 miles in Arizona going through a canyon formed by the Virgin River.  It is spectacular!  Then you get to Utah which is pretty nice and finally across Colorado which is just amazing.  We stopped both ways at the Super 8 motel in Green River, Utah.  It is a town of about 900 inhabitants and probably 900 hotel rooms!  This was the view from a gas station where I stopped.

When we got into the higher elevations there was snow on the side of the road but none on the road itself and none coming down.  Actually that's a large part of the reason we took the trip when we did because in a few weeks there will be plenty of that white stuff coming down.  

Our friends met while he was serving in the Air Force in Germany and she still brings a lot of Germany to their lives.  Like the dinner she served us where you got to cook your own meal at the dinner table.

And that was for just four people!  How I didn't gain 10 lb is beyond me.  They have a lovely home with a little lake/stream behind them.  I liked getting photos of the ducks and geese.

In the distance you can even see the Air Force Acadamy!

So after a good visit we came back home.  We'd considered going south on I-25 and then west on I-40 but that is a longer drive and I wanted to get back so I could attend a meeting.  But we did get to check out those beautiful mountains in Colorado from the opposite direction!  

So that's what I've been up to.  Fun stuff for sure!  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Another day; another stupid remark

So it wasn't yesterday but Mr. Trump certainly managed once again to make a fool of himself.  This time he's explaining how he doesn't want immigrants from 'sh*thole' countries.  What a delightful fellow he must be in real life.  I read somewhere that people shouldn't just read things they agree with but should read other viewpoints.  One of the suggestions was that liberals should check out conservative, but responsible, news outlets like the National Review.  Well, I haven't heard of the National Review since Mr. Buckley was the editor but I thought it worth a try.  So what was the lead article this morning?  "Donald Trump the Porn President." 

To quote from the article.  "Stung by Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury, Trump held an open negotiation on immigration with congressional leaders in order to showcase his executive mettle — and then went on to provide a slow day’s worth of headlines when he voiced his contempt for tropical “s**tholes” and their would-be emigrants.

Scatapalooza was a fun news cycle, but it immediately was surpassed by pornapalooza."
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455428/donald-trump-porn-star-payoff-why

 

'Pornapalooza' was their name for the claims that Mr. Trump paid a porn star $130,000 to keep quiet about him having an affair with her.  It was really rather fun reading their take on the Pres.  They point out that he's never been shy about  public affairs and has actually bragged about them; even in his own book.  The article goes on to discuss con artists and, while they don't actually call the President one, the author comes close making it sound almost acceptable.  Well, I guess to some people it is acceptable but not to me.  I would much prefer a President who could at least sometimes sound like the leader of the free world.  For that matter, I would prefer a President, unlike Mr. Clinton, could keep it in his pants much less brag about it.  Mr. Obama keeps looking better and better.

In happier news, we have had rain!  The last time it rained was September 12 when we got .01 inch.    Wunderground.com has just over an inch of rain in Mercury, Nevada on the 8th and 9th - the closest station that they have to Pahrump.  Since our annual average is about 5 inches; we're doing good!  To make it even better, there was no flooding.  Yep, sometimes we get flooding.  The rain comes down off the mountain and picks up some dirt and rocks that it deposits mostly on roads!  Actually, we are required by our lender to have flood insurance on our house.  Unusual I would have thought for a home in the desert.  

Ok, I'm going to quit whining.  2018 is upon us so I may as well learn to like it.  Have a good one!

Wow - it's been almost a month!

Yeah, not good.  In my defense I can only plead a quiet life in a quiet place.  We get up either with the sun or shortly thereafter.  My first task is to feed the birds then make coffee.  Mostly it is around 37F (2.7C) when I'm outside.  Then I usually settle in at the computer to check out what has happened in the world.  When I am sufficiently depressed, we get some kind of breakfast.  Breakfast, if it is at home, incorporates bird watching. 

I just noticed that ugly seating area in our back yard.  We set that up as a 'trial' seating to see if it was large enough, etc.  Hmm, that was at least 5 years ago!  What can I say, it works for us but maybe someday soon there will be a photo of the wonderful, new, prettier seating area. 

