Whoa ... surprise! Wed, 11/27/19

We were warned:  Winter Storm Warning -- Tues through Thurs, with one-to-two-feet snow accumulations predicted above 3000'.  We're at 3200', plus snow could be expected all the way down to 1500'.  That's low, and that's a lot of snow!  More than we've seen in ... I don't know when or even if we've seen this much snow in one 24-hr period.  Seems kinda early in the season, too.  Flakes began falling Tuesday afternoon, lightly at first, but by bedtime, we had seven inches piled up on our patio table (our "yardstick").  And snow was still coming down when we crawled under the nice, warm cover.

When I went out around 7 this morning to fetch our newspaper, I donned boots and gloves and my jacket with hood, and entered a hushed, wintry-white world.  Snow continued to fall; the sky a dull slate gray.  I got a boot full of snow with my first step and gingerly made my way to the road, but the paper box was empty. The road hadn't been recently plowed, and was blanketed in deep snowy slush.  Luckily we had power.

If weather threatens, our MO is to park the Prius at the top of the driveway, near the road, so we can get out if we had to or needed to.  Look at that poor thing!  We had no intention of going anywhere today! 

This is the first time our Kwan Yin statue has been 100% encased in snow.

Later, Jimmy and I pulled on our snow pants, picked up our snow shovels, and attempted to free the Prius.  Call me strange, but I love this kind of day!  I had both my camera and my phone in pockets, and I found many interesting, even artsy, wonders to photograph.  Like the chain link fence, above, its look completely altered by snowy inserts, prayer flags adding the only color to be seen in the yard. 

Bright, snow-laced Pacific Dogwood leaves on the other side of the house will probably be on the ground by tomorrow. 

A coconut macaroon bird bath?

A non-functioning hummingbird feeder ....

Checkerboard block wall.

Hmmm, I don't think windshield wipers are supposed to hang this way.  Looks bad.  I trooped over to Tergel and brushed snow off the windshield and wipers, and they bounced back.  This storm dropped really heavy, wet snow.

Too heavy.  Too wet.  Uh-oh, the shop's awning is broken.

Don't know if it can be repaired.  tbc 

We dug out the Prius, especially where the snow plow had made a substantial berm in front of the car.  Then we put the shovels away.  No more was necessary today.  Oh, we found our newspaper tied in blue plastic and thrown atop the snow so we wouldn't have to cross the road.  Pretty thoughtful.  It's atop the car in the above photo.

The 12" ruler was replaced with a 3' yardstick on our back deck table.  14" was recorded at this point, but snow was till coming down, so we probably received about 15".  Woohoo, hello winter and farewell fire season!  

Heck, when I went to the mailbox around 3pm, the Prius was coated again!  And the plow had left another deposit.  Well, tomorrow we can fix it -- by dinnertime this storm had passed.  More rain/snow is predicted for the next few days, but not tomorrow.  Hopefully we'll be able hit the road, aiming for a family Thanksgiving in Roseville.  Fingers crossed.  

Gray Lodge, Sunday, 11/24/19

Oh boy, ready or not, Nevada County in NorCal has a winter weather warning approaching, starting Tuesday.  Better get your play time in now!  On top of that, we'd had the feeling that too much grass had grown under our feet since we'd been Out and About spying on birds and "communing with nature."  Or too many chores and party shenanigans!  Today (Sunday) was a good day to fix that, with warmish temps and a partly sunny day.

I'd seen on the news that migratory birds had returned to the central valley. Jimmy and I saw this spectacle once before, more than several years ago, but I was keen to see this sight again. Each year more than a billion birds follow the Pacific Flyway, one of the four primary migratory routes in the Western Hemisphere which connects such far-flung habitats as the Arctic tundra and the wetlands of South America.  And, here's NorCal, sort of in between the tundra and So America, and teeming with millions of birds.

Sutter Buttes.

