Winter Sunrise

When we are traveling, we often marvel at the beauty of sunrises or sunsets. But when we're home in Kansas, we don't see many sunrises or sunsets from our house as it's situated in a valley in the woods. So we don't generally see the sun directly except when it's peeking through the trees . . . or at high noon.

But here we are at home in the fall after the leaves have fallen. This morning, we were up and around before sunrise and were blessed with a beautiful sunrise through the barren trees . . . viewed from our living room window.


Not only at the beach, on the ocean, in the desert, in the mountains, out on the Western prairie, or at the lake . . . Mother Nature is beautiful and awesome everywhere!

Winter Is Near

I hang an ear of corn on a tree just outside our dining room window, so while we are eating, we can watch the squirrels trying to get the cob off of the tree . . . or just eating the kernels off of the ear.
















I think "Winter Is Near". The last few days, the squirrels have been chewing the kernels off the ear, shelling each kernel, then scrambling down the tree and across the yard to bury it. Then it's back to the corn for another kernel to bury.



They are also tearing apart Hedge balls from the Hedge (Osage Orange) trees and burying those seeds. The squirrels are all working at a feverish pace. They must know that "Winter Is Near".

I wonder how they know where to find their food during the winter. Do they remember where they buried each kernel or seed? Or do they just sniff it out? Do they only dig up the ones they buried themselves? Or do they dig up anything buried by other squirrels?

It drives Carole crazy when I ask questions like that. She usually responds, "How would I know?" Then I have to explain that these questions don't require an answer . . . they are rhetorical questions. When I really want to know the answer, I'll Google it!

Omelet School Graduate, Finally

Ever since I studied the art of omelet making at Ron's, I have been looking for the opportunity to show off my new found knowledge. Today, at home in Kansas, Carole let me into her kitchen where I could show my stuff.

With the proper equipment including a new omelet pan, I prepared omelets for a Saturday brunch. The omelets turned out great.



Thanks for the training, Ron. I will keep practicing until I become the Midwest Omelet King!

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

When we left for California two weeks ago, some of the leaves had fallen, but most were still on the trees. While we were gone, the rains came and the winds blew . . . and when we returned to Kansas, the trees were bare!




All of the leaves were on the ground . . .

















I spent two full days on the tractor mulching leaves.

Isn't nature grand?

Omelet? Well, Kinda

Having graduated from "Ron's Omelet School", I have been anxious to show off my newly learned skill. So on Sunday for brunch at Melissa's in Sacramento, I was given the opportunity.

I quickly learned that the correct equipment is critical and Melissa didn't have the right omelet pan or spatula. My first attempt was a disaster . . . it looked awful, but I was told it tasted great.

I switched skillets and got better results, but I need better equipment and more practice before I can turn out omelets like Ron.

"Omelet? Well, Kinda", but no pictures yet. Maybe when I get back home in Kansas.

Old Farm Equipment

On the drive from my brother, Ron's, in Modesto to Carole's granddaughter, Melissa's, in Orangevale, California, I came across a building in a small "off the beaten track" place along Elk Grove Road South of Sacramento where they had a parking lot display of lots of old farm equipment. I had to stop and take a closer look.

Pictured below is what appears to be an old tractor on the left with a gasoline engine and a steam driven tractor on the right (I think).



















There were a number of plows . . .















A hay rake or two . . .















A manure spreader . . .















A bunch of old wagons or buckboards . . .















And lots of antique equipment which I didn't recognize or didn't know what they were . . .

















There is a lot more on display here than these pictures show . . . just setting in a parking lot along the road. Someone or some group has taken the time and invested some money to save this "Old Farm Equipment" for anyone to see.

What a great thing for someone to do. It sure is a lot of history!

Ron's Omelet School

My brother, Ron, has been known in our family circles as the "expert" in making omelets. Every time the family gets together near breakfast or brunch time, Ron is in the kitchen making omelets. I must admit, he does have the knack, skill or knowledge and makes really great omelets.

