Changing it up again, Sunday, 9/23/18

I've decided to return to the same old way to post.  Too many issues with the blog being private.  For now, anyway, it's easier to let the blog be public.  

So, while I'm taking pictures of our landscape redesign, Pacific Gas and Electric (our provider) has stopped by -- three people, one at a time -- to discuss tree removal up and down our road.  According to a June 2018 San Francisco Chronicle article, PG&E has been blamed for sparking some of the most destructive blazes in California history, and will take a $2.5 billion charge to cover expected losses from lawsuits arising from last October’s deadly Wine Country wildfires.   Betcha they pass on their losses to us consumers.  Well, they're serious now about getting rid of "problem" trees beforehand.

To that end, PG&E has recruited not just hundreds, but several thousand workers from across the country to help with tree removal.  They've set up a work camp across from the Nevada County Fairgrounds.  This tells you that it isn't just our trees, in our yard ... no siree, our neighbors will be losing quite a number.  It's going to look a lot different up here in the foothills!  Our road and side streets have been targeted because the area is in Tier 3 -- high fire danger -- meaning, we can lament the tree loss, but PG&E can cut 'em down.  Besides, if it boils down to a safer area, okay, go ahead.  Trees on other county roads will also be removed.

We have tall trees in our yard:   Black Oaks, Incense Cedars and Doug Firs.  Two of these trees in the front yard have been tagged by PG&E for removal.  An 85-ft-high Black Oak, above, to the front left of our house, and the 80-ft-high Black Oak in front of our house, below, both too close to overhead electric lines.  The oaks aren't really healthy trees, either, but I like having them in the yard, and I'll miss their leafy canopy.  I'm not the only one who'll miss the oaks ... they're prodigious acorn producers, and squirrels and Acorn Woodpeckers love 'em.

PG&E is within their right to take trees if limbs/branches are within 12' of overhead lines, creating potential fire danger.  There is no charge to us and they'll clean up the debris, but if we ask them to leave wood, they will.  Apparently they'll be around with their "saws" within the next of couple weeks to do the deed.  I'm taking photos.  Gee whiz, I hope the shade-loving Dogwoods and Lilacs, etc., won't die since they'll soon be in full sun ....

A nice little hike, Thursday 9/13/18

Enjoying a touch of autumn before the actual equinox, Jimmy and I tied on our hikers to explore "the diggins."  We've been here before, once by ourselves and also with relatives, but we hadn't yet had the opportunity to hike the distance of the Diggins Loop Trail.  It's a bit of a car trip just to get to the place, but it's a scenic drive, so no matter.

Located northeast of Nevada City in the foothills, Malakoff Diggins today is what's left after miners washed away entire mountains of gravel to wash out GOLD!  Before us now are huge cliffs carved by those mighty streams of water from hydraulic "monitors."  With clear blue skies and cool temps, the day was perfect.  We hiked the 3-mile loop alone, spotting only one other couple at the start.  Pesky gnats harassed us, and we spied quite a bit of bear scat, including one fresh pile, but the bears were sleeping in the noonday sun. 

The pit has filled in with more than 100 ft of eroded deposits.  Lots of native conifers and Manzanita cover the flat plane.  In fact, I read that about 3,200 forested acres surround the pit, at 2,500-4,000 ft elevation.

We've seen the other end of Hiller Tunnel, but we didn't know it began here.  Next time Jimmy said we'd bring flashlights, wear water shoes for any dribbles along the bottom, and (hoy!) hike the 556-foot-long tunnel, through which water for the mining operation once flowed.  Water and detritus!  Please notice Jimmy is wearing an over-shirt, which came off after we'd been hoofing it a while.

We did some climbing, but nothing too strenuous.

It's a fairly easy trek, but the gnats were bothersome.

I look tiny standing up there!  Can you imagine jets of water scouring the hillsides and leaving great barren cliffs like these?  No, neither can we.  Jimmy said, "Imagine how noisy this was with the giant monitors going full tilt!"

A lake appears in the bowl when the rains come.  A large puddle is all we saw today, but judging by the many cattails and reeds, willows, etc., this remains a wetland.

Sedimentary and volcanic rocks make up the cliff walls, with alternating layers of conglomerates, white fine-grained clays, and iron-stained siltstone. The red color on the walls is from iron oxide. The brown color comes from the volcanic rocks and detritus.  I think the walls are beautiful.

Some water seepage flows down, as you see here.

It's a white castle!

A lot of junk has been left laying around, rusting.

It might take it another 100 years to totally disappear.

On the trail, looking down on a tiny stream.

"At Malakoff Diggins, the world's largest hydraulic gold mine devastated the pristine landscape -- leading to the first environmental law enacted in the nation."  The water is clear, but the rocks are stained by iron.

The 3,143-acre park was established in 1965.