A week or so ago, a friend told us about "all the birds" at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in the Central Valley, roughly sixty miles from our home, so that made our destination easy.  I'd never heard of Gray Lodge before, but learned it has approximately 9,100 acres providing food, water and shelter for more than 300 species of resident and migrant birds and mammals.

Surrounded by rice fields and backed by the Sutter Buttes (considered the world’s smallest mountain range), more than a million waterfowl feed in the rice fields and return to the wildlife area’s wetlands.  Flocks of Snow geese and Ross geese make up the bulk of the birds seen here (wherever you see white, that's geese).  Also, plenty of White-fronted geese, American Wigeons, Northern Shovelers, and Black-necked stilts.  Others, too, I'm sure.

With walking trails and an auto tour loop, we covered quite a bit of territory.  Not many people were here on a Sunday (I thought it might be crowded), and we basically had the place to ourselves.  Nice.  Yes, it was peaceful, but not certainly not quiet.  The cacophony of a million birds makes quite a din, but not unpleasantly so.

We saw more than waterfowl.  I watched an American Kestral grab a small bird from a tree branch and fly away with it -- all in the space of a second.  Numerous hawks perched high above, keeping watch.  Even a couple of buzzards found a spot to dry their wings, looking like giant bats up on bare tree limbs.

There seems to be something for every creature -- grassy fields and wooded riparian areas, but reflective ponds are the big draw. They are beautiful.

If you're lucky, and your camera is ready, one bird will give a silent signal, and suddenly the flock will take wing ... while you stand mesmerized ... and clicking the shutter.  Up they go.  What a sight!

Noisy, too.

My favorite.

Clockwise, from top left:  Great Blue Heron hiding in the tule reeds, Great White Egret ready to fish, California Quail crossing the gravel road to get to the other side, and a reflective Northern Shoveler.

We weren't in a hurry, yet we managed to put over three miles on our feet.  Every pond or waterway we passed teemed with life.

Oh, I almost forgot about the Coots.  Of course we saw Coots!

They're everywhere!

Hints of autumn color remained, though the winter storm fixin' to blow through NorCal will probably put the kibosh on colorful leaves.  It was a lovely day to spend time outdoors, communing with nature.  Hours flew by and the afternoon sun dropped low in the sky before we had our fill.  I hope we can come back before the birds migrate northward in the spring.  

Still birthdayin'! To 11/19/19

Nannie and Bubba didn't just fly to California for one day ... we had four clear days with them, oh goodie!  Friday and Saturday were taken up with preparing and partying, which left Sunday and Monday free.  They flew home to Baton Rouge on Tuesday, Nov 19th.  Meanwhile, we tried to pack as much as we could into these shortened November days.

Our sweet two-and-a-half-year-old grandgirl, Everly Rose, spent Saturday night with us in Nevada City.  She partied so hard on Saturday that she slept 12 solid hours and didn't wake up till 8:45 Sunday morning.  When she appeared at her bedroom door, saying, "Gramma," she was greeted by four smiling adults, rather than just two, all of whom turned around to look at her, and all replying, "good morning!"  She was surprised, but grinned.  Life is that much more fun when she's around.

We brought in four balloons from our front-yard banner (see previous post) which she loved -- those things were all over the ceilings.  The entire morning was entertaining.  Nannie and I took her to the playground at Pioneer Park for a while, and in the afternoon, we met Matt in Auburn to return her, 'cause she had pre-school on Monday.

Gang's all here, including the weatherman on KCRA news,

(TV reflection in the window)!

On Monday, we visited Old Sac (Sacramento), which Nannie and Bubba hadn't seen.  It's kind of a tedious drive getting there, but we enjoyed touring around the riverfront historic district, with its Gold Rush-era buildings, cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages.  Lunch at Rio City Cafe was very enjoyable, sitting outside overlooking the Sacramento River.   Quite pleasant and good food.  Mostly we strolled and looked.  Below are pics from our ramblings.

Bubba and Jimmy -- Santa Fe all the way!