Since I was staying with Ron at his Modesto condo, I asked him for a lesson in omelet making. So on Saturday morning, before I was to leave to return to Sacramento, I matriculated into "Ron's Omelet School".



He said it was very simple, "Two eggs, two pads of butter, and two tablespoons of water." My comment was, "Ya, right! Easy for you to say!". There had to be more to it than that and I found out there is indeed more to it than that.

I was an attentive student making omelets under Ron's direction and supervision. Hooray! Before I knew it, I turned out a few very decent omelets. I found that there is definitely a knack to making omelets. But now that I have acquired the knowledge and been taught the knack, I only need to practice a little to develop the skill.

As a graduate of "Ron's Omelet School". I can hardly wait to show off my new talent.

Gold in Them Thar Hills

With inflation on the horizon, it seemed like a good time to go panning for gold. So while I was in Modesto with my brother, Ron, and Carole was staying with her granddaughter, Melissa, near Sacramento, Ron and I decided to go to Columbia, California, where gold was first discovered in 1850 and try our hand at panning for gold. Ron, and his son, Tim, and I made the trip to what is now Columbia State Historic Park in the mountains of Northern California.



This is a great place to look at history. In 1850, a couple of men discovered gold here and the word got out. In a short period of time, there were 7,000 men here looking for gold. Men came from all over the world seeking their fortunes.

They began panning for gold, then tunneling, and finally using hydraulic pressure to wash away the soil to get at the gold. The ground level here is now about 20-30 feet lower than it had been as that much soil was washed away looking for gold and exposing huge rock formations which were previously underground.

Today this town is a State Park . . . a real piece of history which, unfortunately, is on the verge of being closed because of California's state financial situation. What a shame!

The picture below on the left is a sluice where visitors can pan for gold, but it wasn't in operation the day we were here, so we were not able to pan for gold. You can see in the background exposed rock formations which were underground before hydraulic mining washed away the soil. In the right picture below is some of the pump equipment and pipes which had been used in the hydraulic mining operations.

















Much of the town is still intact with many stores open including several saloons. We stopped for lunch and a cold beer in the Douglas Saloon where we were told to check our shootin' irons at the door . . . just like in the old days. The "saloon" in the picture on the right below is really a candy store where they were busy making candy. I picked up some chocolate candies for Carole.

















Several buildings in the old town were set up as museums, one of which contained old historic vehicles. Below on the left are pictured a couple of horse drawn buggies. On the right below is a horse drawn hearse. Notice that the part where they coffin would have been carried is glass enclosed so people could see inside.

















In the left photo below, cases and barrels of goods are stored in the back room of an old store. On the right below is an old bowling alley which the miners used when they came to town for relaxation and recreation. The alley is very crude, much smaller that current day bowling alleys. The balls were only about 5-6 inches in diameter, and without finger holes.

















In the left photo below is the scale in the Wells Fargo office where gold was weighed. Several million ounces of gold were weighed on this scale. This scale is so sensitive it can weigh a signature in pencil on a piece of paper. On the right below are pictured some of the bottles of drugs and medicines in the town's drug store or apothecary.


















There are lots of old historic buildings and artifacts in this old town. We didn't get to pan for gold, but we did have the opportunity to soak up a lot of history.

It's just a dirty shame that the State of California is in such bad financial shape that they will soon be closing this State Park and, perhaps, losing all of this history so that future generations will miss out on all of this.

But . . . at one time there sure was "Gold in Them Thar Hills"!

Big Trees

I heard about Big Trees State Park in Northern California on the West slope of the Sierra Mountains and asked my brother, Ron, about it, but he had never heard of the place . . . even though he has lived in California for 40 years or so. "Big Trees" sounded interesting so we looked it up on the GPS and set out to see Calaveras Big Trees State Park.



