Have I mentioned it's still warm?

 Jeez!  This warm weather thing is getting old but what ya gonna do?  Yeah, not much!  And it's only gotten up to 105F here (40.5C) so that's not an unheard of temp.  Of course the a/c in our car has decided to take a break.  That's unpleasant!  Especially since we had it repaired to the tune of $2,400 in April.  Needless to say the garage is going to be helping us with that. 

I've just gotten a new PC.  It's an HP with an i7 core and a couple of TB of storage.  It's been a long while since I've had to deal with a new PC and boy is it a giant pain in the ass!  I'm used to various pieces of software and now I'm learning I was using antiques.  I was using this office software that was last updated in 2011 for heaven's sake.  Well, that's dead.  And I go to copy my photographs to a flash drive and it turns out 128GB isn't enough room.  I've got nearly 45,000 photos on the darn computer.  Well, that's why I wanted the 2 TB hard drive on the new one.  

On the health front we are all screwed up.  My wife's two broken toes have mended but now they are cramping when she walks.  My sciatica is still a pain in the butt (sorry, I should have resisted that).  And our dog's right front paw is still growing cysts between the toes.  This growing old does have disadvantages.  I had to go to the DMV yesterday to get my driver's license renewed.  They have an online method for doing that but it wouldn't work for me so I asked the clerk about it.  She just smiled.  "You're over 70 and we want people that age to come in and be tested."  Shit!  But I can't blame them either.  You want to be sure they are still breathing and all that.

One of the things we really like is the mountains that surround us.  Here is a sunrise from last month.  It's fun watching the sun move from one end of the mountains to the other.

And we do feed the local birds.  Here I haven't filled the feeder but the thistle is still pretty popular!

It's ok.  I'll get the other one filled too!  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands and staying away from the sick folks.

Well, it's still warm.

Yep, summer in the great desert is still warm.  But that's not to say it can't be pretty.  Especially in the early morning when it's not too hot!

I'm always saying that looking at those mountains is one of the reasons we like living here and it's certainly true.  Driving around and seeing people with Trump 2024 flags is certainly NOT one of the good things but I guess they get to have their opinions too.  

A few weeks ago I posted a photo of our front door with tons of dead crickets on the floor.  A few days later I saw this series of photos posted from northern Nevada.

At least we aren't the only ones with the problem!  I'm hearing one of our neighbors using a blower almost every day going around his house blowing the darned things away.  However the bug population at our house has dropped to almost zero so I'm hoping that the problem is going/has gone away.  

Our outside temps are dropping a bit but I'm sure that's just a momentary thing.  Still, there is quite a difference between 104F and 112F (40C and 44.4C).  It will be another month or so before the drop is to the point where you want to be outside!  

A couple of years ago we contacted our local electricity company (Valley Electric aka VEA) and asked about solar panels for generating electricity.  They have a subsidiary that they want you to use (gee!) so we ended up spending about $25,000 on solar panels.  Our house faces north so the panels, mounted on the south side, aren't visible when you look at the house.  And, do they work, you ask.  Yep.  Here's the usage info from the bill covering 6/23 to 7/23 of this year.  It's stupid I think but the power from the panels is sent to the company and then the company sends out power to our house.  It turns out that the panels are almost covering our electric needs even when the a/c is on 24/7 (actually our house is all electric; no gas at all).  In fact, over the year we end up with about 3 months of extra energy created vs energy used.  Of course they take that and sell it to others but that's the way things work when there is no competition.

I'm being obsessed the the Presidential election.  I'm not sure why; I never had any idea that Kamala Harris was alive until she became President Biden's VP.  Never heard of Tim Walz or JD Vance either.  Still a couple of those people are going to be running our country in something under 6 months.  I was worried that President Biden was getting a little old to be running the country but Mr. Trump isn't any spring chicken either!  Actually, him having Vance as his VP makes me a little afraid because there is at least say a 20% chance that some illness might happen to Mr. Trump.  And then Mr. Vance would be acting President/the next President.  Yeah, that does worry me.  I've been following a blog that is pretty anti-Trump and it makes some really good points quoting printed articles and sharing cartoons from all over the place.  For sure it's not a pro-Trump site but I like it!

Well, that's the news from this corner of the desert.  Have a great day and keep washing those hands and staying away from the sick people!

Summer, what fun!

No, not really!  Not in southern Nevada anyway.  Our dog has been limiting himself to one run out to do his bathroom duties; first thing in the morning.  Well, I kind of knew what was going on but this?!?!

Yeah, that's the temp of those rocks that fill the back yard.  That's 160F or 71C.  Well, hell, I wouldn't want to walk on that in my bare feet either!  I was expecting something warm but that is just way warmer than I was expecting.  Good dog!