Then it is more computer work until we get ready to go out to lunch.  Most days we incorporate lunch with whatever shopping we need to do.  Since it is so cool early in the day we like to take a walk after lunch.  It is just around the neighborhood (about 2.5 miles or 4 km) but you can't sit around all day!  We get to say 'hi' to the various dogs and horses and, as a big thrill, we count the number of rabbits we see.  By now it's time to work on dinner but we do try to get a little time out in the yard (on the ugly seating area!) to check out the sunset (about 4:30) with a glass of wine or a drink. 

After our 'happy hour' we have dinner which will be followed by a couple hours of tv.  Exciting times!

Actually there are a few distractions.  Las Vegas is right there in case we want to do serious shopping and we usually make a trip every 10 days to 2 weeks.  A week or so ago we went the other way, towards California, and visited Ash Meadows.  The meadows are formed by springs bursting out of the desert floor and pumping thousands of gallons of water a minute along small streams until the water retreats and goes back underground.  These days the most famous residents of Ash Meadows are the pup fish.  These are little minow sized fish who live only in a few of these springs.  Back in the early 1900's people were trying to farm this area and they did so much damage to the environment that it cannot be repaired.  Still there are about 30 species of plants and animals that are no where else on earth.  What we have now are a few walks that one can take on raised wooden boardwalks.  The longest of the walks is just over a mile and in 80F (26C) weather it is quite pleasant.  Mid-summer and I don't think it would be that much fun.  We walked to the Crystal Spring and had a very nice time.

You stand there looking into this crystal clear water then look up to see that bare rock mountain in the distance.  It is quite a place.  You can see why people wanted to farm this land.  Apparently native tribes used the springs as a place to meet on special ocassions.  A couple years ago a new visitor center was built and the many displays discuss the history of the area.  You can even 'adopt' a pupfish for a $50 donation. 

This Thanksgiving our daughter offered to host at her home in Las Vegas so off we went.  We got to bring a pie and the stuffing but that wasn't too tough.  I may as well say there are no photos.  She had never cooked a turkey in her over 40 years on earth so she got advice from all her friends.  Somehow they talked her into cooking the bird breast side up for an hour or so then turning it over for another couple hours.  My wife and I had never heard of that but it turned out to be quite delicious.  I'm not too sure the skin was as crispy as it might have been but I don't eat it so I don't care!  She and her mother seemed to like it though so it certainly wasn't bad. 

Anyway, that was the month of November!  As I said, life in the fast lane.  Hope your month was more exciting in a good way!  Thanks for stopping by.

I'm HOT!

And not in a good way!  This waking up at 05:00 so we can walk in some comfort is silly.  It's worse when you wake up at 05:00 and it's 87F (30.5C) outside.  The forecast is calling for a high of 97F (36C) so that's not too bad but this not cooling off just stinks.  I was outside doing dinner on the bbq the other night.  My instant read thermometer thought it was warm without the grill and, no, that's not in the sun and it is about 6 p.m.

Yes, that's reading 106F (41C) just waiting around to check on the temperature of dinner.  But using the bbq does keep a lot of heat out of the kitchen!

I bought a new weather station recently and finally got it installed.  My wife had this uncomfortable thought that she should be able to change the batteries in the thing on her own without my help.  (What the heck does she think is going to happen to me???)  So we decided to place the station on a hinged pole.  Well, turns out that when you put a hinge on a 2x4 it doesn't like to remain in line.  In fact it wobbled quite badly.  So we ended up putting a turnbuckle on it to keep it stable.  What with her painting the pole, my questionable ability with tools in general, about 4 trips to the hardware store and the heat, it took about two weeks to get the darned thing erected!  However, now I can look over at the display and tell that we have an 8 mph breeze from the North.  Gotta admit though that I'm NOT looking forward to changing that battery!  The only other complaint I have is that the display is REALLY bright.  No need for a nightlight or even a flashlight with that thing around.

