Wednesday January 5

• Morning walk with the kids...

• it feels like Spring already

• A hummingbird in January!  I'm afraid he won't survive.

• Beside the creek, a willow jumps the gun.

Beautiful Day

Burn Day
Area close to house...

Is there anything sweeter than working outdoors with a son?

IKEA

Christmas vacation is a long 3 weeks and the kids are growing antsy.  I distract them with a trip to the big city!

 

Sacramento is only a half-hour drive but we never find a need to go there.  Our excuse today is visiting the Ikea store.

The capital of California is actually a small cowtown, a little bump in the distance as you descend the foothills into the broad flat Central Valley.

It feels about the size of Birmingham or Jacksonville.

We have a great time people watching and looking at the clever designs.

We buy nothing but frozen meatballs that we bring back home and cook.

Christmas Charity

To walk off the turkey (and do a good deed) I dragoon the kids for a "Pick Up the Trash" walk.  We follow our usual 3 mile circuit.

The staff photographer snaps a self-portrait...

Christmas Eve

asdf

Party with friends

Firecrackers for the kids

Mid December

neighbors with vineyards share at Christmas


our chimneysweep in action


too short days

Alert

Having my teeth cleaned yesterday, the hygenist remarked that a bobcat was hunting squirrels in her backyard.  "It wasn't a mountain lion, it was much smaller and with a short tail."

Later in the afternoon I'm walking and pass a sheep skeleton.  Definitely a mountain lion.  They decimated several sheep herds last winter.

Down the road I strike up a conversation with a fellow over his fence and he immediately starts talking about shooting 2 coyote and burying them "right over there."