I got my shot last Thursday which was supposed to help my spinal nerve problems and I have to say it did change things but that's not to say fixed them!  It just kind of moved the pain around a bit.  We'll see what they have to say when I can get in to talk with them again.  

The Presidential election is about all that's on the news these days and I have to say I'm pretty happy about how it is moving along.  I should say I'm originally from Iowa, a Republican state, and even today my wife and I are registered Republicans.  Actually that is simply so we can have some voice here.  There will be 4 people running for a position in the county government, all Republican, so whoever wins the primary will automatically get the position.  There just won't be a Democratic or Independent candidate.  It says something about the number of Democrats in the county for sure!  ANYWAY, we will certainly be voting for Kamala Harris for President and are, so far, pretty happy with the choice of Tim Walz for VP.  

One of my HUGE problems with Mr. Trump is the whole Project 2025 thing.  There is some serious crap in that.  Things like purging civil servants, pardon everyone in the Jan. 6 invasion of the capital, enact an abortion ban, reverse student debt forgiveness, cut social security, cut Medicare, abolish the Dept. of Education, ban books, attack LGBTQ+ people, end climate protections, deregulate corporations and the oil industry, put immigrants in detention camps and more!  OMG!  It makes me think that living in another country might be better!  Well, I guess that is one way to reduce the number of people who want to move to this country.  Shit!

We do have some fun in our lives though.  We were going to a supermarket for something the other day and saw this official vehicle.

Can't you just see it in a speeding chase?  LOL  Well, actually, it was being driven by a couple of the sheriff's civilian helpers.  They were apparently helping the supermarket folks with something or maybe just buying donuts for the real cops.  

Anyway, that's all the news that's fit to type from around here.  Hope you are having as much fun.  Keep washing those hands and staying away from the sick folks.

Just cruising along

 Don't have much to talk about because life is being pretty dull and no photos for the same reason.  That's going to change next week but that's because of doctor visits and stuff like that.  Nothing really big until Thursday when I'm supposed to get some sort of spinal injection for my spinal stinosis.  We'll see how that goes.  I saw this doctor on June 20 and August 1 is the first day he could "fit me in".  What a crap medical system we have in this country!

Yesterday we couldn't see the mountains in any direction.  That's amazing for us because usually we've got them around us about 300 of the 360 degrees(there aren't any directly east of us).  My wife suggested someone had said it was because of the Chico, CA fire but that's over 400 miles away so I'm kind of doubtful.  Anyway, it did clear up by the afternoon and this morning is quite nice.  Heck, it's only 76F (24C) outside so that's great!  No fear, we'll still get over 100F (38C) before the day is over.

I said it was nice and clear in the morning but then about 10:00 the mountains started to disappear into cloud or dust or whatever.  That only lasted for a couple hours though and now, at about 3 pm it's nice and clear again.  Weirdness for sure!   

My wife's toes are getting better and she is able to walk about a bit now.  It's obviouly not comfortable but she doesn't need the wheelchair any more so that's good!  We are still spending a lot of time in our recliners.  It's not very good for your health but it isn't painful!  We like to give to the local VFW Food Bank so we bought some stuff via Smith's Food and Drug's pickup service the other day and this morning she went out to inventory what we received.  We think it's all there but we had trouble finding 2 small packets of tuna.  But, really, if the picker was that hungry, well, maybe it would have gone to them anyway.  While she was having that fun, I was working on cleaning the front porch again.  Talk about life in the fast lane!  We've still got zillions of bugs out there.  We keep killing them but they seem to still re-produce.  Who knows?  We got a UPS delivery the other day and the guy said our porch wasn't the worst he's seen.  Now that's hard to believe but I'd like to!  

I don't like to talk about politics here but I have to admit that I'm happy that President Biden has taken himself out of the race for another term.  And I admire him for the graceful way he is doing it.  It's not because I don't like what he's done or that I'm worried about his abilities but I just don't see 75-85 year old people as appropriate leaders.  I'm 75 and I have to say I have trouble remembering words sometimes; my balance isn't what it was 20 years ago; making an even 20 minute speech WITH a teleprompter would be problematic.  Of course, I've got those same worries about Mr. Trump because he too is even older than me.  But with him I've got other problems:  draft dodger; convicted felon; molestor of women; and those are the easy to remember/prove things.  Our daughter was here a few days ago and I had to tell her I'd much rather be choosing to vote for someone her age (50's) than someone my age.  It's time for a new generation to take over.

Anyway, have a good one and try to stay away from those sick people!

