July 30 2010

• Jonathan & his friend JR slept outside in a tent



tent under the trees
(they're still asleep)

• Now that I signed up for hosting with Network Solutions I'm appalled at the lack of control; will ask for a refund and look elsewhere

July 29 2010

• Jonathan spends 2 hours at his new summer job, clearing a neighbor's land.
• While he worked, I sit in the shade taking pictures



Western Fence Lizard

• JR's parents drip drop him off; he'll spend the night with us.
• I take Jonathan & JR to the pool for the afternoon.  As always, the place is practically deserted; I'm mystified that kids don't spend their summer here.
• Signed up for webspace at Network Solutions; they already hold my domain registrations, and I am unhappy with Lypha.

July 28 2010

• Jonathan reports for his first day at his first job (cleaning a neighbor's yard).  There are 5 acres to clean and clear and cut.



workin' for The Man

• Stray cat deposits his first mouse on the backdoor mat 
• Evening walk



The guy living to my west has a bald head, a white goatee, and a humongous Great Dane.
The guy living to my east has a bald head, a white goatee, and a humongous Great Dane.


• We haven't heard from Mary;  no call to be rescued from summer camp
• We finished the last lecture, Lecture 48, of "History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts" (Teaching Company DVD)

• Terrific series.

July 27 2010

• (I forget)



Blackberries are ripening

• During our evening walk, Jonathan & I discussed the "girl problem"

July 26 2010

• In the morning Junior & I cut brush until it got too hot
• Spent time investigating kids' education - homeschool?  charter?
• Afternoon, Jonathan mowed

• I traipsed around in the woods, collecting cockleburrs

• After the sun set, watched history lectures on DVD.

July 25 2010

Stephanie's family picks up Mary

• Mary leaves for camp
• Jonathan uploads videos and photos of his vacation
• A neighbor whose wife is out of town calls me over for company
• 
  

July 24 2010

• I let Jonathan laze about all day - to recover from his vacation
• Mary packs for her summer camp
• Evening walk with Jonathan

• Continue with BBC series "Lark"

July 23 2010

• Mary leaves for camp on Sunday;  went shopping for clothes, etc.
• 2 hours in the water
• Jonathan gets back at 9pm - I wait for him at the gate - a beautiful night, bright moon, evening star, orange horizon

July 22 2010

• Stray cat encounters wild turkey - a beautiful, funny scene (here)
• Long hot morning walk with Mary
• The piano teacher meets us on the road - I'd forgotten today's lesson
• Mary ask her piano teacher for tunes from Fiddler On The Roof, My Fair Lady
• I'm recruited to shoot glamour photographs for Mary's blog

• Watch the sun go down, neighbors' evening stroll

•  

July 21 2010

• With Jonathan gone, there's a hole...
• To pool again; it's become a routine.  2 hours in the water.
• Cat seems settled in
• Mary & I cooked hamburgers for an early dinner

July 20 2010

• No one has responded to our notice



we'll check the newspaper



quite at home

• Early dentist appointment for me
• Took girls swimming after lunch for several hours


• 
  

July 19 2010

Diary:

• The stray cat still hanging 'round, acts like he wants to stay
• Mary makes a "CAT FOUND" poster and I walk to the community bulletin board to post it
• On the way, I saw this fellow



resembles an eagle

• Later I came upon a strange clan "making bird houses"



seem harmless enough

• Afternoon, tree man tackles more storm damage

July 18 2010

Diary:

• 9am walk w/Mary

Buckeye Butterfly
• Talk over the fence with a neighbor

Spraying for star thistle
• Family friends invite Mary to attend a kids summer camp in Tahoe next week
• Spend afternoon identifying plants I've photographed
• Jonathan called; he's having a fine time; back by Saturday
• 9:30pm, a cat begins crying at the downstairs door.  Mary feeds it cheese and milk.  It's famished, skittish, forlorn, matted with burs.   Just as Mary leads the cat to the deck with a bowl of milk,  a fox trots through the yard.  We'll have to keep the cat in tonight.

July 17 2010

Diary:

• Worked by self 'till 11am: blew drive, sprayed toyon & poison oak.
• With Mary to pool at 3pm

• Noted snow still on mountains
• Nice spaghetti dinner

• Sunset: coyote was running about in the far fields and  dogs were barking;  we heard a neighbor step out to quiet her collies.

