June 26, 2015 Hot & Getting Hotter

Several shades of clover on the south ridge as it
turns from white to pink to almost red.

Part of the main road down in the canyon.

Wednesday 6/24. It was 65 and mostly cloudy this morning.  The clouds continued to drift over all day and our high was 78.  A very pleasant 78.

Sandy called this morning and we had a nice long chat.  It is supposed to be hot in Santa Rosa this weekend also.  Neither one of us is looking forward to the heat.

Spent a couple hours shredding old documents.  Can't believe we have some going back to 2001!  They should have been taken care of years ago.

The 4th of July is suddenly creeping close and I have lots to do in order to be ready for our picnic.  We have at least nine people coming, and possibly more.  So I did little things outside, details to make things look better.

JB's Mom had her outpatient surgery yesterday and all is well.  She is a little sore and groggy, but doing just fine.

Very sad news from Larry and Elsie.  Elsie's favorite hen, Bella, was killed by a stray dog yesterday.  She knew how to get out of the coup and spent most of her days outside in the yard.  She would follow Elsie all around, chatting as they went.  Bella will be missed.

We have been thinking about building a small greenhouse on the deck against the wall of the house.  There is a great plan for one in the latest issue of Backwoods Home.  Won't be doing it this year, but hopefully next year.

I drove down to pick up the mail on Tuesday and had a nice visit with Mrs. Gridder and her boys.  She is a teacher, so they are all off for the summer.  She showed me a picture she took of the boys holding a prairie rattler on a shovel they had found and killed over the weekend.  Their rattle snake had NINE rattles!

Thank you to the person who posted the comment regarding humming bird feeders and bears.  Yes, bears do like anything sweet.  When I was living Up Here alone in 2008 in the pop-up tent-trailer, I had a bear tear down the yellow-jacket trap that I had hanging from tree about 25 feet from the trailer.  I was able to get some great photos, but it took a lot of yelling and three shots fired into the air before he finally left.  Needless to say, I didn't put up any more traps.  But we have had these humming bird feeders up for about five summers now without any problems.  I would definitely take them down if a bear did discover them.

Sat out on the porch this evening, just enjoying the view and breeze.  It is so nice to look across the driveway to a clearing with no huge eyesore of discarded branches or tall grass/weed compost pile.

Thursday 6/25. It was 68 and clear this morning.  Each day is getting warmer, building up to the weekend.  Our high for today was 83.

I spent most of the day inside, going out only for our morning walk and to do the outside chores.  No eggs from the girls today.  I think they are too busy trying to keep cool.  They have a lot of shade in their new run.

I did more sorting and shredding.  Still a pile to do, but 2/3 of it is done.  Just can't believe I saved all those papers for so long.

We have a very aggressive rufus humming bird who is guarding the feeder on the south side of the porch.  She sits up in the nearby tree and chases away any other bird who tries to get near it.

Am reading a book by a new author for me, Foxcatcher by William H. Hallahan.  One I found at the Salvation Army Thrift store, and one I am sure that JB will enjoy also.

The blooming fire weed is just starting to fade a bit after more than two and a half weeks.  I finally saw a few blooms on our road when I drove down on Tuesday.

Judging by all the activity in the condo bird house, there may be wren hatchlings inside.  The pair that built a nest in the "bear country" bird house disappeared a few weeks ago.

During the couple weeks before and after the summer solstice, it is still light out until a little after 10:00 pm Up Here.  As opposed to the winter solstice when it is completely dark at 5:00 pm.  I much prefer the long light, not the long night.

Larry and Elsie drove up for a visit this evening which was so nice of them.  We sat on the porch and chatted.  The cool breeze disappeared along with the sun and it was a very warm night.

Friday 6/26. It is already 76 this morning with clear skies.  Looks like another mainly indoor day.

Thought for the day: In wildness I sense the miracle of life, and beside it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia. Charles A. Lindbergh