Nannie comes to town! Nov-Dec 2025

The days are foreshortened this time of year, sunset comes early.  Maybe that's why the two weeks Nannie was here flew by so fast.  Or perhaps it's because we packed in as much as we could.  We were very lucky with the weather, none of those 95° afternoons or a foot of snow or atmospheric rivers of rain of years past, nope, we enjoyed sunshine and cool temps every day!  Perfect for playing in these abbreviated late-autumn days.  Two weeks of fun!

She flew in (from her home in Maryland) two days before Thanksgiving -- great timing.  Son, Matt, and granddaughter, Evie, arrived on Wednesday for an overnight visit, meaning he'd have an early start for prepping "da bird" on Thanksgiving.  (Daughter-in-law, Jen had to work [she's a nurse].)  Nannie, Evie and I had a ball on the swing set.

Naturally, Matt brought Lucy, seen above with him and his aunt, Nannie.  You might notice that we're not a formal family 😄, ours is a wacky, fun-loving family.

I took lots of photos, so some were corralled in collages.  The one picture I took of the five of us at our festive table was the only Thanksgiving disaster.  Instead, at top is my plate FULL of our delicious dinner.  Matt "spatchcocked" the turkey, bottom left, and stuck it on the grill -- turned out yummy.  He also made his signature green beans, and a corn-y cornbread casserole.  Nannie made a pecan pie.  Yessiree, we ate well!  I don't know who the skinny guy is, bottom right.  Nannie arrived in time for the last of our beautiful Dogwood tree color.

Evie and Nannie spent time coloring turkey pictures before we ate.

Everyone had a great time Wednesday/Thursday; the youngsters went home Thursday evening. I think we were all pretty tired, especially us older folks. Friday Nannie, Jimmy and I did a bit of shopping and sightseeing in iconic downtown Grass Valley, which was all dressed up for Christmas.  

Saturday the three of us checked out a Craft Faire at the fairgrounds, followed by a cool visit to Mt. St. Mary's Convent and Academy, also in Grass Valley, and its historic museum, with exhibits on local history, especially women's roles, and featuring artifacts from its past as an orphanage and convent.  Built in 1865, it's the oldest standing convent building in the US west of the Rockies, and it was placed on the Nat'l Register of Historical Places in 1974.  We'd not been in the museum before, it was really interesting.

Nannie (upper) and me (lower) at the main entrance.

The oranges and reds of autumn provide color, and these roses prove it.

This scene is on the lovely church/museum grounds.

One day we drove up-the-hill to Truckee with the intent of going for a walk/hike, stopping first at the Donner Memorial St Pk visitor center and Pioneer Monument.  But at 6000', the 37° temp was bone-chilling, and we didn't last long outside.  At left, above, we're standing next to some tall critter at Layton Park by Lake Tahoe.  At right, Nannie poses with the Snow Sheds as a backdrop, plus a dusting of snow on Donner Peak.

Me 'n Jimmy at the Monument.

We enjoyed lunch at Jax @ the Trax in Truckee, a diner with good food, then walked across the tracks to the Truckee train depot where a kind stranger took our pic, above.  Best of all, we watched an Amtrak train pull into the station, drop off a few people and pick up around the same number.  That took roughly three minutes, then it blasted off, down-down-down the mountains toward Reno.

In between gadding about, we played cards (Hand 'n Foot), met friends for coffee, bought veggies at our Saturday farmers market, picked up a couple of books at the library book sale, attended a (very bad) community concert, went on walks, and tried to beat each other at Scrabble many nights ... and more.  We had such a good time -- I wish she could've stay longer ....

And we sat with Santa (at the fairgrounds)!

* * * * *

Here in the foothills, we've basked in above-average temps and daily sunshine, while the central valley has been bedeviled by weeks of tule fog -- chill, damp, and depressing.  We hoped the fog would've lifted one early afternoon when we drove down to the Woodruff rice towers and Gray Lodge to view the birds, but we were skunked on this one.  Not much action and not many birds, and the damp cold hurt; thus, no hiking.  Instead, we did the auto tour.  The Snow Geese, above, stand as statues.

In November 2019, Jimmy and I encountered so much birdlife

it literally made my head spin.  Not so much today.

Cormorants.

Can you count how many?

Top left looks like a juvenile Snow Goose, and top right features a "wake" of turkey buzzards, bottom left is a ginormous rose bush covered in elongated rose hips.  Bottom right:  Blackbirds disguising themselves as leaves. 

