You can fool the fans - but not the players.... John Cage

Mid-summer in Big Pine: amazing sunflowers.

Wedding lights have arrived

A box arrived the other day.... the first of many, I'm sure, as I continue to make a dent in the wedding plans.

 

 

I don't know why I'm being so wishy-washy about finding and buying... I'm not going to have time to make it all....

 

I found these at SaveonCrafts

 

They don't look like much when you take them out of the box - I ordered 12 boxes with three lights to a box.

 

Branch lights dusted with artificial snow (just in case it is a drought year and no snow for the wedding)...

 

Fluffed out a bit and plugged in, they started to show some promise...

 

I think they are a good base for floor arrangements, but I still need french floral buckets, curly willow and maybe even something else...

I still have much to find. I see a trip to the city in my near future.

 

 

It's an amusement park on a small scale

I was walking past the water feature yesterday when I did a double-take. Floating along on the rubber duck was a cute little frog:

 

The duck was lazily floating and spinning around and the frog was planted firmly on its back. It made me think of things that might happen around the water feature when I'm not there to see...

 

Birds might be lounging around enjoying the cool of the shade and bathing while sipping tall drinks,

 

Fish might be leaping out of the water over the frog ride (yes, four of them are still alive after all - two in the top pool and two in the lower pool) or diving off the rocks...

 

The tadpoles might be practising their synchronized swimming routines...

 

This little guy almost spilled the beans for all of them. As I turned away, he quickly hopped off the duck and took a more normal seat among the water plants, a little sheepish, I'm sure.

Can't wait for the next glimpse into the party.

Evening flowers, reluctant good-byes

I had to head home. This is what happens when you live on both sides of the Sierra. At some point you have to leave one home and head to the other to make sure everything is okay. And it is hard to leave each of them.

My last evening we went for a walk along the dam. Despite the hoardes of mosquitoes it was a lovely walk.

 

The sun was setting and the flowers were lit by an incredible light. People were fishing below and there was the little "plop" of hook, line, and sinker every now and then. There was just a hint of haze from the distant fire to the north.

 

In past years we've taken evening walks around the edge of the lake, on the "beach". This year, there is no beach. The lake is full to the brim.

Abby, my sweet Abby dog, is buried on the edge of the lake and this year the fishes are feeding on her bones. She'd like that, I think, since she loved the water so much.

 

There are so many varieties of penstemon blooming around the lake I can't stop taking photos of them! So many variations of color.

 

So many color combinations nature has provided and the light at the end of the day is just perfect for ego-photography.... you don't get this intensity of color midday. JC had to curb his impatience as I snapped away.

 

We need these evening walks because it is the height of the season - when everything is happening, good and bad. Things break down during the height of the season, employees and employers get tired and grumpy during July and August, and the people just keep coming. And we have to welcome them - we DO welcome them - but at the same time it is a time when we can barely think and it is so much work to hold it all together.

 

Walking away from all the hustle and bustle for an evening is what keeps you sane and smiling.

 

We're still seeing Pacific Crest Trail hikers at the resort, and the John Muir Trail hikers are arriving too. The Edison Queen is sometimes making two runs to get everyone across the lake, and she was out of service for a couple of days which really made it interesting with everyone going across in the little boats. Hurray for our outside guys - John and Wayne and CJ - who kept it all going and got everyone where they needed to be.

 

It doesn't matter where I am these days, I am just crazy with work. I've been trying for months to get it under control and I am still working way too much. Some days I feel like I'm going to crack under the strain but somehow I continue to hold it all together. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold it all together but it wouldn't be seemly to fall apart mid-summer - simply not an option.

 

We had good friends at the resort for a week and they looked at us one day and said "We never really realized that while we're here on vacation all of you are working away" and it is true. We don't hike, we don't fish, we don't lay around in the hammocks. We wake up appreciative of the beauty and the potential - but truthfully we don't get out much to enjoy it. Early and late, yes. Mid-season, not a chance.

 

I brought our older dog home for a rest and a visit to the vet.... he's been sleeping since he got back. It is hard to separate the dogs but I left the cat up at the resort for company and Feather is busy enough that I think she'll be fine until we return.