Just some quiet time...

We aren't doing anything much these days.  It is usually in the 104-110F temp range (40-43C) so staying inside in the a/c is pretty tempting.  We have some new houses being built in our neighborhood for first time in at least 5 or 6 years.  This isn't a 'development' where you see a builder doing 8 or 10 at a time.  These are 1 acre lots (something over 4,000 sq. m.) so it's not like your back fence is right in your face.  There is plenty of that in other parts of town.  Of course we don't have a golf course and we have to have our own well for water.

I had a doctor's appointment the other day and when that was over I called my wife to see if there was something I should be picking up.  She didn't answer.  Well, that is kind of worrying.  When I got home I discovered she'd fallen and twisted her toes!  We decided to check with her doctor and they suggested an x-ray and darned if she hadn't broken two of her toes!  So now she is back in her wheelchair for a bit.  It does slow you down when you cannot walk.  And it gives me a lot more to do.  LOL 

We've been having a nasty infiltration of bugs lately.  They are mostly extra small cricket like critters.  For some reason they really like our front door area.  It is on the north side of the house and covered so I imagine it is cooler there than other places but it is really just nasty.  I've been sweeping it every day and they just keep coming.  Here's from a couple days ago where I'd swept them away from the door but not off the concrete quite yet.

We did have a nice sunrise the other day.

Then yesterday I had to go to the store in the mid-afternoon.  I pulled the car out of the garage and it was raining!  I was so shocked I had to go back into the house and tell my wife.  Of course this is Nevada and rain on our house doesn't mean rain a quarter of a mile away.  Sure enough it was dry as a bone by the time I got off our street.  There was this rather nice rainbow though complete with the moon peeking out from under the cloud.

I guess that's all the news from this corner.  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands and stay away from the sick people!

July is moving along!

Jeez, I know I'm getting older and older but this speeding up of time is just crazy!  It was only a couple days ago that I took this on the 4th.

Yeah, I didn't even go outside to take the photo.  I wonder why I was such an idiot?  Hmmm, maybe this?

Those are dead and dying bugs in front of our front door!  I've been cleaning it every day or two.  That's just wrong but it's been going on for the last 10 days or so.  The only thing I can think of is that the porch is shaded on the North side of the house so it has to be quite a bit cooler than being out in the sunshine.  And when we are talking 115 F (46C); well, it's nasty out there in the sun! 

Of course those bugs like the ceiling too.

Needless to say I've been spraying around the doors.  We are still getting bugs into the house.  Actually, the population is nothing like outside but finding a dozen every day is kind of depressing.  

We have finally tried leaving Gus, the dog, alone for an hour or so while we go out to lunch.  He tends to find a place where he can see the front door, the garage door and the back door; and that's where he stays!  It's a big improvement over last year where he would be barking and running around.  

And just to prove that I'm not the only one with a camera on my phone, here's a photo my wife took of the sunrise this morning.

That cloud cover made for a nice morning.  Not cool but under 80F (27C).  Well, that's all the news from out here in nowhere.  Have a good one and keep washing those hands!

No, I did not watch the debate!

Ok, I started watching it but after about 10 minutes of listening to Mr. Trump lie I just couldn't take it any more.  Wow!  And to think that there are people who actually admire him!  What can they be thinking?  And poor old Joe Biden looked so, well, old.  It was just nasty.

The 4th of July is coming up pretty quickly and that's a big deal around here.  We have at least 3 huge fireworks stores in our little town.  Of course you are only allowed to use fireworks at a public area well out of town; not in your back yard or anywhere like that.  And people in Las Vegas can't use fireworks; people in California can't use fireworks; but somehow the stores stay in business.  Hmmmm.  Do you think some folks are breaking the law or maybe just storing fireworks for a day when they will be made legal? 

These folks usually have a flag flying but when it comes to a special holiday they do kind of add to the display.  And, yes, the business is named "Area 51 Fireworks"; a nod to the well known extraterrestrial area just over the mountains from us.  It's maybe 50 miles 'as the crow flies'.  Actually I was on a civilian board advising the government on communicating with the public about the Nevada Test Site.  We got to visit much of the Test Site and even got a long distance view of Area 51.  We were no way close enough to actually see anything aside from dusty desert.

We had an interesting morning a couple days ago.  I really liked the cloud layer.  And it was fairly cool since the sun wasn't baking your body.

Still, that was unusual.  It is usually 'not a cloud in the sky' and something over 100F (38C).  You can tell it's warm when the birds are hiding in the shade wherever they can find it.

Well, that's all that's fit to print this morning.  Keep washing those hands and keep away from the sick people!