I keep reading about our President and his seeming inability to keep his foot out of his mouth.  It puzzles me that he can be so naive and be successful in business.  Perhaps it is simply that he hires people (and perhaps bribes people?) who do his bidding.  He certainly seems to have trouble keeping people around him as President.  I've lost track of all the people he's fired and he's only been in office for six months.  Of course he's managed to piss off almost every other head of state except for Putin.  We'll just have to see what happens. My wife and I have in the last few years visited several Presidential museums.  The last time we were in Texas we got to visit LBJ's in Austin and George Bush (Sr)'s in College Station.  It is kind of fun seeing what is emphasized and what is downplayed.  God knows what Trump's will look like!

When we come home from a trip we seem to start thinking about another one.  At least it seems that way sometimes.  We are now talking about a trailer trip into the mid-west.  We had hoped to go last year for my 50th high school reunion but I had neck surgery instead.  There won't be a high school reunion to visit with this year but we still have a few relatives and friends out that direction.  We hope to make it this time!

How's all that for another dull post?  Sorry but I'm just a dull guy.  Thanks for stopping by.

Still here....

These are quiet times so in being quiet I'm just going with the flow.  I looked at my last post and I was whining about the dust.  Well, I'm not the only one!  The Las Vegas Review Journal is as well.  Their weather system is sometimes different from ours but this time it's pretty similiar.  This was taken this morning about 06:00 when we were setting out on our walk.

Pretty, yes, but the air quality does leave something to be desired. 

We were in Las Vegas yesterday.  It's amazing the things you can decide you need.  We went into a store looking for a new cheese grater.  Well, $85 later we got out of the store.  We needed all that stuff I guess.  One thing that I think is pretty cool is an outlet that will recharge phones, tablets, etc.  My wife especially is a great one for reading in bed and her electronics are always running out of juice so she has to get up and wander around to get them charged.  Now she can just hook up one device and go play on the other for a while.  I know lamps are coming out with such things but we like our bedside lamps.  Why replace something you like?

We had lunch at Chipotle Mexican Grill.  I don't know if they have some new competition in town or if all the bad publicity about E. coli, etc. is scaring people away but business at that particular restaurant was really slow.  In the past we've eaten there and have had trouble finding a place to sit.  Not this time.  This time there were only two or three other tables with diners.  I certainly hope they can fix whatever ails them because we really do like the food. 

My wife found a ham on sale last week.  I'm sure you know the old line defining eternity as the length of time it takes two people to eat a ham.  Well, it's coming close:  ham and eggs; ham sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, ham stuffed peppers, ham and bean soup, ham ham ham.  I'm not really complaining because we both really like ham but it is certainly something to remember!  Just to break things up I bbq'd a chicken the other night.  Throw some asparagus and a couple ears of corn on the barbie as well and you have a lovely meal with minimal clean up.  Hmmm, I must be hungry!

Speaking of my wife, she went to the optomotrist recently complaining her glasses were no longer right.  $550 later and in a couple weeks, she'll have new glasses.  She likes the progressive lens style and needs something to reduce glare and something to reduce scratching and.... Well, you get the idea.  By the time all the bits and pieces are added in, it's getting pretty close to expensive.

As you can see if you've made it this far, it's quiet around here.  I'll shut up now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Summer Time!

We've got summer time here in all it's glory; even technically now that the solstice is past.  Our Las Vegas weathercasters are talking between 108F (42C) and 113F (45C) for the next 7 days; tonight they are talking a low of 93F (34C).  This is a bit warm even for here!  Still, this is the time for it.

One of the changes we make based on the season is when we walk.  In the winter, mid-afternoon sounds good but these days, the earlier the better.  This a.m. we were out before sunrise.  Walking is the exercise we are best at for sure.  It's been a staple since we moved here in 2008.  Of course there have been pauses; like after my surgery.  We started walking again about a week after I had my surgery.  Then we were doing the short walk which is about a mile (1.6km).  Now we have worked ourselves up to the 'long walk' which is a bit over 2.25 miles(3.6km).  At first the short walk had me resting for an hour or so but now we are pretty much back to normal.  Also last Friday was three weeks since the surgery and the day my doctor anointed as the day I could start driving again.  Wow, was that a relief!  My wife is actually a very good driver and she enjoys driving but laying back in that passenger seat is pretty unusual for me.  I've been susceptible to motion sickness for as long as I can remember so riding with others is something I really avoid.  Making it to Las Vegas for the followup appointment with my doctor is the farthest I've ridden with anyone else for quite some time.  Back on 2004 my knee went out while we were on a trailer trip to the midwest.  My wife got to drive something like 1,400 miles (2,250km) that time! 

