An Update from the Gold Rush Country~~~or~~~Whew! It's Hot Here!

Hello Sweet Things….

I know some of you are wondering if I was missing in action again, well yes and no.

Because the last “gasp” of vacation was coming up, a number of staff people were planning “stay-cations” that is taking the time off but going to places close-by.

Unfortunately it also puts more pressure on those who remain behind, but in the end it all works out in delicious ways that I can use to help me take time off.

But putting in those long, long hours ***sigh*** well, it is the work I’ve chosen to make “a living”.

Right now I’m at my house in the Gold Rush Country (posting from here); I’m not leaving to go home until tomorrow as I have no desire to deal with the mad rush of returning home vacationers and “stay-cantioners”

The weather is hot but not unbearably so, in the very late afternoon, early evening a warm breeze comes up that has a strangely lovely feel to it. Sometimes I think I see “the ghosts” of pioneers and gold miners long past, still going about their chores. I’ve discovered that Ice Cold Lemonade takes on a refreshing taste on a hot lazy day.

I was up early this morning helping my “caretakers” and some students cut and remove the dried up flowers and plants and saving the seeds, so they can be replanted next year. By doing this it freshens up the flower and vegetable gardens. Some students from the nearby trade school have helped to fix up the old green house and planting shed as part of their work project for grades for school, an arrangement that my “caretakers” made which I fully approved of.

They did a wonderful job too, all new redwood, following the original design and preserving much of it. It was originally built in the late 1880’s and worked on a lot to keep it going, now it will remain for a long, long time. The idea is to work with the students from the agricultural school to start as seedlings and grow heritage plants (flowers and vegetables) save the seeds and sell the seeds and excess plants to help raise money for projects that the school is involved with. This will give the old (now fixed-up greenhouse) a double duty.

Because the sun got hotter, they are pretty much done for the day by 10 a.m. (they were at it from 6 a.m.) so they just put the old plants into a mulching bin. I still don’t know all of how this is being done but I’m so glad it is being done.

After cleaning up we headed into town for the “musical saw” competition and bar-b-que, again another Fund Raiser for a different organization. They work so hard here and I just love their focus.

Because my house is far enough out of town and because it is still a rural community, I’ve been talking to the “powers that be” about allowing some ‘heritage animals’ to be raised on my property since I have a fair amount of acreage, again working with the historical preservation society and the agricultural college.

It looks like I’ll have some heritage turkeys, and chickens, (I wonder how well I’ll deal with a crowing rooster), and later maybe a cow or two. Because of the elderly couple whose land abuts mine, (they’ve also have set up their land to be part of the historical Trust) there’s talk about restoring a large barn that can be easily seen and reached from both our houses and using it to house a few draft horses so that the students can learn to plow and cultivate the land before gas and diesel engines.

I think that would be wonderful, of course I did talk to the parties concerned about a farrier and a large animal vet that knows about farm animals, all that is being worked out as well.

I am so glad that all of this is slowly coming together; it can’t be hurried because it is best to plan all of this very carefully.

The more I come up here the more I wonder about working at a “city job”, I have found that my ‘values’ on things are slowly changing---but then that it what life is all about, change and I hope I can change things for the good. It’s like I’ve come out of a cave and have seen light for the first time.

I don’t know if any of you have been hearing about the big San Francisco Bridge project, but in essence Cal-Trans has closed down one major bridge into San Francisco for the Labor Day Weekend----of course rider ship on BART and the Ferries has gone up tremendously, with many people deciding that is the way they want to travel to work in the future. I knew that from years ago. Leave the driving to another person I say.

I usually take AC Transit Bus, but they were not going to or coming home from S.F. after 8 p.m. Thursday and that presented a little problem for me, because I had no desire to leave my car at the Ferry terminal that day. Lillian (God Bless Her) said that she could pick me up at the Terminal that evening just let her know what time, so I took a taxi to it in the early morning, rode the ferry to and from work; enjoyed the ride and the feeling of ‘transition’ leaving S.F. to home.

Lillian picked me up and we had a late dinner, then I got into my car and drove to my country home late at night, perhaps not a wise thing to do, those roads are not very well lit but I was familiar with them and I now have the entrance to the house clearly marked now a days (one of the earlier projects) so not hard to find. And woke up to clanging and banging with the students doing the final work on the greenhouse (early in the A.M. I might add) I had forgotten that I had given permission for the work to be done this weekend.

One of the future projects in the house is to remove a superfluous pantry that was installed during WWII, so that the natural breeze can once again flow through the house as it was intended back when the house was originally built, the only area that we are considering adding air conditioning is in the Kitchen but in a discreet way, so that canning can be done without it being torture if it’s very hot.

I asked my Caregivers if they wanted air conditioning in their bedroom, because I was concerned about her husband with his heart condition so we have a window mounted unit there with a sun shade, I can get by with just a fan for now.

I’ve been in touch with my family by phone and e-mail things are going well with everyone, baby sis is already into her classes and so is her boyfriend Ted. Mom and Dad are doing very well on all levels, so I’m planning toward the end of this month or the beginning of October to spend a few days with them I’ll be flying down as it will be a short trip, but I’m planning on going down there for Thanksgiving and for the Christmas/New Years Break, on those two trips I’ll be taking the train, so much better than plane travel.

I have just come back to the house to change my shoes, they are setting up for this evening to do ---of all things---square dancing and they are going to be teaching some of the older dances that were done during the Gold Rush Period.

Fram I’m going to be reading your blog when I get back to the Bay Area, I am sorely behind reading it.

So now Sweet Things I must go and enjoy the last day of my mini-vacation.

Kisses.