Up, Up and Away!!!

It was early morning at a small airport in the hills. Family and friends stood clutching their coffee cups for warmth in the chilly darkness waiting for the sun to rise.


Here comes the sun.....gee that does sound like a song....

We had all gathered for a wedding, with the bride and groom exiting in a hot-air balloon. Here it is, laid out in preparation to be inflated.


The flame heats the air that inflates the balloon...it also burnt a piece of the skirting...ooops


Vows were said, a few tears were shed....

...and the newly weds flew away.....

The beginning......

Coastal ramblings

I am back! Yes, I have neglected my blog entries for a few months. My only excuse is that I have been having to much fun traveling to actually sit down at my computer and share my travels with you through my blog entries. I recently took off alone in my van, and followed the Pacific coast highway 1 north from Bodega Bay, CA to above Ft. Bragg where the road went inland through the redwoods and then back to the coast at Eureka, CA., where I continued on to Crescent City, Oregon before turning inland.

Heading north...I took this through my windshield.

I went west from Petaluma to Bodega Bay. The road twists across gentle hills, through farm and dairy country. At Bodega Bay I connected to State Highway 1 which follows the rugged coast with a narrow two-lane road complete with many hair-pin curves and no shoulders. There are plenty of places to pull off at vista points so you can calm your jangled nerves and take a few photos. I mention the nerves as I am a nervous driver on the best roads...which, believe me. these are not! I gritted my teeth and squeezed the steering wheel whenever I met a big motorhome or semi-truck. I was going north so I did have the benefit of solid ground on my right....opposed to going south where you have a steep, rocky cliff for most of the time.




But the views make it all worth while.

I saw this cute house in Pt. Arena. I love their porch decorations of net floats.

This is a stack of fishing nets with their floats attached.

....a couple of views around Pt. Arena, CA

The lighthouse at Point Arena
Along the highway...north of Point Arena... someone must have had a big hedge clipper....


I said the coast was rocky....

...with patches of fog....

here is a baby ground squirrel with a peanut....


Crescent City, CA -- Battery Point Lighthouse flashing it's light through the fog

The south side of the lighthouse showing the access road.

The jetty protecting the harbor is plainly posted as dangerous....guess these folks can't read...

Tidal pool creatures...
This is a sea anemone.....I love the neon colors I don't know what this is but it is pretty...

Barnacles and mussels exposed at low tide...

Gold Beach, Oregon Sunshine and gale force winds....
This tourist was feeding the gulls and was suddenly surrounded!



That is all for now, thanks for stopping by.

I don't know where the time goes! Here it is, the middle of May and I have been so occupied with other things that I have neglected posting on my Blog page. Sorry!

The doves in my yard are busy adding to their population. Remember the downed Saguaro cactus I posted photos of? Well doves are nesting in both of my replanted ones. Life goes on.

Here are some pictures of a pair of doves that nested on my patio in a flower pot.

The dove pair pushed the plants out of this pot and took up residence.

New chicks

Mom watching me watching her......


Feeding twins

Homely children! It is a good thing that their Mom thinks they are lovely.

Desert Giants

Saguaro cactus are very slow growing. They only grow about 1/2" in the first year and to 1' in about 15 years. In 40 to 50 years, saguaros reach about 10' tall (and first begin to flower and produce fruit), and in 75 to 100 years they may sprout arm buds. A mature saguaro can soak up to 200 pounds of water during a rain storm. Their root systems are shallow, not really balancing the above ground weight. It amazes me that they last as long as they do.

On January 21, 2010 a strong storm hit our little desert town. The ground was saturated and softened from the torrential rains, the cactus were full of water and top heavy. Then the high winds hit. Sadly dozens of our saguaros were toppled. Here are a few of the lost ones.

This is what the inside of a saguaro looks like. I think it resembles a cut pineapple. When this multi-armed cactus fell the fence cut it in pieces......

Over 150 years old, this was a local landmark. Every Spring it was topped with blooms like a fancy hat.

But not all that fell were lost. This saguaro was lifted and replanted.
If you would like to know more about these giants you can check these sites;

Saguaro National Park http://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/archive/sagu/Saguaro/saguaro.html

http://www.desertusa.com/mag08/june/stories/saguaro.html

Say What?

If you have read any of my blog you have probably already figured out that I have a junk-drawer mind. I really enjoy collecting bits and pieces of trivia that doesn't benefit much of anything except to amuse me. These bits and pieces also include a fascination for unusual words.

There are regional words that can be just as strange to our ears as made-up ones. Such as, bobasheely; a Gulf Coast word meaning a good friend, or goozlum; a sauce, gravy, or pudding....used in early 20th century Nebraska. These are found in DARE, the Dictionary of Regional English, which will be published next year. For more examples from this book check; http://dare.wisc.edu/?q=node/163

Doesn't bobasheely just roll off the tongue? But how will I ever work this into a conversation?