Trains and Timetables

 Song - Stop This Train by John Mayer

 

 Early in February my friend Jill and I decided to check off a bucket list item which was traveling up to Truckee on a train in the snow.  We had both had knee replacements several months ago and the photo above is what Truckee looked like the day before we were heading up there.  I was ready to cancel and split our losses as I wasn't too keen on walking in the snow and ice with my new knee!  But if you know my friend Jill.....she was having none of it!  We were going!!!

 

 

I purchased a ice tip for my cane and Mr. B was kind enough to attach it for me. He discovered that it flips up when you are indoors so you don't ruin any hardwood floors and flips down for outside use. The photo above is my new tip taking care of me in the snow!

We hopped (more like hobbled) onto the California Zephyr train on a bright Monday morning. And off we went on our snow adventure......except the train had other plans!

Stuck in a field in central California waiting for the crew to fix our brakes with the Sierra in the background.  We had several of these stops until finally they called a repair crew from Sacramento to come fix it permanently.  With each stop there was no electricity, no bathroom, no food and no air.

As we approach Donner Lake we enjoy the snow outside of our windows.

More and more snow as we approach the summit.....

We check into the old Truckee Hotel with Moody's Bistro awaiting us for dinner that night.

We forgot to tell them at reception that I still was not climbing stairs real well and they put us on the third floor!

Gilian from reception walked us up the steep stairs and even carried my backpack.  She was very kind and kept apologizing saying that the hotel was booked an she didn't have another room available. Our room was great with everything we needed.

That evening we had an incredible steak dinner at Moody's Bistro along with some excellent Frank Family wine.  Our waiter was fun as were the people sitting near us. It was surprising that it was a full house on a random Monday night but the food and service spoke for itself.  BTW it also is the place where Paul McCartney played several surprise gigs while his wife was up there skiing.

The following morning we get a text from Amtrak that our train was delayed by an hour or so.  We were content as it gave us time to get breakfast and go shopping in town.

However we kept getting messages about further delays and so we bought lunch to take onboard. The train didn't arrive until about 1:30pm about 4 hours late.

Above is a view of some of the tunnels we went though up on the summit.

We arrived home just as night was falling.  It was a fun time and a whirlwind 36 hour trip!

Thanks Jill for your adventurous spirit that I hope you never lose....J

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

Warm Heart & Tail Wags

 Song - Perfect Symphony by Ed Sheeran & Andrea Bocelli

 

 Maggie 2022 - 2023

Our hearts are broken....

we thought we would have a lifetime together...

A Cup o' Kindness

 Song - Auld Lang Syne by Mairi Campbell

May you and your loved ones share a cup of kindness 

this evening or tomorrow. 

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Here is to a kinder upcoming year 

2023

 

 

 

Field of Dreams

Song - In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins cover by Sierra Eagleson 

 

 The day after Thanksgiving Mr. B and I decided to take a little day trip to our Field of Dreams.  See all of those cut corn stalks in this field near Lodi?  Guess what they attract?

 

Birds....thousands and thousands of glorious birds.....

Great Blue Herons

Tundra Swans

 

 Great Egrets

And Sandhill Cranes.....

October through March these birds migrate to the Delta wetlands coming as far away as Siberia and Canada. They will spend the winter here before returning to their home.

Sandhill Cranes in flight with their long fingertips in the breeze.....

We spent several hours observing so many birds and as we were leaving I spotted something that didn't look like a bird.

 

 A coyote running under the Walnut trees near a levee. He worked his way around the levee and began to approach the birds in the water. I thought they might all fly off or at least move away from the shores.  

But nope they stayed put but kept an eye on him as he took a long drink of water then moved on.

 

We headed back to "civilization" just as the sun was setting.  It was a wonderful warm day with windows open while listening to the multitude of birdsong.

 

We spotted Mt. Diablo in the distance near Rio Vista heading home. 

 

"Life is a journey

I don't have a map for."

--Delta Goodrem

 

If at first you don't succeed......

 Song - This Land is Your Land by Bruce Springfield

Who knew?  I mean I studied horticulture and botany.  But if you don't replenish your soil, it dries up. Insert (a little late) light bulb over my head!

Some of you that have known me for a while know that I raised chickens (for their eggs) for a number of years.  And while I miss their sweet, sometimes hilarious presence in our garden, I don't miss letting them in and out of their coop every single day.

 

My vegetable garden that was next to their run was just not giving me much of anything over the last 4-5 years.  Every spring I would faithfully plan and plant a garden which mostly consisted of tomato plants, zucchini and a variety of herbs.  And for the last few years it yielded nothing.....not one tomato, possibly 1-2 zucchini and my herbs all dried up.  I blamed the heat waves and the reduced water here in California. 

 This year it was going to be different!  I had the chicken yard area that had become a dumping ground for unused "stuff" cleaned up and I purchased three large tubs for my veggies.  I had the ground leveled and ordered many bags of soil and compost.  The tubs (with holes drilled into the bottom) were layered with logs, dry leaves and tons of fresh soil mixed in with some native soil. Mr. B worked on the watering system so we could travel and not worry about watering.

We had to add a new fence due to deer entering the yard and added some gravel to walk on. I planted my 4" tomatoes in gallon size pots while waiting for all of the work to be finished. 

 

When it was ready I placed them and some pepper and herbs in the tubs.  And while they were getting started I began to replenish my old veggie garden with new soil. That area is for pumpkins for my grandsons and flowers for me!

Mr. B kept bringing home some peppers that he wanted to grow for Chili Rellenos which he loves! Looks like there will be plenty of room....right?

Well I am happy to report that the garden grew and grew and grew....

We now have tomatoes growing taller than me and they are so plentiful.  Yesterday I picked my first real crop.......

And this morning I picked even more that above....I am planning on making Tomato Peach Panzanella Salad for dinner tonight!

So I will continue to add goodies to our soil and enjoy my garden! 

Knowledge = Tomato is a fruit

Wisdom = Not to put it in a fruit salad

Happy Place

We arrived in Lake Tahoe last Sunday and it’s been beautiful. Our son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons joined us on Wednesday. So now our time here is perfect!

The first day here I spotted several birds fly back & forth to a tree near our deck. 

Then I noticed that they were tending to a very small cup shaped nest. With my telephoto lense I could see three little heads pop up. 

Two days later one of the baby birds was out on the branch next to the nest. He was flapping his wings to practice flying.  Mom & dad were still flying back and forth with food and encouragement. He moved further and further from the nest as the day turned to dusk.  His siblings inside the nest were standing up and flapping their wings too. 

Within minutes all three left their nest and were jumping from branch to branch and before we knew it they were gone. 

Oh yeah and Maggie is loving being a mountain dog!
 

Home Sweet Home

Song - Home by Jack Johnson

 

A friend recently wrote to me saying that I left you all hanging back in Paris!  And that would be almost two months ago!  Yikes - sorry about that. But I have truly had my arms full......

 

 Our new grandson Charlie arrived on May 20th to the delight of all! And...

 

Just a few days later Mr. B flew to Colorado to pick up our new Westie puppy - Maggie!

 

 

 

 

So I am now painting in a "puppy safe" zone!!!

The deer recently discovered how to get into our backyard and destroyed my newly planted veggie garden as well as most of my rose bushes. We put in some extra fencing around our property and I moved some of my veggie garden into our old chicken coop area. That area has been a garden dumping place for years now and it's so nice to have it all cleaned out......

 

 

...well, I still have a few pots to clean before putting them back in place.

 

Hope to see you again soon!  I've missed you all.....J

 

 “Life takes you unexpected places, love brings you home.”