Reserve

 Song - Stuck in Lodi Again by Creedence Clearwater Revival

 

 On Tuesday of this week my friend Jill and I took a drive about an hour Northeast from home but sill under the watchful eye of Mt. Diablo in the distance.  It was part of a Christmas present I had given to her this year and next week I will share her gift to me with you!

 

 We arrived at the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve on a beautiful crisp winter morning.  An American Kestrel greeted us from high atop a telephone pole.

Unfortunately there were only a smattering of Sandhill Cranes on this trip.  For some reason the reserve had drained two of the fields of all of the standing water. However we did see a fun mix of other birds and had a great Thai lunch after we finished our bird watching.

An Great Egret was standing near a canal watching for something tasty to float by.

And a Belted Kingfisher was happily chattering away high on top of some barren tree branches. 

A Great Blue Heron was also standing near the canal of water watching both the water and us driving slowly by. 

The air was filled with a variety of bird calls as well as a chorus of frogs croaking quite loudly. And one of the highlights was watching a hawk catching a very long snake.  It was so exciting that all of my photos turned out blurry....

It was a day of laughter and fun with a dear old friend!

 

" We are best friends. Always remember if you fall, I will pick you up....after I'm finished laughing."

--Unknown

Scary Spells.....

Song - I Put A Spell On You by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Guess what holiday is coming soon?

David, Tim, Dad & me - circa 1960 at my grandparents home

And guess who's favorite holiday it is?

Mr. B's!

Watch you guts around him!!!

My dad's Uncle Harold (l) and my grandfather (r)

Witch and Ghost make merry 

On this last of dear

October's Days.

--Unknown

Suzie Q

Song - Suzie Q by Creedence Clearwater Revival

My sweet cousin Susan passed away Thursday morning and I began reminiscing about the fun times that we had together.

Susan is in the center of her family with her arm around her dad - 1958

In the 60's my Aunt and Uncle would rent a cabin near Donner Lake. My family used to go and stay with them sometimes.
 

I am on the left & Susan on the right -  in some very short dresses!  Oh my!!!

All of the cousins took water skiing lessons from a little old lady who worked at Donner Lake (now that I think of it she was probably all of 52). I remember her having us stand on the beach with our skis on and hold onto the tow rope.  She would pull us right into the water off the beach and you never had to work at standing up! Nor did you get wet!!

Probably not safe anymore......and probably wasn't safe then either.  Kind of like how fun it was to sit on the tailgate of dad's station wagon with our feet dangling near the road all the way home from the swimming pool.

 At the cabin one night, my older brother David and cousin Bill were supposed to be babysitting us and our two younger brothers while our parents went out for dinner.

Susie is the one with the party hat on and that's me next to her with the braids

Well, this particular night we were all in our bedrooms getting ready for bed.  Susan and I were sharing a room on the second floor and Bill & David had the room right next door.

We are in the forest, it's very dark and we hear a scratching on our bedroom window.  Someone was trying to get inside.  How can this be - we are on the second floor?  A bear perhaps?

David with his arm lovingly draped around Susan leg

We scream, head for the door and the door handle comes off in Susan's hand. We fall to the floor, wet our pants and when the boys open the door for us, they were laughing hysterically and holding a very long stick..............they had to do the dishes for a week!

Susie is on the top row, second from the left.  I am next to her and our two older "stinker" brothers are next to me.  David is holding our cousin Patty and Bill is next to him with the dark hair.

Susan and I used to pick Pampas Grass flowers in the empty lot across the street from her house in El Cerrito.  We would stick two fronds each into the back of our shirt and pretend that we were angels. Now you are a real angel Susie.

 You will be missed.......

“Scars remind us that the past was real”  -- Shakespeare

Rain Delay

 Song - Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival

We have been getting some much needed rain here in California!  Today was great as the garden is getting her fill of water.

I was indoors all day finishing a book (The Rosie Project), picking up my upstairs Acrylic painting area in the dining room (because Mr. B is having a baseball draft here tomorrow with oodles of guys) and finally cleaning and rearranging my downstairs studio - which is where I paint with oils.

It is just one of those rainy days that makes me feel cozy to drink tea and be indoors without feeling guilty about it.

I have been using my new Pam Stern porcelain tea cups and they are a delight to hold. They have that organic hand made feel and are so beautiful!

I didn't realize how much I had missed that rainy "season" until today. We all need to hibernate occasionally!  I lite a candle and put on music while I smeared paint around the canvas.

   

It felt so good!



I also realized that I need to get out of Dodge tomorrow before the baseball craze begins!!!

Whoa!

PS - Did I ever tell you the story of how I used to babysit for Creedence?  Well their drummer's daughter?  I'll save it for another day......

"Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life." --John Updike

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/rain.html#PyrCbvFfJU5fb784.99