Category: SA Times

During the brief hiatus from posting weekly, we have celebrated July 4th with breakfast in McBride Canyon,  played on the beach, recelebrated July 4th on July 6th and spent several days in Red River.  All in all, not a bad little break in our routine.

First, J, K, S & V spent three weeks with us, including the week we spent in Red River, only returning home last Sunday.  Dave drove up for the July 6th congregation, arriving the evening of the 4th.  There were lively times while they were here, as you can imagine with so many shorties in residence.  They gave the recreational facilities on SA a good work-out.  Since the get-together was planned for the 6th, that left the 4th open and we took advantage to arrive at McBride Canyon at dawn and whip up a campfire breakfast.  Only we weren’t supposed to have a campfire because of the dry conditions.  I had already started one by the time Joyce read the notice so we just let it die down.  We had a camp stove for the cooking anyway so it was only the aesthetics that suffered. Continue reading “Summer vacation” →

Before the little shower we got Thursday night, SA was being grilled mercilessly with no basting.  Temperatures as high as 106° quickly turned the grass from a pleasant forest green to a faint green suitable for the walls of a mental institution.  It was hard to say which was worse; the wind blowing or the wind not blowing.  The cool down in the forecast gives us something to look forward to. Continue reading “Life in hell” →

Good grief, after last Friday night’s pleasant one inch rain, you can actually see the weeds growing.  It wasn’t long ago at dinner with the neighbors I commented on how I remembered fondly when the place was green, back in the day.  Well, it’s green now and looks very nice but it isn’t just the grass that’s growing.  Most of the rest of the neighborhood seems to be at peace with the weeds taking over.  Those that do seem to want to rein them in simply keep them mowed down.  That’s better than letting them go to seed, of course, but it isn’t very aesthetically appealing.  I spray a couple of gallons of Weed Be Gone mix most evenings knowing that if I do that while the weeds are small that will go a long way in helping me ultimately control them.  I say control, not eliminate.  That’s impossible. Continue reading “June the benign” →

There I was stuck between a duck and a hard place, so to speak.  When I moseyed up to the water garden to do some raking one day this week I saw a mallard hen enjoying herself there.  The mallard pair had been there the evening before and even though the drake wasn’t around I assumed it was the hen of the pair that frequents our pond, especially since she didn’t seem disturbed by my presence.  Shortly, though, the mallard pair showed up and the drake sent the first hen packing.  She flew over the fence to the area on the south just outside the enclosure and stood their awhile apparently considering her options.  After a while she walked around to the north side of the enclosure and flew from there back into the pond.  Again the drake sent her packing and again she flew over the fence to the south side of the enclosure where I’d left the chili wagon.  It’s fun to have wild ducks visit the pond so I try not spook them when I’m in the area.  However, I’d finished raking in the enclosure and needed to go to another area, which meant I needed to pass where the new duck was.  I finally did and she moved out of my way without taking flight.  Later she departed, no doubt having decided she wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the pond as long as the other ducks were around.  Maybe she’ll be back when they are not.  There must be people around where she normally visits since she had so little fear of me. Continue reading “Duck politics” →