July 21, 2017 Root Cellars & MAX

Butterfly on a zinnia.

Wednesday 7/19. I scrubbed out the inside of each of the old refrigerators and pulled out all the shelves.  JB dug out another couple feet with the tractor and we put in the fridges end to end.  Sounds easy.  Took quite a while.  And then I took a nap.

I misquoted Sandy regarding the record high in Santa Rosa.  It was 108, not 105.  Either way, it was waaaayyyy too hot.

Up Here today was fairly pleasant with a high of 80 and a light breeze.

Thursday 7/20.  It was 58, clear and breezy this morning, but clouds soon moved in, blocking most of the sun.  The breeze was cool, and our high was a lovely 72.

Our project for the day was taking the tracks, wheels and wheel extenders off of MAX, and putting on the larger tires.  Again, sounds easy but took a while.  We left at about 2:00 pm with JB driving MAX and me following in Miss Kitty to drop MAX off at Gridders so he can figure out a way to keep the one chain from coming off.  JB drove slowly, about 4 mph, so it took us an hour in a lot of dust to get there.  We were one mile into our drive back home when the muffler popped out of Miss Kitty's engine.  That was one LOUD 3-mile drive.  Plus I had to be careful not to drive over any grass in the middle of the road without the muffler.  Turns out we lost the bolts that keep it in place, so JB will try to fix in on Saturday.

Driving down so slowly allows one to really see the surrounding forest.  The fire weed is in full bloom in many places along the road.  Yarrow is still blooming, as well as a few paint brush.  About half-way down there are tall, yellow flowers that remind me of mustard.  Most of the grasses are still green, but the road is VERY dusty.

Fortunately, with the breeze and the clouds, it was a very comfortable day with a high of 72 Up Here.  A bit warmer down the canyon at Gridders.

Friday 7/21. It is a chilly 50 this morning with mostly clear skies and a breeze.    One month into summer and, so far, it has been very pleasant.  I am going Down There to do some grocery shopping and other errands today.  Tomorrow Mrs. Gridder and I are going garage saling!

Thought for the day: Courage is no more than taking one more step than you think you can.  Holly Lisle