We have noticed that this summer seems to be a year for rabbits.  Believe me when I say I know nothing about rabbit populations but here in the valley the population seems to run in cycles.  This is a lots-o-rabbits year.  I think they come around every three or four years but don't really know.  Year before last we could take our walk and see maybe two rabbits; this year we are seeing twenty or thirty plus a few jack rabbits.  I keep telling myself that it's just the year for them.  Maybe later in the summer we'll start seeing coyotes and then the year-of-the-rabbit will come to a rapid end.  What we haven't seen is quail.  No idea why but I don't believe we've seen one all year.

Anyway, that's a summer morning around here.  The other good news is that we are up for the sunrise on the mountains. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good one!

Cruising, kind of.....

Since returning from Washington we've been just catching our breath.  Between the 6,000 miles to and from Florida and the 2,500 to and from Washington; we're loving being stationary!

Somewhere along the line my neck and back started giving me trouble.  This crap comes and goes but it's kind of stuck around this time so I've gone to the doctor and had a few x-rays done.  They don't tell me much but I have an appointment with an orthopedic specialist coming up.  Maybe they can offer some good ideas.  I do know I don't want to be in pain forever and I don't want to be taking pain meds forever either.  There's gotta be a better way.

When we got home from Florida we had quite a few weeds in our yard.  During the trip to and from Washington it got kind of out of hand.

Happily we were able to engage a couple of young men to come and remove them.  Believe me, they earned their money pulling those weeds!  The small ones got sprayed.  Good bye weeds.  I'm sure they will return next year.


One of the things I love about living here is that there is such a diverse population.  Here is an RV I found in the Walmart parking lot.  I didn't want to approach too close; some folks really like their privacy.

It was built on a F-350 Ford chassis.  The only part I don't like is the lack of windows.  There wasn't even one.  However, maybe they have a cool sunroof.  The cover on the top would keep some of the sun out but who knows.  The guy sure likes his spare tires!

Gotta go.  I'll see if I can't do more of this updating thing. Ha!  Thanks for stopping by.

Still recovering!

It's been a week since we returned from Ireland and we are still recovering.  It took us between three and four days on each end of the trip to get to feeling normal again.  That's longer than when we were younger but acceptable I guess. 

We got home to some nice cool weather; about the same as in Ireland as a matter of fact!  Then twice last week it actually rained.  Yep, we get rain here once in a while.  The rain was much harder than any we experienced in Ireland!  There we had light misty rain; this was a regular thunderstorm complete with lightning.  Happily it didn't cause any mud slides. 

I've been going through some of the approximately 600 photos we took during our three week trip.  That's not as bad as the number we took when visiting China last year but it's still daunting.  Our trip started and ended in Dublin.  We wanted to see as much coastline as we could so we traveled in a clockwise direction around to Galway where we drove across the country to return to Dublin.  Originally we wanted to continue up to Northern Ireland but we just ran out of time.  Here is a map roughly showing our route in blue with towns where we stayed underlined in yellow.  A couple of the towns were way too small to be on the map so I just left a yellow line there to indicate the approximate position of the town.

I'm going to add photos is pretty much a random order; there are just so many!  After landing at Dublin airport north of town we took the ring road around town and headed south for Wicklow.  Why there?  No reason; it was just the first largish town in the direction we wanted to go.  We needed to find a place for the night before falling asleep in the car.  Then next day was when we first saw the coastline we'd been looking for.  It was kind of cool and rainy but not bad.

There are a few photos that I'll toss in that typify Ireland for us.  Here is one showing the lovely green countryside and the nearness of the sea.

I don't often think of the ties that bind our two countries but they are certainly there.  We stopped at a hotel/pub/restaurant in the town of Kinsale ssouth of Cork on the seacoast.  As we were leaving I noticed this memorial they created for firefighters lost on 9-11.  There must be some local tie but I found it rather touching to find this in just an ordinary hotel.