Even with a cold wind and a dismal sky, we enjoyed our outing.

Double your pleasure!

Haha, every time I see this picture, I laugh.  You should see the outtakes, hahaha! On Saturday, the 6th, we drove to Matt's (new) house in Fair Oaks (approx an hour away) where this pic was taken, spending several hours visiting, talking, laughing, and playing silly games with Evie.  (We missed Jen again, but she was working.)  Oh my, if I could grant the world one wish, it would be to have as much joy and love and fun as we do!

Finally, on Dec 7th, Nevada City held its first Victorian Christmas of the season.  We go every year, and Nannie comes with us when she's in town, it's "the thing to do," and we usually end up buying something we need (or a present), so it's a win-win.  This year was no exception.  After a few hours on our feet, we were ready to go home.

Like I said, the two weeks disappeared in a flash, but we're soooo grateful we had them!  Jimmy and I drove Nannie to SMF (Smurf) on Tuesday the 9th.  We miss her lots, but we know she's enjoying time with her own family in her new Maryland home (which makes US happy).  Now we'll play catch-up for the looming holiday.  I know, Nannie, I know, it's our turn next!

January 2022

 

Sometimes a change of scenery will do the trick, take us out of the usual, everyday life.  Often this variation is just the ticket.  Jimmy and I live in tall tree country, in Nevada County, where every January our Incense Cedar trees begin spitting pollen, and every January, my eyes begin to weep, I sneeze ferociously and my nose runs, and so I seem to be allergic to these very trees that surround us.  In January, for heavens sake!  Snow on the ground, pollen on the roof!  I'm on eye drops, nose spray, and allergy pills now, but allergy shots may be in my future.  I love to be outdoors, but not here, not now.  Where to go?

In Yuba County (among others), 30 miles downhill, down Highway 20, rice is planted on a large scale.  In winter many rice growers flood their fields to soften the stubble and make it easier to till in the spring.  It's a win-win for migratory birds, as the rice fields provide food and a resting place for nearly 230 wildlife species.  According to the California Rice Commission, these flooded fields are the source of 60% of the food for 7 to 10 million ducks and geese that migrate along the Pacific Flyway each winter.  Woodruff Lane in Yuba County is where we headed today, to see the birds.

Ahhhh, magnificent!

We saw a number of observant hawks.

Some of the flooded fields showed stubble, while others held more water.  Sutter Buttes appears hazy in the distance.  Be fun to hike in The Buttes come spring, but I believe only guided hiking is allowed.

While this area isn't quite as packed with birds as Gray Lodge, which we visited over two years ago and which is twice the distance from our house, we saw plenty to make us happy -- including Tundra Swans, Snow geese, White-fronted geese, and lots of duck species.  And many others.

We parked the car off Woodruff and set out on one of the levees that separates the rice ponds.  All the birds would eye us warily and if they thought we were too close, up they'd go!  What's funny to us was, when we'd walk to the other side of a pond, via levee, to get closer to the birds, those birds would've already paddled far away from us!  I know, no winning that one.

Cattails -- falling apart!

When flying overhead, Tundra Swans sound a little like Sandhill Cranes and initially we thought "sandhills."  All my pictures are zoomed in.  You couldn't sneak up on any of the birds since no cover could be had on a levee.  Tundra Swans, which are one of the largest migrating birds, travel across the sky in a Vee shape.

Away they go!

Jimmy stands on a wide levee with Shintaffer Rice Dryers behind him and Mathews Rice Dryer in the distance (behind Shintaffer).  Good place to start our explore.

Walking alongside Jack Slough, binocs in hand, Jimmy walks on the far side of the pond.  The birds, of course, have dispersed.

Northern Pintails were prevalent in this pond.

In this area, White-fronted geese were sitting peacefully ... till we came along.  Mind you, we weren't too close, but apparently not far enough away.  We didn't mean for them to fly, didn't want them to fly, but ....

Up, up, and away!

Swans, ducks, and a Whimbrel in the foreground.

They're noisy at takeoff.

We enjoyed hiking around the ponds.  Our elevation here was about 75 feet, or roughly 3100 feet less than where we live, so the flora was totally unlike our neck of the woods (good for me).  I was surprised that we didn't see any snakes or raccoons or other wildlife; just waterfowl of many types, and that was okay by us.  It felt grand to be Out and About today, tromp around some, feel the sunshine on our cheeks.  I hope we can do it again before the Great Migration starts north.

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.