Onward and Northward

This is our hotel in Barstow.  I like building with

ornate colonnades.

 

 

California farmland goes on forever.

 

Our favorite place for hamburgers when we

are in Oklahoma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cities We Drove Through

Amarillo by mornin'
Up from San Antone
Everything that I've got
Is just what I've got on.
When that sun is high
In the Texas sky
I'll be bucking at the county fair
Amarillo by mornin'
Amarillo I'll be there     (George Strait)

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Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona 
It's such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my Lord
In a flatbed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me.    (Eagles)

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You don't know me
but you don't like me.
You say you care less how I feel.
How many of you who sit and judge me
ever walked the streets of Bakersfield         (Dwight Yoakam)

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Just about a year ago
I set out on the road
Seekin' my fame and fortune
Lookin for a pot of gold
Things got bad things got worse
And I guess you know the tune.
Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again.     (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Potholes on America's Road

Today we traveled from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Barstow, California. The online map I used predicted that the trip would take 9 hrs but it took closer to 11.  We made one diversion stopping near Grants, New Mexico at the Sky City casino. We wasted a 20 dollar bill each. I like to play the slots but it doesn't take long to apply the brakes when dollars leave my wallet.

 

This leg of the trip was especially tiring for me because of the condition of the highways. Although

crews were repairing various stretches I thought the suspension on my car was going to sustain serious damage from the rough pavement. Is it the economy that is keeping the states from repairing their infrastructure? This may be my last road trip. Not only am I getting too old to enjoy it

but America's highways are not fit to drive on.

 

 

 

Road Trip

We are on our way to my Aunt in Live Oak, California.  On the way home we will attend my 50th high school reunion. 

We saw this sign advertising a restaurant. I don't think I want

to be counted among the customers who are so obese they break

the chairs.

We made it to Albuquerque early in the afternoon..

We had some excellent Mexican food here. Not what we are

used to. Instead of the meal being acccompanied by rice and

refried beans we were served beans covered with cheese and baked

to form a crust and very little cubed fried potatoes.

There was a Mariachi band whose members wore Hawaiian shirts

and played songs like "Folsom Prison Blues".  It was wonderful.

Quote of the Day

A fight to the finish is what finishes a marriage.  That's because over the course of married life, people supply their spouses with precisely what's required to finish them off.  The question is not who can win, because anyone can win if they're willing to go far enough--if they're willing to win at the cost  of love and respect.  The question is who can resist the temptation of winning.  If your marriage is healthy, you are fighting to restore the balance of power.  You are fighting to find out what's worth fighting for...and you will find out that what you are fighting for is the marriage itself.  What matters most to a marriage is forgiveness, and forgiveness doesn't come for free. You have to fight for it.

--Tom Junod, quoted in The Week

Okie Girl

She wears her yellow Crocs

and hat from Panama

 

She does her cowgirl pose

and then shouts, "Yeehaw!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gardening

The few potatoes that have grown in our garden are now being eaten by Colorado Potato Beetles. Not to be discouraged we went to town today and bought pepper, tomato, and herb plants and all the seeds we will need for the garden.  It's a gamble.  If it pays off we'll eat good this summer.

Dorothy and Gracen plant herbs in our big pot.

 

 

Gracen does some digging of her own.

 

 

 

 

End of the Squirrel Wars

I think we have caught and relocated all the squirrels.  We still had the trap on the roof just in case a straggler happened by.  This morning a Cardinal was in the trap. The nuts we used as bait proved to be just too tempting for him.

I steady the ladder while Marley climbs up

and retrieves the trap.

 

I removed the door and the Cardinal flies away.

 

Squirrel Wars

Dorothy and I have seen the tide turn in our war against the squirrels.  Today we caught two squirrels in Hav-a-Hart traps.  We transported them six miles away to Squirrel Haven.

If I was a squirrel I wouldn't mind an all expenses paid trip to such

surroundings as these. Imagine the freedom to frolic tree to tree, or to lounge

around polishing your nuts all day if you feel so inclined.

 

Mr. Squirrel kept calm during the trip. I couldn't help but think

that he was memorizing the landmarks along the way with the

intention of finding his way back to my house. I hope six miles was enough.

 

 

 

Springtime

This is an unusual spring. By now we usually have our garden planted. So far we have only put in potatoes and they are just beginning to peek out of the ground.  It's been too cold to garden. It's not just a continuation of winter but extremes of temperatures are inhibiting not only the growth of plants but of our usual joy at the arrival of spring.  Each spring we get a break on our utility bills as it gradually warms and the need for heating the house wanes and the summer heat has yet to require the use of air conditioning, but we find ourselves heating the house in the morning and turning on the air conditioning in the afternoon.  Thunderstorms pop up in the warm, humid afternoons only to leave a layer of frost in the mornings. The people who doubt the existence of global climate change probably don't live in the country.

Here are some photos I've collected in recent weeks:

This squirrel has invaded our attic. Those pesky critters will

do much damage to your home if you allow them to remain. They will

chew the insulation off wires potentially causing  fires and will even

chew into PVC pipe. In the lower left of the picture is a humane

trap which I'm using in an attempt to capture the squirrel and relocate

to a new home miles away.  He doesn't seem too interested in being

 caught so I have my .22 rifle at the ready. I would prefer not to kill

him but one way or the other he is going to leave the premises.

 

Mocking Bird

 

Blue Jay

 

Tulips

 

Daffodils

 

White Breasted Nuthatch

 

Red-bellied Woodpecker

 

Show Gracen a box and she will crawl into it.

 

Grand kids enjoying Nana's fried chicken, mashed potatoes,

and gravy.  LtoR Jenna, Gracen, Hunter, Marley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G and the boys

Our great grand daughter loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

She takes these pillows with her everywhere she goes.

 

Quote of the Day

As soon as man does not take his existence for granted, but beholds it as something unfathomably mysterious, thought begins.

-- Albert Schweitzer

Bird of the Day

Brown Headed Cowbird. This is the infamous bird

that lays its eggs in another bird's nest. The imposter cowbird

offspring is bigger than most bird chicks and will hog

most of the food and push the rightful heirs from the nest.

Quote of the Day

Stories happen to those who tell them.

-- Thucydides

Bird of the Day

The female Cardinal is not a bright as her male partner. Just

below the platform is a Downey Woodpecker