 

Here on the east side I've got family coming in all this week - some just for a night on their way elsewhere, some staying for a few days and my neice staying for almost a month. It's going to be hectic for awhile... and you've got to just enjoy it while it lasts.

 

I'll look back on this post a few times to keep me sane until I can get back up there to my other family - the temporary family that grows and bonds over the summer and breaks apart in the fall... only to mend again next spring.

 

While I'm here I'll ride my horses in the heat, try to stay up on the work, and plan for that elusive time when I can back off a little.

 

Oh yes, and take care of all the neccesities - eyebrows, hair, laundry, vet, tomatoes, wedding, birthdays.....

PS. I came home to disappointment in the back yard. The fish are all dead but one.... there is something wrong with the chemistry of my water feature, I fear, as the water hyacinth all died too.... next year I'm ripping it apart and re-doing it.

Kids, dogs and more projects

Kids love the dogs here and the dogs love the kids. Just a couple of days ago three generations of a family stopped by after their backpacking trip and the youngest generation had a present for Feather.

 

A stick they had carried all the way from the lake they camped at - just for her. Which she promptly destroyed into splinters.

 

It is extremely gratifying to have a dog that loves children and will play with them patiently and endlessly... and to hear the excitement in a child's voice when they return here and they recognize Feather or Chance. It is like they've found gold! Gold in the form of a warm, friendly lab.

I brought some projects with me (of course) and one is completed - I put some flowers in containers and they are adorning the motel and trailers as well as dressing up the store entrance. Now I have a bigger project - the entry to the resort.

 

There's a great old boat that needs a garden in it. But not annuals - those are fine for color around the resort but this needs natives, perennials, things that won't require too much care and will return every year.

 

I'm thinking, of course, of the things that grow and bloom here. Columbine, penstemon, paintbrush, larkspur, a couple of native shrubs, maybe an aspen or two....

 

The USFS gets very nervous when we plant things - no invasives allowed - and I can't take from the forest what is already there. But we have a native plant nursery down the road and I think that this can be a several year project - with some drip irrigation to get it through the summer and fall - and could be really as an entrance to the resort.

 

It'll get a start this year, and I'll keep you posted.

Scenes from the Edison Queen

One of the best things about running a water taxi is seeing the happy faces on the other side - tired and hungry; ready for beer, showers, news from home, socializing, and rest. But to see those faces, you have to take rested, full, re-energized hikers back over.

 

The lake is so different this year, being almost full to the brim (and it will make it to the brim before it is all said and done). There is still a lot of snow up high and the cooler weather this summer has kept the runoff manageable. If it had gotten hot and stayed hot... we would've been telling quite a different story.

 

The dogs use their time on the ferry well, to rest. They are always eager to go to the other side and they like the wind in their faces, the smell of fresh water in their noses.

 

Sometimes JC pilots the boat, and sometimes I go along just for the ride.

 

Sometimes with the sun and the rocking of the boat, one can get very drowsy...

 

So very drowsy...

 

What a life.

 

These dogs play hard and sleep hard up here.

 

Then as we start drawing near the mouth of Mono Creek we can begin to make out little shapes waiting patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) on the rocks...

 

And this is one of those years when there is no extra walking to get to the dock - it practically meets the trail.

 

Hikers, fishermen and women, dogs.... all are welcome on the Edison Queen.

 

And then we motor on back to our little outpost - to hot showers, cold beer, great food and company.

 

Coffee is obviously on my mind

It has been one of those weeks without enough sleep and entirely my own fault. Busy work days and then wanting to squeeze an entire 2nd day out of the evenings. I am particularly bad about it during the summer when the days are longer anyway and there's no one here to remind me about keeping a reasonable schedule. I become a night owl but I still have the alarm set for 6 am.

Therefore, coffee is my friend.

 

This grinder is a funny thing. It works well for me all summer and then when JC is back home and takes over coffee-making duties the grinder will periodically go berserk and grind either super coarse or ultra fine. I love this grinder, though, especially for the looks. It has a very sleek, retro industrial look. And I don't even think they make it any more - I found it on ebay a few years ago. It is the Kitchenaid A-9 and it definitely isn't for everyone. I know that I'm willing to fuss over something in exchange for great style - but my reward is seeing it on the countertop and other people would probably promptly put it up for sale on ebay.