• We've stashed some field guides at the Station: read, stare, daydream, repeat...
• Episode 2 of "Lark Rising to Candleford", a Victorian village drama

July 16 2010

Weird new weed

Diary

• Morning walk w/Mary;  with Jonathan's gone, we can linger and examine stuff
• Afternoon we spent at the swimming pool
• Aunt Shirley called at suppertime
• At BWS-1, sat & watched it slowly grow dark

Oak gall, gnawed

July 15 2010

Diary:

• Morning walk w/kids.
• Chatted with Jay & Alice (busy selling his mother's house)
• Chatted with Diana (Grady working graveyard; she's taking grandkids to Arkansas next week)
• Returning, Mary makes us lemonade
• Late afternoon, Jonathan leaves for Oregon vacation
• Mary watches "My Fair Lady"

I plan a series on "tall weeds" -- using kids for scale

Mary poses with bull thistle gone to seed

Ronnie and Lucy, with weary Diana looking on

July 14

Diary:

• Haircut for everyone
• Laze through the heat of the day: Jonathan with video games, Mary at her blog
• Jonathan & I walk the neighborhood before supper
• Mary & I go swimming after supper

Shirley's is a one-chair shop. We've gone monthly for the past 3 years.

Shirley is family: we share pictures, talk nature, politics, local gossip; she's invited us to her house.

It's an especial treat for Mary -- an old woman fusses over her, talks hair, makes her feel a pretty little girl.

Calling birds with little hand-held squeaker.

July 13

Diary:

• Took early walk by self;  Jimson Weed popping up everywhere, and Turkey Mullein; surprised to meet Jonathan walking towards me far from home.  I think he wanted a man-to-man talk.
• Dentist appointment for me.
• To Folsom post office for passports
• Target for kids clothes
• Frisbee as sun set
• Watched "Tudor & Stuarts" lecture; kids, "Father Knows Best" 

July 12

Diary:

• Morning: Collected logs for firewood, watersealed BWS-1
• Went swimming
• Mary prepared dinner
• Jonathan mowed

I've never understood tattoos.

Mary suggested and prepared stuffed tomatoes.

Jonathan has mowed the yard since he was 7 years old. His Chinese grandfather accused me of child abuse.

July 10

Diary:

• I forget, except watching the sun set with the kids.

girl exercising her horse across the way

Friday Night at the Feed & Seed

We checked out an upscale feed'n'seed.

I don't think "bucket" means buckets.

It's farmer jargon for something else.

Dog bones?

Paper bags for self-service.

Those are grease splotches... it stinks to high heaven... what are they thinking?


Green tanks in back hold koi (to stock ponds).

We buy bird seed and a salt block.

On the way home, a new post on the neighborhood bulletin board.

Jonathan's Birthday

THE BIG ONE-THREE!

He's already as tall as I am. And he has a deeper voice. So it's kinda anti-climactic.

At the last minute Jonathan decides he would like a swimming party. With a car-full of kids we head to the pool.

Bathing Beauties

Mary brought her friend Emma for company.

Birthday Boy

Marco Polo!

Just like when I was a kid.

Disturbing Man

The appearance of a street person was a fly in the ointment.
The fellow rattled at the fence like it was a jail cell, insisting we were "old friends"...

Of course the kids were frightened.

You scream

I scream

We all scream

For ice cream

The kids are exhausted. Three hours in the water without a break.

Random:

• Emma: "I'm going to be an aunt next month."  Girls giggle in the back seat.  "I put my hand on her tummy and felt a kick.  You forget that it's alive before it's born."  Long silence, then girl giggles again.
• Me: "Emma, is your father re-roofing your house?"  Emma: "We all work up on the roof."
• All the lifeguards are perfectly flat-chested 16 year old girls, serious and professional
• Helium balloons flew past high in the sky.  15 minutes later, another batch drift by.
• A homely young mother splashing with her children was beautiful
• Jonathan: "How does anyone ever win at Marco Polo?"  Me: "You have to cheat.  Everyone cheats."
• Looking at Jonathan, I'm looking at 13 year old me, hanging at the pool
• An old man, swimming laps, rests long and listens to the boys' banter
• I'm gonna swim every day;  it felt so good