I'll end with something traditional:  kissing the Blarney Stone.  We both had to do it.  It was way up in this old tower.  I didn't like those steps and they didn't like me but I got up them anyway.  So now I'm an official silver-tongued devil.

The guy is there to be sure no fat Americans get stuck in the hole!  As my wife says it sure would have been easier to do this when I was 45 rather than 65.  I'll be sharing more photos as I get them resized.  Take care.

Not bragging but....

Sorry Boston but I've gotta say our average temperture for this time of year is about 65F (18C).  This year we are about 75F (23C) today and the forecasters are talking 80F (26C) by the weekend.  I've got to admit though that it's not real pretty around here.  The mountains are nice.

That photo was take March 2 from our front yard.  We are at 2,600 ft. (790m) elevation so I imagine the snow level is down to 4,000 ft (1220m) or so.  Sorry I don't remember the temp. that day.  The camera captures a lot of information but not that.  Not yet! 

Has anyone checked out the new cameras with GPS built in?  It might be cool for a professional photographer but as a private citizen I'm not so sure I want that information available on my photos.  Say you post it on a blog like this; you would be giving the location of your home to anyone interested.  So if you are blogging from San Diego all a person would have to do is look at an older photo of your home to have the address of your empty home.  Nah, I'm going to skip the GPS attachment.

The weather has been so nice our cactus have decided it's spring so it's time to bud.  We don't have any other plants in our yard but the neighbor's trees are budding out too.  Here's the staghorn buds.  It's the small red mass in between the spikes!

Our other cactus has had a dry winter too but when it is stressed by the cold and drought, it turns red or purple.  Now that it's spring I'll start watering it regularly and it will return to green.  Here the buds are the little round guys in the lower third of the photo.

To get off the weather for a moment let me show you my latest adventure with the smoker:  pork ribs!

I finally found some decent advice on smoking them and they actually turned out quite well.  I made up a rub that was basically salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder then smoked them for two hours.  After that I read that I should wrap them in foil and cook for another two hours.  I figured that they sure weren't going to get any more smoke through that foil so brought them in to finish in the oven.  The final step was to just cook them for another hour but not in the foil.  In the last half hour I did baste them with just a bit of bbq sauce.  They were really pretty good.  The first time I skipped the foil and just let them ride in the smoker.  They got dry and tough so foil is my new friend!  There is a pork butt in the fridge.  I'm trying to figure out what to do with it.  Hopefully I'll take a photo or two of whatever becomes of it.

That's the quiet life for now.  We didn't go out to lunch yesterday so I'm thinking my wife will have plans.  Take care!

Home again...

We decided that since with had the trailer out we'd head out on a road trip.  Not a very long one, just over to San Diego to see Number One Son, Significant Other and the sights.  It was a good week.  Long enough to see stuff; short enough to still be happy in the trailer when we got back. 

What do you think the odds are that in a place where we get maybe 2" of rain a year that it would be raining when we hooked up?  Small odds for sure.  Now what are the odds that it would be raining when we unhooked a week later?  Tiny, right?  But that's what happened.  Rain around here is usually like mist in other places but we had it going on both when we hooked up on the 22nd and when we unhooked on the 1st of March.  Not only that it was really raining (by anyone's measure) when we hooked up to leave San Diego.  Jeez! 

The trip down was pretty uneventful except there was some kind of traffic slowdown on Cajon Pass so rather than worrying about keeping everything down to a reasonable speed we got to worry about getting to the park before they closed.  The GPS estimated our arrival at 15:30 when we set out but we actually made it to the part at 16:55; only 5 minutes before the office closes.  Doing 6-7 mph for the entire length of the pass makes quite a difference!  The uphill side was going fine; it was just the downhill side that had the problem.  We called the California DOT hotline but they didn't know of any problem and we didn't see one.  Who knows; it's just California traffic.  

We got one of our usual spots overlooking Mission Bay. 

It's expensive but we get that water fix whenever we look out the window.  Water, boats, ducks; what's not to like?

