Tuesday, March 31, 2015

BACKSIDE

Progress is slow, but the rewards are worthwhile...





MIRACLE MARCH

Original post 03-01-15:

Folks around here call this "Miracle March," which is the time of year we get most of the precipitation for the year.

Let's hope this month brings the much needed rain and snow to the area.



Update 03-31-15:

Only .62 inches of rain fell in our area. In 2014, 2.40 inches of rain fell.

In a way, this is good. It means there won't be that much vegetation to burn during the upcoming fire season. Then, again, the fire season will come earlier.

We are not taking any chances this year after the two near-miss fires in August (Junction) and September (Courtney) 2014.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

FOR REAL...

Note the dates and times in the upper left of the pictures.

March 19, 2011 -- before drought

March 19, 2012 -- first year of drought

March 19, 2013 -- second year of drought

March 17, 2014 -- third year of drought

March 19, 2015 -- fourth year of drought

March 19, 2016 -- fifth year of drought

Will have to wait and see...






What we need is another ice age...

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

MOLLY, WHITNEY, MATILDA, MANDY, TUESDAY, RADAR, OR...SASHA

Today, we signed the paperwork for acquire a 3-month old female Australian cattle dog mix at the animal shelter.

She will be welcomed into our home in two weeks.

Just have to decide on the name. My wife gets the naming rights. The title were some of the options. Sasha (defender) will be the name of our new family member. Whitney was chosen for that mountain we hike. Matilda because of the "unoffical natioanal anthem" of Australia, "Waltzing Matilda." Radar because of how her ears perk up. Tuesday because of the day of the week we adopted her. Molly? Golly, I don't know why my wife came up with that name. Since my wife likes yoga, I would have figured Prana or Mantra or Karma. I even considered Noelle since I figured she was probably born on or around Christmas Day. We will celebrate her date of birth as December 21, 2014, the winter solstice.

She was shy at first when she was released from her cage. She had yet to be leash trained. We took her to the visiting room. I stayed with her while my wife filled out the paperwork. There was a bowl of food and water next to us. She commenced to devour the entire food contents of one of those bowls. Her breathing was rapid due to unfamiliar surroundings and a stranger petting her. She finally relented and licked my hands and arms. She got up on her haunches and placed her front paws on my chest as if to say, "I am comfortable." After 15 minutes, it was time to go. She was carried back to her cage and I was left standing with a feeling of emptiness. For those few minutes, we bonded.

We plan to take her on all of our hiking and camping adventures, to take her to the lake to swim as we fish, or take her with us on the tandem sit-on-top kayak. Currently, she is a 25 pound bundle of joy. She will grow to 50-60 pounds. My MIL's dog, Toby, and her two cats, Pixie and Ziggy, will hopefully adopt her into their world. Sasha is already bigger than Toby. There shouldn't be any problems.

A puppy like her born into this world in December needs a world to roam. Her previous owners abandoned her. She was picked up in February and placed in the animal shelter since March 1, 2015.

We will give her a world where she can mature into a marvelous pet. We will show her that world. She doesn't deserve to exist in a cage unable to see the sun and bask in its rays. Not a good place to start out life, but she will never return to that place. She will be with us until the day she departs this earth.

All of three of us are going to....






HAVE FUN!

Saturday, March 14, 2015

HAPPI DAY

Just so happens that this year, National Pi Day is 3-14-15

And to think pi is:

3.1415926

May I have a large container of coffee...