Malakoff State Historic Park has a great handout brochure, but if you want to read more about all that GOLD, Google has a wealth of info on it.  Gold fever was the chief mover at Malakoff, as it was in all the California foothills.  I looked, but didn't find a spec of the yellow stuff!  Nevertheless, we really enjoyed our day.

Meantime, we're gearing up for more major happenings at our place, with a contractor/crew coming to give us new cement sidewalks around the house and a new landscape retaining wall to replace the serpentine rock wall that is kinda falling apart.  We've been moving plants out of the way, among other things, and we're busy bees preparing for this.  The house was painted last month (oooh, looks nice!), and this crew starting on the 19th is the last phase of our summer home maintenance plan (that's stretching into autumn!).  So, it's good for us to take a day away and go or do something we haven't done previously.

Babysitting Bliss -- Mon/Tues -- 9/10-9/11

While Mom 'n Pop took a little time for themselves, Jimmy and I gladly agreed to come to their place in Sacramento to watch over their sweetie pie.  Everly Rose recently started day care for a few hours each morning  M, T, Th ... otherwise she could stayed with us in Nevada City.  We three had great fun Monday and Tuesday, and when Matt and Jen returned home Tuesday evening, we were still playing!  You can be assured that Jimmy and I rested on Wednesday!  Grandparenting is fun, but it wears you out!

She is such a happy child, greets you with a smile and a cheerful "hi!" when you walk into the room.  18 months old now, she's still cutting teeth ... working on her two-year-molars.

Most kids like playing in water, and she is definitely one of them;

she's enjoying her new water table.

The swing is fairly new, too, and once she got going, she did NOT want to come out.

Clutching one of her Little People.

Jimmy and I took turns pushing, and her expression as we let the swing go was priceless.  We were eating pretzel sticks, and held out pieces when the swing came near us.  Most of the time our aim was good, as was hers.  She laughed, we laughed.  Otherwise, the dogs got a treat.

Loves books (a good thing), and loves someone reading (or singing) to her.

Oh boy, Gramma's phone!  It's unbelievable to me that this li'l one knew what to press on my phone, and she tapped, tapped, tapped.  I hope she didn't call Australia.  Looks like it's upside down right now.  They sure learn fast.

We've noticed the days growing shorter, and it won't be long till the autumnal equinox arrives.  As we drove up the hill Tuesday evening, we were treated to a beautiful sunset ... the perfect ending to a very cool grandparents' play date!

Fluffy Fun -- Saturday, 9/8/18

Fluffy, fuzzy fleecy fun!  My friend, Deb, has established a small farm stocked with alpacas and angora goats:  Mo'Paca Farm and Fibers.  With co-owners, Becky and Glenn, they had their first open house on Saturday, and I was happy to go.  Earlier that morning, Jimmy and I attended a memorial service (sad) for a dear man we knew, so being around sweet animals was just the ticket to raise my spirits.  Jimmy elected to go to a car show with his friend, Cliff, so we each did what was best for us.

The farm is located in Loma Rica CA -- with its golden grasses, it's marvelous country for raising animals.  Elevation there is around 400', compared to our 3200' in Nevada City.  My Prius liked its downhill ride -- wheee, Loma Rica is about 25 miles down the hill from our place.  The sun was strong and the day was pretty hot, but a nice breeze actually kept us fairly cool.

Some of the dudes!

I don't know if I'd ever seen angora goats before.  They certainly are shaggy, but they produce a lustrous fiber called mohair.   A table (below) with samples of raw fleece, washed fleece and mohair, plus picked and carded mohair and alpaca was offered for guests to touch.  OhMyGosh, it was all so soft.  Imagine sleeping on a bed of fluffy fleece!

Also on the table were some of the tools of the trade (below).  I know they've already sheared their animals once.  I'm guessing somebody will eventually be making exquisite sweaters and scarves or mittens with the fiber.

These guys have horns!  They were in a pen out of my reach, so I didn't pet them -- hopefully I will next time.  Every animal has a name, but I can't remember which was which.

Except baby Django.  Deb bought him in Oregon and transported him home in her Prius when he was even smaller than you see here.  He's still bottle fed every few hours.  He's a gentleman, not a sloppy eater, and he's a sweetheart.  

His midnight black doesn't show well for a camera.

I lightened this photo so you can see his eyes.  He's a beauty. 

The one bottle I gave him didn't fill him up; Deb gave him a second one.  In the background are a few of the angora goats snacking on hay (or alfalfa or a mixture). 

I think it was love at first sight for Deb and Django!

The turn out for their open house was good, which pleased everyone.  I really enjoyed my visit, seeing Deb and Becky and Glenn, and the animals, especially Django.  Maybe I can come back with Jimmy, and bring Everly Rose and her Mom 'n Pop, so they, too, can enjoy the critters and the serenity of Mo'Paca Farm and Fiber.