Monday, September 9, 2013

Our Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 5th anniversary on paper, but it really marks our 13 year together.
I found this in the dining room this morning.
My sweetest husband always knows where to shop.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Rainy Days


Make a happy garden. My bulbs along the sidewalk are planted for next spring.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Jenna is Married!


With Mom Houghton in Manti, Utah

The bosses of the Houghton Family

The Fox Family.
Atlas, Kendra and Cyrus

Keep my dress out of the water, please.

Jenna and Clayton are hiding from the rain

Penny and Tatum with Grandma and Grandpa Houghton

Our Family.
The "turn in and show off those beefy arms everyone" pose

Daddy with his little Jenna

The Saturday hikers

Come on Anabel, Spitz will show the way.

Buck the water doggie

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Silver Fire



The neighbor's dozer, ouside of our gate, didn't make it.
  


Fire line stopped at the north edge of our ranch
 


The shed (top right) is untouched;
only the wind blew ashes inside it.
 


The barn is JUST FINE!
Looking out to the neighbors bunt land.
 



This ol' house (in our view) was burnt many times before. The fire loves this spot.
  

Fire men drove right up, cut the chain off the gate and were busy dozing in fire brakes to keep the fire from traveling to the south. They moved around our yard furniture and found the hidden pick-nick spots, they made themselves right at home. If it were not for them, we would have a big mess on our hand. Our wood piles and the big white roof of the barn is a landmark for the forest service and fire crew, said the fireman we talked with while the mop-up crew was still out there looking for hot spots. 



Looking south to the ranch. All is well.
 

My Keep Out signs on each side of the gate were bunt, but the flames kept out. Huh!


Friday, July 19, 2013

I'm going home!

We had a solar field assignment yesterday in Rosemond. Left home pretty confident that the valley is in good shape, because the fire is not traveling toward us.
6:00pm, in Hemet, starving, tired and just want to get back home....looking forward to have a big burger at the local cafe...... Checkpoint creep official dummy at the bottom of the hill says we cannot go up. Roads are all closed. But Garner Valley is clear and we need to go home. He says: NO! Don't even try any of the other roads, they are all closed.
Oooooooohh reeeeeaaaally?
Well..... we are going home and you are NOT going to stop us!
Into the woods!


This is the side of Thomas Mountain, which is the range dividing the Anza Valley from Garner Valley.
We found a dirt road from Hemet to get to this mountain road.


Up and up we go, climbing the truck on the dirt road. Beautiful country side!
Missed the traffic anyway.....


Made it up to the top and looking down to Garner Valley, we have a nice view of the fire that's raging near Idyllwild.


This is the same spot on the fire we are looking at from our house back in the hills north of our valley.




Almost looks like Idyllwild is in big trouble.




3 hours later we made it home because one thing no-one should try to do is to stop Mark & Bea from a mission. We regret not having our chainsaws. We could have dropped a lot of trees behind us and gathered lots and lots of fire wood this weekend as the forest service people are too busy right now to worry about ticketing loggers.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Burning Mountains in July


The view from the front porch.


I always said: "some day those irresponsible waste of beings, the dregs of society, we are forced to tolerate in our mountain communities will burn dow these mountains." Well.....here is the day.


We have a couple more hills between the flames and the valley.


Luckily, the wind is blowing west to east (left to right) instead of towards our neighborhood.


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Snowy Mountains in June


On the way to another solar field job.
At the lookout point to Burney Falls north east of Redding, CA.



Buck in the LDS church parking lot in Fall River Mills.
It's not that we are the first to arrive for the preaching;
we are testing the farm field behind the church.
 
Mount Shasta in the back.
We are surrounded by snowy mountains.


The office

One of the logging plants in the area.


Mission is accomplished.
Time to visit all the Tractor Supply stores on the way home.


Looking down to the logging mill.
Beautiful operation!
If I were born again, I'd be a logger again but have a mill like this.
It was a nice change to have snow covered mountains around. We are usually in the middle of the blazing hot desert while solar fielding. North central CA is beautiful. 

Thursday, June 27, 2013

A MUST HAVE CD

John Reed-Torres

My dear friend, the famous ragime pianist and composer, published his first CD.
Click on his name to see one of his beautiful compositons.

Friday, May 17, 2013

"Food glorious food, hot sausage and mustard..."


Moved out:
The saddest thing in life is: empty pantry.


Moved in:
Can we find all the food now, please?


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!


Our home grown Lily of the Valley


So fragrant! The best scent in the world!


Spitz likes the smell too.


Monday, April 15, 2013

9/11 Spitz/Buck Birthdays


Buck: Let's go with that birthday cake, mom!


Buck is so exited, he is stomping his paw.


Spitzers: what's going on? Are we eating or not?


Happy Birthday to you,


Happy Birthday to you two,


Happy Birthday Buck and Spitz!


Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Easter Sunday

Back from work just in time to make that Easter Ham.