That is why ebay works.

We tend to buy dark, oily beans and take the time to clean the machine periodically by running white rice through it. That seems to be a workable combination and it has been a reliable, stylish coffee bean grinder for us.

 

For years I've had some variation of a stove-top espresso pot and about three years ago I found this one in a thrift store - and it has become the workhorse of the kitchen. It is made of substantial stainless steel, has a unique locking handle instead of the more common screw top and makes a great cup of coffee. It is the Giannini Giannina.

This is a huge espresso pot - I think it is the nine-cup - but for me it makes 2 Americanos and then enough left over for a hefty iced latte later in the day. We Americans like our coffees BIG!

 

In large American coffee mugs, like these. It is no wonder those lovely vintage cups lanquish away in thrift stores - these 12 oz thick white china mugs are the ones I reach for every morning. These I purchased new - yes, new, in our wonderful local kitchen store, Anne Maries. They are made by a company called Side Saddle and they all have humorous cowgirl quotes.

 

And then, to finish off the perfect cup of coffee, there is half and half. And nothing else will do. In a pinch, up at the cabin, I keep cans of evaporated milk but it is a distant second to half and half.

That's how I roll on these sleep-deprived mornings... what is your secret?

Coffee anyone?

The 1950s and 1960s had a certain style... I believe it is called mid-century... and coffee cups and saucers along with cocktail ware embody that style. I have two partial sets of coffee cups and saucers that I just love but haven't found a way to use yet. These are the more recently acquired set.

Nicely proportioned although obviously before we began drinking grande and vente coffees in the morning. Now we need mugs, not cups.

 

These are from the Cloud Nine collection.

Lovely to look at, now the challenge is finding a way to use them.

RIP little goldfish

Sadly I have lost the first of the goldfish.

I found this one in the lower pond yesterday morning and was curious as to how it got there... was it Sunday night when I was messing around with the pumps and trying to rearrange things? Did it get pushed out of the deeper pond by bigger fish? Did something (a bird) grab it and then drop it?

Anyway, it was so out in the open I feared for it and kept checking on it throughout the morning... but there it was, just swimming around close to the surface, not hiding like the other fish. On closer inspection I saw that it was injured - missing a fin - but still able to swim around quite nicely. I should've known it was in distress, it was not acting like the other fish.

 

Maybe it was injured when I got it or maybe it was all the competition in the upper pond, who knows? It was fun to see it swimming around but I knew that the lower pond is too dangerous - too shallow and too easy for a predator.

The lawn guys were here yesterday afternoon after I'd left for meetings and this morning I went out to skim all the leaves and other debris they take great pleasure in blowing into the pools and found the fish floating on its side. Gone.

Now I'm down to just seven goldfish. Will they make it?

 

Gardening for food turns peaceful person into a zealot...

Disclaimer - I don't really garden for food. Not like some other people I know. I garden for garnish. I have basil, onions, sage, thyme, oregano. Oh, and my experimental blue potatoes and one spaghetti squash plant. The beets never took off this year. But then there are the TOMATOES. Eight tomato plants live in a row in my back yard along the only sunny strip of dirt.

Our yard is shady and I'm gone much of the summer or I would have a garden. I think it is important to grow food and it is satisfying to work in a garden. I belong to a CSA so I get fresh produce every week I'm here, but one day I'll have a place and the opportunity to grow a vegetable garden again. Just not zucchini.

Last year the tomatoes met an untimely end due to a errant weed-wacker with an operator stoned out on cold meds. This year I planted them and put up a brick divider to clearly indicate these are plants I'd like to keep, not weeds. So far, it seems to be working.

But nature has her own assassins.

 

Behold the tomato horn worm. These babies can strip a tomato of its leaves before you can turn around twice and say "what"?

I've been picking them off since I got back and I've probably pulled off a dozen over the week I've been home. The last few days have been horn-worm-free although I'm still on guard.

 

I'm normally the kind of person who will catch a moth and let it go, trap a spider and throw it outside, swerve to avoid a rabbit on the road.

But with these worms I've become ruthless.

I tear off the leaves they are on and then I place the whole, succulent bit in the front yard for the robins.

 

Buh -bye hornworm.