We managed to hit Pacific Beach a couple times.  It's fun walking along doing people watching.  We saw this one guy who was shirtless; he must kiss the mirror every time he looks in one.  Then there was the woman who had some obvious help in the bra department who also thought that 5 lb. of makeup was appropriate for the beach.  Wow, some poeple.  Happily they were the minority!  We also went to IKEA.  I know it's not to everyones taste but I like seeing different things and IKEA has it's own style.  I believe they are planning a store in Las Vegas but that's down the pike a ways.  One of the most fun things was going to the Poway Farmer's Market (son lives around there).  It was fun looking at all the stuff and we got a couple little items.  The stalls were really into organic almost anything.

Trip home was pretty much like the trip going except we were spared the slowdown.  Instead we got rain most of the way!  The forecast was for wind and snow above 4,000 feet so I was happy enough with the rain.  We got here to find an entire weeks newspapers thrown in our yard.  The delivery person apparently doesn't read the 'hold' notices.  Needless to say we aren't impressed.  The paper is my wife's thing so she is trying to figure out if she wants to cancel the subscription or if they can manage to convince her to keep them on.  We'll see.

Now that we are home; I can BBQ again so I'm off to the store looking for a likely subject.  Maybe I'll even remember to take a photo.  Thanks for stopping by.

Well, actual rain!

On December 2, last Tuesday, I looked out the window and saw it!  Rain!  This is what it looked like at first.

It looks like there is more rain closer to the camera because it is splashing off the house.  But then it actually turned into a nice gentle rain the kept going all Tuesday afternoon.  Wednesday was overcast then on Thursday we got more rain.  This is just crazy!  Granted it's probably not going to amount to much but still.  It's been a long time since we had any rain. 

I had to take this photo on Thursday.

The pigeons didn't care about the rain; they wanted to bath anyway!  We started with two bird baths; one deeper and one more shallow.  The shallow one is plastic and decided to crack.  I have been fooling with it for months trying to get it to hold water again.  No luck!  Maybe it's time for a new one.

It's still kind of foggy today so we are enjoying the difference.  This photo of the mountain behind our house  was taken on the 1st.

The following was taken this morning.

Pretty cool!  We used to live in Seattle and it wouldn't be unusual for Mt. Rainier to be cloud covered for a month at a time.  Here it's pretty unusual. 

We are flying the flag today.  It's December 7 "a day which will live in infamy".  Here's hoping THIS December 7 won't be so bad.  Have a good one!

Quiet times but warming up

We have been having some quiet times but it is warming up to the point where we can sometimes have the windows open.  Really that time is limited to a couple hours in the afternoon and only if the wind isn't blowing too hard.  The wind really picks up the dust and that's bad for the sinuses as well as just dirty.  I do like hearing the outdoor sounds especially the birds.  I am also reminded that we are near two Air Force bases, a bombing range and a busy commercial airport - all within 75 miles (120km) or so.  There is a surprising amount of air traffic for so quiet a little town.  I'm also convinced that were is some sort of mountain training facility around here; there are just too many flights of military helicopters around.

I did go to Las Vegas again last week.  Just buying a few things that aren't available here (or are too expensive).  It was a nice trip.  I took this photo of the Spring Mountains north of the highway.  These would probably be at the 5-6,000 foot level (1,500-1,800m).

Once we get over the pass I make a turn and go towards Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  Apparently it is renowned as a climbing venue.  Personally I like nice flat areas, the view of a vertical section of rock does not call to me.  It is however very beautiful.

These are identified as 'bluffs'; looks like a mountain to me but I'm no geologist.  The valley is a mile or two wide at this point.  You are driving along the east side of the valley looking across at these 'bluffs' and suddenly you come to a sign that identifies this as a Nevada Scenic Highway.  What?  What about the past couple miles?  I mean the whole thing is only 12-15 miles.  But I guess Nevada Dept. of Transportation has some weird rule.  They do the same thing with bike lanes.  All of a sudden, out in the middle of nowhere you find a sign saying 'Bike Lane'.  How the hell are you supposed to get out there with the bike?  Jeez. 

Anyway, now that I've had my little rant, I finally come to the conservation area itself.  This is from the overlook; taking the loop road gets you up close to the cliffs but I wasn't really there to do the tourist thing so settled for the overlook.  The cliffs are 3-4 miles (4-6km) away from this point.