Whoa, getting an early start for the Christmas holiday!

I like the Old meets New juxtaposition.

Sacramento's iconic 1935 vertical lift Tower Bridge.  It wasn't always painted gold.  In 2001, residents who lived within 35 mi of the capital voted on a new color scheme. Their choices were all-gold; green, gold and silver; or burgundy, silver and gold. The winning choice was all gold, and it was repainted in 2002.  In the pic above, it looks gold-green, but it's a tough one to photograph, especially if you're aiming into the sun!  I think it's an attractive structure.

When we left Old Sac, we made a beeline for Matt and Jen's in (nearby, kinda) Fair Oaks, where the family could meet up one more time.  We brought (banner) balloons with us, always a hit, as you see above!  This and the header pic were taken Monday evening.  Our time together was precious, and it made everyone happy.

Home again to party leftovers and a movie on Netflix called "Peanut Butter Falcon."  If you get a chance, check it out ... it's very different and so worth seeing.  Nannie and Bubba began packing .... 

Tuesday morning, we had a final Sapo game in the driveway before the long hop to Sacramento's airport.  Who won?  We all won.  Altogether this was a wonderful, short but sweet, 75th happy birthday visit, and Jimmy and I feel like the luckiest people in this country!  It's been grand!  But our birthdayin' ain't over yet.  We're still partying (at least till my official birthday this coming Saturday)!

It's party time! Saturday, 11/16/19

We had a long wait, but this was the best birthday party ever!

Or as Kool and the Gang sang out, "Celebrate Good Times, Come On!"  You can look at something in different ways, and maybe you think sour grapes and pout 'cause the old days are gone, or turn it around and drink lemonade from those seemingly bitter lemons.  Jimmy and I choose to make a memorable mix from those aged lemons, which is one way to look at gettin' older, and we cheer on those extra years!  I know many mornings we wake and stretch to see what hurts and what works, but we keep on moving (and we know how blessed we are that we can), grateful that we're here together to enjoy these delightful autumn days of our lives.

This month both of us celebrate three-quarters of a century of living!  75 years Out and About on this planet, and how in the world did this milestone "sneak up on us?"  Never mind, it was time to make merry, celebrate with friends and family, and party-on-down, dude!  So we planned a party for Saturday afternoon from 2-5.  As you see above, these same friends and family surprised us with a wonderful banner, visible to all who travel our road, announcing our advanced ages.  Both of us.  So very cool, thanks y'all.

And look who made a trip halfway across the country to be with us!  My sis and bro-in-law, Nannie and "Bubba," flew in from Baton Rouge, which made our day so much happier!  What a treat to have them with us.  Thank you sooooo much!

And this sweet little granddaughter, Everly Rose,

was literally the frosting on the cake 🎂.

She loved those balloons.

Sixteen of us ate well, too!  Turkey and ham and all the fixins'.  Jimmy picked up a cheese tray from our favorite Wheyward Girl Creamery, plus a cake from a local bakery.  Everyone contributed a yummy dish.  It was a lovely group of close friends and our wonderful family.  The weather cooperated, no rain, not hot nor cold -- a sunny day!

Somebody helped blow out the 7 and 5 and possibly got too close to the cake?  Either that or she found a tube of lipstick.  She also wanted to sample the frosting.  When she was served her piece of cake, she mashed it with a fork, like I'd mash a potato, and didn't eat it (smushing was more fun)!

I must confess I was remiss with the camera and I have no pics of the jolly people who came to our party!  In fact, I don't know where the camera was, but that's probably a good thing, 'cause that means I was too busy enjoying myself.  It isn't every day you have the opportunity to celebrate your 75th birthday.  If you get your turn, please throw yourself a party and have the best time ever!

We had a rock 'n roll CD on the player for a while and Everly Rose danced in circles.  After all, she had on her pink party dress and new pink dance shoes.

We forgot to dance, but that's okay.
For us, life is good.  Happy birthday to us!