Giant Sequoia trees only grow at an elevation of 4,000-8,000 feet and this park was at about 5,000 feet. These "Big Trees" are an awesome sight. The park had a wooden walkway which wound through the forest for a mile and a half with numerous places to view "Big Trees". At one stop, they provided a bench constructed with the back leaning way back so you could set on the bench, lay back, and look up at the tall trees reaching over 300 feet into the air.

That's my brother, Ron, and his daughter, Holly, enjoying the view without getting a stiff neck.






















At another stop, there was a stump 30 feet in diameter from a tree which was cut down over 100 years ago. A group of enterprising men, cut this tree down to take part of it on tour back East thinking they would make a fortune. But it didn't work out as everyone thought it was a hoax . . . "Trees couldn't grow that big!"

The stump is so large that in the past, weddings, parties, and dances have been held on it. That's some stump . . . but be careful not to step off the dance floor.





At every turn in the trail, there was another big tree. We were dwarfed by the size of many of the trunks. I'm pictured leaning against a tree on the left below. My brother, Ron, is standing in front of another big tree on the right below. These trees live for over a thousand years.






















This is the trunk of a fallen tree laying on the ground. This tree fell over a hundred years ago and, since Sequoia wood is nearly impervious to insects and rot, it is still pretty much intact today. There it lays . . . nearly 300 feet long. Now, wouldn't that make a lot of firewood!











Years ago, a tunnel was cut through one of the trees. Here I am standing in the tunnel inside a Giant Sequoia tree.

This tunnel wounded the tree to the extent that there are only a few live branches up on the top. So defacing or damaging a tree in this manner is no longer permitted.

These "Big Trees" are some of God's wonderful creations. The wonders of this world and our scenic country seem to be endless . . . but we'll continue our "wandering" trying to see it all.

Among the Almonds

The day after Ron's Surprise Birthday Party, which lasted from 2:00 PM to Midnight with way too much wine, everyone slept in. We had all been invited to John and Holly's home in the country near Waterford, California, for breakfast followed later in the day by a barbecue dinner, but with everyone arriving late, breakfast was prepared piecemeal as people arrived near mid-day.

Ron prepared customized omelets, for which he's famous, accompanied by cottage fries and toast. But most importantly, Bloody Marys and coffee. Ron's omelets were awesome, as usual . . . and, with Bloody Marys, very welcome on the "morning after".

The weather on Sunday morning was very nice with the sun shining brightly and temperatures in the 70's with no wind. John and Holly's home is surrounded by almond orchards, so it is literally "Among the Almonds" . . . very pleasant surroundings to simply relax and unwind. The almond orchards can be seen in the background below.

Some of us sat on the patio in the shade enjoying conversation with friends and family and some of us were a little more active as Michelle who is shown below getting a little exercise on the trampoline.

















Later in the day, hamburgers were put on the grill along with a large batch of hot dogs.




About sundown when the 'burgers and 'dogs were done, we gathered in the house for another "feed" with potato salad, macaroni salad, and lots of fixin's. Everyone filled their plates and grabbed a seat at one of the tables in the large dining room.

At the table in the left picture below, left to right, is Tom Davis, a long-time friend of Ron's who came all of the way across the country from Florida; Marge Davis, Ron's sister-in-law from Fort Wayne, Indiana; Pat Shortner, significant other of Ron's oldest son, Tim; Tim; and Carole from Kansas. In the right picture below is Ron's youngest son, Jeff, and his daughter, Ella, with his son, Mathew, in the chair with his back to the camera.
















Everyone had plenty to eat . . . and drink . . . again!

After dinner, many helped with clean-up, then said our goodbyes to friends and family, most of whom we probably won't see again soon. As Tim was leaving, he had to try on a "helmet" from the stack of kitchen pots and pans . . . and make a "goodbye face" so everyone would remember that "Tim was there". Tim enjoys life as much, if not more, than anyone.



A good time was had by all. It would sure be nice if all of us lived closer together so that such gatherings could occur more often. 'Till next time . . . "Among the Almonds".