It really is quite striking and for scenery when you are just going into town for a few items it is quite lovely.  It makes the drive quite pleasant. 

That was the big trip of the month so far.  More to come later.  Thanks for stopping by.

Another week...

Well, I haven't been gone for multiple weeks anyway!  We had a nice time in San Diego.  Number One Son & his SO have bought a house and we got to help them move in .  They are pretty private, even with us, so we just got to move some of the larger pieces.  Still, it was fun.  I think they were kind of surprised that a couple old fogies like us could actually lift furniture.  I remember helping move friends back in the 1980's; we did sometimes find 'marital secrets' like sex toys & lubes.  Nothing really all that nasty, just a bit embarrassing for the couple. 

Got back home last Sunday and have been cooling it since then.  Went into Las Vegas for our usual liquor and Sam's Club run on Thursday.  Got a free lunch at Number One Daughter's house.  She is actually learning to cook!  We had a nice lunch of chicken and roasted vegies.  I think I had three helpings of the vegies!  Then we managed to find the only rude employee of Total Wine and the world's slowest checkout person but otherwise it was ok.  She even managed to use the PLU codes from my phone to get us a couple of discounts.  Coming home it was pretty windy and I was getting sleepy but we managed it.

Now we are getting the Nevada version of a rain storm; a few drops on the concrete and plenty of wind.  It's not very exciting but what can I say?  Maybe we'll get some real rain next year.  Snow, nah, it's for the East Coast and the Canadian's out there.  LOL  Do you know, we actually have to have federal flood insurance here?  Yep, another instance of our wonderful government taking care of us - or at least making us pay to take care of ourselves!  This is considered to be part of the Mohave Desert after all.  Maybe there is something kind of screwy logic there but that's for the really 'smart' people to discover.  On the other side of the coin, I will say that since I've gone onto Medicare we are saving $600 a MONTH from what we were paying for my wife's company supported health insurance policy.  Hmmm, nothing wrong with that!

Gotta go.  Thanks for stopping by & hope you have a great day.

Headed to Vegas again....

Our little town is fun but I do miss some of the excitement of a city.  So I'm off to the big city again.  The last time I was there I actually drove a bit on the strip; now that's downright painful!  The traffic is stopped for long periods and there is always one or two tourists who think they can cross between the cars.  Vegas has LOTS of pedistrians killed every year because they are too damn dumb to use crosswalks and pay attention to the 'Walk' lights.  Yeah they have been drinking, usually the driver is just a victim too.

We've been having some great weather lately.  We are actually in the 70's!  (21C for the rest of the world.)  It helps us to get out and exercise when it's so great.  We are about 15 degrees (F) (8C) above average.  Tough life, huh.  All this mean that our tomato plants are really confused.  They are still producing tomatoes!  Weird stuff. 

I'm working on a minor photographic project:  I'm taking a photo or two of the Nopah Mountains every morning.  I'm hoping to create a photographic montage of the way the sun hits the mountain differently in different seasons.  Here is my subject.

We'll see how it works out.  Gotta go.  Have a good one!

Jeez, almost a week later!

Yeah, I'm a crappy blogger.  Even when what I write makes sense I still don't do it regularly.  Sorry! 

Well the front page of the LV Review Journal said it for me "Government Reopens".  What a bunch of idiots!  We may as well have the third grade class from our local school running things except that then the laws they pass wouldn't be 5,000 pages long!  I'm thinking we need term limits on all senators and representatives; re-do their pay and benefit package and ban lawyers from serving at all.  Hmmm.  What do you think that would do for the lobby industry?  LOL  I know where all the lawyers would go.

Happily I've been taking my mind off the dumbshit government by driving back and forth to Vegas.  I made one of our regular runs for booze and stuff we can't get here a week ago Wednesday.  (Just as an example, a bottle of scotch that is $27 in Vegas is $42 here.  I like to support local business but really!)  Then last Tuesday we went back so my wife and daughter could go see 'Gravity' in 3D.  I got to run around town a bit.  They gave the movie a C+ and were totally underwhelmed by the 3D.  My wife said that aside from the occasional bolt floating by the 3D was pretty much wasted and using the glasses drove her nuts.  Granted it may be a short trip but I'm pretty certain there won't be any more 3D experiments for some time. 

While I was in Sin City I made another visit to Harbor Freight; how exciting is that!  Well, I also went to an "Adult Store".  I bought a little thing for my wife and the clerk offered me a free 'cock ring'.  I said 'sure' because I figured why not.  Free is good.  Not the kind of thing I usually share on the blog but this thing is amazing!  Amazingly funny that is!  Don't worry, I'm not wearing it but I do have to share a photo of it.  Needless to say this is going into the drawer reserved for weird crap - aka the trash.  My wife almost fell over laughing when I showed it to her.  She promised me that if I DID wear it she would run the other way.  Well, anyway I'm pretty sure why it was free!

Did I mention it is supposed to glow in the dark?  I've been afraid to look!

Otherwise it is cooling down nicely.  We had some snow on Mt. Charleston.  Highs are in the 70's (23C) and lows in the 40's (5C).  After a long hot summer it is kind of nice to be wearing long pants again.  Our fall tomato plants have blossems but I'm not counting on them actually growing a tomato before the frost kills them.  Perhaps I should build them a little shelter.  There are several farms in the valley providing custom produce for restaurants in Las Vegas but they are using greenhouses.  Some are hydroponic farms; some not. 

Gotta go.  I'm being threatened with a good breakfast!  Take care.

Jeez, it's been a while!

No I didn't get run over by my own truck or anything.  We did have to buy two new batteries for the trailer; the old ones wouldn't hold a charge.  I was stupid and let them get discharged down to nothing one too many times.  Then after cleaning the posts & charging the truck batteries I had to go buy new batteries for it because they wouldn't hold a charge either.  I can't really complain; it is a 2008 truck so five years service isn't bad.  The guy at the store claimed the average life of a battery out here in the desert is only about 27 months.  It sounds really short to me but what do I know. So now I'm just waiting for the Toyota to need a new battery.  I mean it's the only one left!

My wife was on jury duty last week and the trial has been extended until tomorrow.  We are hopeful that they will be able to finish but not really optomistic.  It is a civil case, not criminal, so there is lots to quibble about.  She can't talk about it of course but it sounds like it is both boring and facinating at the same time.  I'm looking forward to the end so I can hear all about it.

As you can see, it's still pretty warm around here.  This display is for Las Vegas but it's pretty close to our weather.  Walking is definitely done in the morning or not at all.  The folks behind us are having some work done to their yard.  I sure feel sorry for those poor guys working in the mid-day heat.

Obviously there isn't a whole lot going on around here these days.  Hopefully I'll have more to say another time.  Till then, thanks for stopping by.  Have a good one.

Hot!

I know it's not really news about the heat wave that is covering the Southwest U.S. but I've got to say it is warm.  Staying inside and running the a/c is our way of coping.  It's not very unique, or cheap(!) but it works. 

Here our indoor-outdoor thermometer shows 100F (38C) at 20:37 in the evening last Friday night.  That would be about half an hour after sunset.  The 77F (25C) is inside, of course.  I question the 10% humidity outside and the 2% inside.  It is undoubtedly dry but that's pretty extreme. 


Lately we've noticed a jack rabbit hanging out in our back yard.  He (or she) is fairly young but is growing up fast.  It's a good place for a rabbit to live; the coyotes aren't likely to get in and if the did the rabbit would probably be able to get out quicker than they could.  A couple nights ago he came up close to the house and I got a good photo of him.

Here is another photo of the guy having a bit of breakfast that I put out - a few carrots.  

We aren't going  to feed him very often.  We wouldn't like him to get too used to handouts but once in a while he might get something.  I put some water out for him as well but he didn't care about it.  They must get enough liquid from the things they eat.  Their hind legs really are absurdly long compared to the rest of their body; I should try to get a video of him hopping around.  Those legs make them a LOT faster than an ordinary bunny. 

Well, you can tell how exciting things are around here.  Actually it's great!  The lack of drama really works for me.   Hope your drama level is to your liking as well.  Have a good one.